What is a Javanese cat?

The term 'Javanese cat' is confusing. This can happen sometimes in the cat fancy. There is some confusion surrounding the Siamese family of cats and the Javanese is in that 'family'. It depends where you are as to what it means.

Female Adult Blue Lynx Point Javanese Cat
 photo: Wikipedia.

Years ago, I wrote about this so I'll use my own words. This description applies to the USA:

"If the Balinese is a “Modern” Siamese with long fur, the Javanese is a Balinese with “unconventional” (non-traditional) points. Confused? It is also described as an Oriental Longhair with points."

To put it another way, in the USA, the Javanese is a longhaired, contemporary Siamese cat with pointing that is not of the traditional colours such as lynx points (tabby), tortoiseshell points, cream points and flame points. By 'contemporary' I mean the super-slender body conformation compared to the regular domestic cat body conformation which is popular nowadays.

In New Zealand, according to Dr. Morris (Cat World), 'Javanese cat' means a longhaired Siamese cat with spotted or self-coloured coats (having only a single and uniform colour).

In Britain, Dr. Morris says that the term means "long-haired Oriental cats, originally bred to recreate the Angora."

Like I said it is confusing. As the US is the world's biggest marketplace for purebred cats by far, I would take the US definition as the most used and definitive.

Javanese Cat another relative of the Siamese

The Siamese cat has an extended family. There are several cat breeds that could almost be Siamese cats but are not treated as such by some cat associations; the CFA being one such association. One breed of cat that is closely related is the Javanese. In the United States, it is a longhaired modern Siamese cat (called the Balinese cat by some associations) with non-standard pointing. It is sometimes described as an Oriental Longhair that is pointed. The Oriental Shorthair is another related cat. The Javanese is a very elegant cat with a wonderful plumed tail. Please remember that the body conformation of the cat in the Helmi picture is oriental meaning slender. This is the body of what I call a Modern Siamese. There are traditional cats that are more normal in conformation.

Javanese cat photo - "4Ever"- copyright Helmi Flick

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The non-traditional points are:

• cream
• lynx: seal, blue, chocolate, lilac
• tortoiseshell
• flame

Read and see more about the Javanese cat by clicking on this link.

The description "Javanese cat" means something different in Europe and the UK. The Javanese cat has nothing to do with the island called Java; an island that is part of Indonesia.