The fancy's only full color, print quarterly publication for Persian and Exotic exhibitors.

About Himalayans

The HImalayan, or color point Persian, iresulted from crossing the Persian to the Siamese. In her article publiished on the Web site of The Cat Fanciers Association, Linda Berg, who breeds Himalayans under the cattery name Oakheaven, explained that breeders on two continents, approached their respective registries to pursue recognition for the Himalayan. Brian Sterling-Webb approached the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) in England, while an American breeder pursued adoption in CFA during the 1957 CFA annual meeting.

The Cat Fanciers Association standard calls for a Persian to be a heavy boned, well balanced cat with a sweet expression and soft, round lines. The large, round eyes set wide apart in a large round head contribute to the overall look and expression. The thick, plush coat softens the lines of the cat and accentuates the roundness in appearance.

The head is round, smooth and massive with great breadth of skull and well-set on a short thick neck. The break of the short, snub and broad nose is centered between the eyes. The cheeks are full. The jaws are broad, and the ears are small, round tipped and low on the head. The eyes are in brillian and color, large, round and full.

All of this is set on a cobby, massive body on short, thick legs with a short tail

In 1957, CFA added the seal, blue, chocolate and lilac points to the HImalayan, with new colors being added eventually until CFA accepted the lynx points (think a Himalayan with tabby stripes) in 1982.

These color point cats recently have been increasing in popularity among Exotic breeders.

Sources:
The Persian breed standard, The Cat Fanciers Association, April 2007.