Origin of the Himalayan Cat
The creation of Himalayan cats of this breed dates back to 1924 in the United States, when breeder Virginia Cobb and Dr. Clyde Keeler met to study the gene responsible for the colorpoint pattern in cats. Although they did not obtain the desired result, this study was resumed in Sweden in 1930, crossing cats of the Siamese and Persian breeds.
The first litter of Himalayan kittens was born to Debutante, a long-haired cat that was crossed with her father, resulting in specimens with blue eyes, long hair, and a darker-colored face, ears, paws, and tail.
In the United States, this breed was recognized in 1957 and, years later, it did the same in Europe, where it is considered a variety of the Persian breed. Although these cats were not conceived in the Himalayan area, they are named thus because of their great resemblance to Himalayan rabbits.
Types of Himalayan
Himalayan cats can have an infinite number of accepted color combinations in the breed, although their coat must always be point style. The only thing that stands out in the breed and that all cats of all color combinations share are their blue eyes .
Colors
Some of the color combinations may have the following shades:
- Brown
- Red
- Blue
- Lilac
- Seal
- Cream blue
- Cream lilac
- Tortie Brown
- Tortie cream
- Lynx red
- Lynx seal
- Lynx blue
- Tortie lynx
- Lynx cream
- Lynx Brown
- Lilac lynx
- Cream lynx blue
- Lilac cream lynx
- Brown Tortie Lynx
Hair type
The hair is the main characteristic of this breed of cat, being long and very shiny. In addition, this coat has a very abundant, soft, and dense undercoat.
The Himalayan cat kitten
Himalayan cat kittens are very playful and curious, with bursts of activity, although this behavior becomes calmer and quieter as they grow older.
Character and behavior of the Himalayan
One of the main characteristics of the behavior of these cats is that they are very affectionate and calm, which makes them love spending time with their owners on their lap to be petted.
Because they have Siamese genes, Himalayan cats are more playful than Persians, but not enough to escape from home, as they are very homely and prefer the comfort of their home to the curiosity of the street.
They are not very independent cats nor very talkative, although they are intelligent and gluttonous , which has to be compensated with exercise, always at a lower intensity due to their morphology.
They get along very well with children, as long as they are not too rough or unruly, and they are perfect for older people.
How to feed a Himalayan according to its age?
Himalayan cats do not require any special diet due to the characteristics of their breed, unless they suffer from some illness or disease, but these are cases of very particular cats, not of the breed itself.
Feeding in stages
As with all felines, Himalayan cats should be fed specific food depending on the stage of life they are in.
Therefore, their first food should be breast milk and, when they start weaning, they will be given a combination of breast milk and a porridge made with specific puppy food mixed with water, reducing the amount of milk and increasing the amount of porridge as time goes by. When this phase is over, they will be fed puppy food.
At one year of age, your cat can start to be considered an adult, so its food should be changed to one for adult cats. You will change its food gradually, mixing a little of the new food with a lot of the old and gradually varying the proportions of one and the other, so that it will end up only eating adult food.
If the cat is neutered, its food will have to be changed to a special food for sterilized cats and, if it suffers from any allergies or intolerances or has any illness, its food will have to be special for any of these ailments or pathologies.
Finally, in the
senior stage, you will need to change the feed again to one with
less fat and carbohydrates, since at this stage of their life cats become more sedentary and, to prevent them from gaining weight, their feed must compensate for this lack of exercise. As with adult cats,
if they have any ailment, illness or pathology, their food will have to cover their characteristics. Talk to your veterinarian before changing their feed and let them advise you on the best diet for them.
Himalayan Cat Health
Himalayan cats, having genes from Persian cats and Siamese cats, can suffer from diseases typical of these two breeds of cats, such as idiopathic cystitis, urinary lithiasis or polycystic kidney, different types of carcinoma or ophthalmological diseases such as corneal sequestration, progressive retinal atrophy, entropion, idiopathic epiphora or coloboma of the eyelids.
Furthermore, as this cat is very gluttonous and more sedentary than active, it is highly recommended to control the amount of food it eats, encourage it to exercise through games and special toys, and help it not to gobble down its food through interactive feeders.
Caring for a Himalayan Cat
The long hair of this type of cat is what requires the most time and effort to keep it looking healthy and well-groomed. Like all other cats, they should be vaccinated and dewormed when necessary, as well as visiting the vet at least once a year to make sure they are in perfect health.
Hair
Their long, thick coat should be brushed regularly to prevent knots and tangles and to remove surface dirt. This brushing also helps to remove dead hair that gets caught in the rest of the coat and thus prevents hairballs from forming.
Fur
Giving them a bath once a month to remove deep dirt is also part of their hygiene and care routine. Also, although they are very homely cats, if they usually go out into the street or garden, don’t forget to check if they come home with any parasites stuck in their fur and deworm them if necessary.
Others: Eyes and ears
The eyes and ears are very delicate organs in cats, so their hygiene must be more thorough. Because they have long hair, it can bother their eyes and ears and, in the latter, it can cause more earwax to form. Trim the hair around their ears and eyes and clean them with sterile gauze and a special cleaning solution or, failing that, distilled water or saline solution.
Adopting a Himalayan
If you are thinking of starting to share your life with a cat and you have fallen in love with this breed, we recommend that you visit a shelter or refuge to see if they have any Himalayas. Even so, if you do not find any, we encourage you to give another cat with similar characteristics a chance. Ask the volunteers for help and you will see how they find a cat that is very similar to the Himalayas.
Give a cat a second chance and discover what you can bring to each other. You won’t regret it!
