{"id":2149,"date":"2022-08-10T12:57:30","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T10:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlinecatworld.com\/?p=2149"},"modified":"2022-08-10T12:58:03","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T10:58:03","slug":"tibetan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlinecatworld.com\/tibetan\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tibetan: a half-haired and sociable cat"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Tibetan originated from a cross between the Balinese and the Tonkinese. It is actually the long-haired variant of the Tonkinese, just like the Balinese is the long-haired variant of the Siamese. The nice thing about this breed, is that it originated in the Netherlands. Quite recently, in 1997, this breed was officially recognized. Just like its Oriental ancestors, this breed also has a cozy and curious character. Would you like to know how the Tibetan originated in the Netherlands<\/strong>? Then read on!<\/p>\n

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The origin: from the Netherlands!<\/h2>\n

The Tibetan is a breed that originated in the Netherlands. Agnes Driessen is the Dutch person who has dedicated herself to the development of this breed. Since 1997 it is an officially recognized breed. It is actually a half-haired variant of the Tonkinese, but with its own breed name.<\/p>\n

The story of the Tibetan begins with Agnes breeding the Balinese<\/a>. This breed is the long-haired variant of the Siamese. Originally this was a fairly round and sturdy breed in contrast to the Siamese, which often had a pointed and slimmer appearance. The American line of Balinese worked more and more towards this Siamese appearance for the Balinese. When these Balinese of American descent were more and more to be seen in cat shows in the Netherlands, it was decided that the Dutch Balinese also had to have this appearance.<\/p>\n

Agnes did not like changing the standard of the Balinese. She preferred the more rounded version. That’s why she decided to focus on another Eastern breed, the Tonkinese. These were only not to be found in the Netherlands, so she went looking for a Siamese and Burmese. By crossing these two breeds the Tonkinese is created.<\/strong> Agnes already had a Balinese, which is actually a long-haired Siamese. She decided to cross this long-haired Siamese with a Burmese. In this way also short haired Tonkinese kittens were born, only they carried the long-haired gene. As the long hair did appeal to Agnes, she decided to cross these Tonkinese kittens with the long-haired gene with the Balinese (or long-haired Siamese). The crossing of these two resulted in the long-haired Tonkinese, which we now know as the Tibetan.<\/p>\n

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The character: a talkative inquisitive eagle<\/h2>\n

The Tibetan has many of the same characters as his ancestors the Siamese, Balinese and Tonkinese. It is a very affectionate breed that is quite demanding<\/strong>. They hate to be alone for a long time. A busy family with many children or several animals is the best place for this breed. They also show this demanding by their vocal qualities. It is therefore quite possible to have an entire conversation with the Tibetan and they also respond well to the shouting of their name.<\/p>\n

The Tibetan also has a very curious nature. They like to walk around the house and discover all kinds of new places. Of course this is not always desirable, so you might encounter them in places they are not allowed to go. And even if you close the door of the forbidden place, the Tibetan is so intelligent that he knows how to open it. This nature is also not always suitable for outdoors, because it can cause them to get lost. That is why the Tibetan is especially suitable to keep as a domestic cat, if there is at least enough space. <\/strong>When they go outside it is often recommended to put a good fence around the garden, so that they don’t get lost in their curiosity. This inquisitive nature is always entertaining and with their intelligence they always know how to make new antics.<\/p>\n

In addition, the Tibetan has canine characteristics. Where listening carefully to their name is already one of them, they also like to fetch objects. They can do this for a very long time. And besides that, the Tibetan can really become a buddy of the owner. They can become very attached to their owners.<\/p>\n

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Appearance: a slim and muscular appearance<\/h2>\n

The Tibetan’s appearance is also very similar to that of his ancestors. It is a slim and muscular animal, which therefore does not look very heavy, but is relatively heavy because of its muscles. They weigh between 2.5 and 5.5 kilograms on average.<\/p>\n

The construction is also very elegant and of medium size. The Tibetan belongs to the group of Oriental cat breeds. They are all quite the same in appearance, with some small differences. The Tibetan mainly resembles the original Balinese, which is somewhat rounder and fuller than the Siamese. They have a slim body and well-developed muscles. The legs are long and end in oval feet. The head is wedge shaped with big ears that are wide apart. The eyes are oval shaped. This breed has a rare eye colour called aquamarine. This is a blue-green colour that only occurs in Tibetan and Tonkinese. This is because the Balinese have blue eyes and the Burmese have golden eyes. After mixing these colours the colour aquamarine is created.<\/p>\n

The coat is half-long with a nice plume tail. The coat is silky and very shiny and does not tangle as much as other long-haired breeds. This is because there is no undercoat. This undercoat is short and consists of thin and soft hairs. It is a kind of down coat that has an insulating function. Because the coat is half-long, this insulating function is less necessary and the undercoat will decay.<\/p>\n

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The coat colour and coat patterns that occur<\/h2>\n

The Tibetan has inherited the colourpoint coat pattern from his ancestors. This pattern has the characteristic that only certain parts of the coat are darker coloured and other parts a bit lighter. The pattern is the result of a genetic mutation that causes less pigment to be produced. This mutation is temperature dependent, which means that the mutation has more influence on warm areas. This makes the coat lighter in warm places. These are areas such as the belly and neck. Colder spots such as the muzzle, tail and legs therefore colour darker.<\/p>\n

For the Tibetan, this is a mixture of the appearance of the Burmese and that of the Siamese and Balinese. The Burmese has little contrast between the darker and lighter parts, so the lighter parts are also relatively dark. The Siamese or Balinese has much more contrast between the light and dark parts. In the Tibetan both the Burmese and the Siamese\/Balinese variant of this pattern can be found.<\/p>\n

When the Tibetan is born the coat does not show a colourpoint pattern yet. This only develops into its permanent colour later on.<\/p>\n

The coat colours<\/strong><\/h3>\n

And as for all other external features, the coat colours can also be related to the ancestors. These breeds are mainly characterised by dark colours, i.e. black, brown or grey. Often all kinds of terms are invented to refer to the entire coat with respect to colour and pattern. With the Tibetan and the Tonkinese the coat names Mink and Sepia often occur, but these names mainly say how the colourpoint has developed in this specific cat.<\/p>\n

The colours that are common with these Eastern races, and therefore also with the Tibetan, are:<\/p>\n