Balinese
The "Balinese" is not actually from Bali or any part of Indonesia. It is not a natural occurring breed, but originates from human-controlled breeding efforts.
The Balinese was originally registered as a "long-haired Siamese", and examples were known from the early 1920s. The occasional long-haired kittens in a Siamese litter were seen as an oddity, and sold as household pets rather than as show cats. This changed in the mid-1950s, when two breeders, Marion Dorsey of Rai-Mar Cattery in California and Helen Smith of MerryMews Cattery, decided that they would commence a breeding program for these longhaired cats.
Balinese Name
The name was chosen on subjective grounds: Smith named the cats "Balinese" as she felt they showed the grace and beauty of Balinese dancers, and because "long-haired Siamese" seemed a rather clunky name for such graceful felines. The breed became quite popular after this, and a number of breeders began working on "perfecting" the Balinese appearance.
Intelligence
The Balinese cat is rated the highest in intelligence of all the long-haired breeds, rated 9–10. In comparison: Persians are rated as 6 and Himalayans as 7.
Life Span and Temperament
Balinese tend to live between 18 to 21 years.
Like the Siamese, the Balinese loves attention; it is very playful and fond of human company. Similar to the ancestor "Siamese": the "Balinese" is a vocal breed which may vocalize for no apparent reason, albeit at lower volume than the Siamese. Balinese cats rarely scratch when irritated , but they moan and growl and sometimes hiss.
About the Balinese
A Balinese is a Siamese with a longer coat. They can be found in all the same colours as the Siamese (with the present exception of the newer colours, cinnamon and fawn).
The have the same blue eye colour, the same intelligence and temperament as the Siamese, the only difference being the coat. The Siamese has a short sleek coat, the Balinese has a fine and silky coat, with hair length between half an inch and two inches on the body and a plume-like tail, that can have hair as long as five inches.
Some Balinese owners claim that their cats are quieter than their short haired cousins, whilst others insist that their Balis are just as noisy as Siamese. All Balinese owners agree that their cats are amongst the most graceful and majestic of all the pedigree breeds.
Variants
Shorthaired Balinese, known as Variants, may also be seen (but not at shows) as breeders have constantly bred back to top quality Siamese to improve the type and eye colour of Balinese. Kittens resulting from mating a Balinese to a Siamese have a short plush coat and are known as Variants.
They are invaluable in a Balinese breeding program as they carry the recessive long hair gene which they pass on when mated back to a long haired Balinese or another Variant