General appearance
The Himalayan is a solid cat with a soft appearance. “Their coats are generally uniform in color, with subtle shading on the body and darker shaded ‘points’ on the face, ears, paws legs and tail,” says Jackie Rose, a former Himalayan and Persian breeder.
Himalayans come pointed in chocolate, seal, lilac, red, cream, blue-cream tortie, blue, fawn, silver or cinnamon colors that can also include lynx (tabby points) in those colors. “As they mature, the body shading may darken,” Rose adds.
Similar to Siamese cats, Himalayan kittens are born completely white in color. “Like the Siamese, Himalayan’s have the gene that ‘restricts’ the hair follicle to produce color pigment if over a certain temperature,” says Rose. “As kittens are all warm when in utero, they are born white. The extremities — face, ears, legs, paws and tail — are cooler than the body and thus start producing/showing color in those areas.”
Because of their big bones and long, dense coats, Himalayans can also appear quite large. They also have large, round blue eyes and the appearance of a flat face when viewed straight on, as well as small ears and a snub nose.
