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Breed guide · Cats
He has Siamese eyes and a Persian's view of exercise. I comb him out before my coffee.
Last updated 13 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
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At home
Tears down the side of the nose, and a brown stain in the pale fur under the eyes.
What's going onTheir flat face squeezed the tear ducts, so tears spill instead of draining. A daily wipe keeps the skin clean. If you see a squint or a cloudy eye, contact your vet the same day.
At home
Flat out on the bathroom tiles, or refusing to leave the coolest room in the flat.
What's going onA flat face and a thick coat make cooling down hard work, and the tiles are how they cope. Keep the air conditioning on while they are home alone.
At home
Blue eyes and dark points, and a cat who would rather watch you than chase anything.
What's going onIf you expected Siamese chatter, many Himalayans are as calm as a Persian. They will not ask to play, so offer it: two short games a day. A cat this quiet also hides pain well.
At home
A knot behind the ear one day, a felted patch under the leg a few days later.
What's going onTheir coat is longer than any cat can groom alone. Comb right down to the skin every day, and keep the fur around their bottom short.
At home
The mask, ears, paws and tail look deeper than they did last year.
What's going onTheir colouring is set by temperature: cooler parts of the body grow darker fur. It can deepen with age or in a cold, air-conditioned flat, and clipped fur may grow back darker for a while. It is normal.
At home
The water bowl empties faster, and the clumps in the tray get bigger.
What's going onPolycystic Kidney Disease (PKD, cysts in the kidneys) came with their Persian side, and stays quiet for years. Drinking more, or bigger clumps in the tray, is worth telling your vet about.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their look
Built for: Siamese colours on a Persian face and coat, bred for the show bench.
In Dubai: Eyes that do not drain, and a coat that mats if you miss a day.
The heat
Built for: Nothing. Nobody bred them for heat.
In Dubai: A Dubai summer is hard on a face this flat.
Pain
Built for: A calm cat who sat still to be groomed and shown.
In Dubai: A cat so calm that a sore tooth or a sore eye can go unnoticed. The daily comb is your chance to spot it.
They look like a Siamese and live like a Persian.
The few minutes you spend on their face and coat each day are when you will notice that something has changed. The ten things below show you what to look for.
Your plan is built around what a Himalayan is prone to at every age, from their kidneys and eyes to their teeth, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
Their tear ducts drain badly, so tears sit on the skin and stain it, and a damp fold can get sore.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
Their tear ducts drain badly, so tears sit on the skin and stain it, and a damp fold can get sore.
What to do
Once a day, use a soft pad dampened in cool boiled water. Wipe from the inner corner of each eye down along the nose, with a fresh pad for each eye, then dry the fold under the eyes. Look as you go: are both eyes open the same amount, clear and bright? A brachycephalic airway and tear-duct evaluation (a breathing and tear-duct exam, given their flat face) is in your plan as a kitten, and eye and tear-duct care in their junior and prime adult years.
Their eyes sit further forward and are more exposed, and an injury to the surface of the eye can get worse quickly.
Every age, most of all kittens after rough play and older cats
Why
Their eyes sit further forward and are more exposed, and an injury to the surface of the eye can get worse quickly.
What to do
If they squint, keep one eye shut, paw at their face, or you see a cloudy or blue patch on the eye, contact your vet the same day. Do not wait to see if it clears.
Their face and their coat both make cooling down harder, and heat is what their body handles worst.
Every age, most of all kittens and older cats
Why
Their face and their coat both make cooling down harder, and heat is what their body handles worst.
What to do
Air conditioning on while they are home alone, from spring to autumn. Never on a balcony or in a parked car. Cool the car before they get in, and keep the carrier out of the sun. If they breathe with their mouth open, cool them with a damp towel and contact your vet now.
Their coat mats in days, and mats pull at the skin.
Every age, most of all 7 months to 6 years
Why
Their coat mats in days, and mats pull at the skin.
What to do
A wide-toothed metal comb, then a finer one, behind the ears, under the legs and along the belly. Five minutes, with a treat at the end. Keep the fur around their bottom short and clean. Never cut a mat out with scissors: the skin sits right under it. If they ever need clipping, the fur may grow back darker for a while. In their junior and prime adult years, your vet sets a daily coat grooming plan for them, as part of your plan.
They will not ask to play the way a louder cat does, but they are still a hunter, and a short hunt keeps their weight steady.
Every age, slower and lower from 7 years
Why
They will not ask to play the way a louder cat does, but they are still a hunter, and a short hunt keeps their weight steady.
What to do
A wand toy moved slowly along the floor, away from them and behind furniture. Two or three minutes, twice a day, in the coolest room. Let them catch it, then give them a small meal or a treat. Stop if their breathing gets louder.
Their face makes eating awkward, and a quiet cat gains weight without anyone noticing. Extra weight also makes breathing and cooling harder.
Every age, portions reset after neutering
Why
Their face makes eating awkward, and a quiet cat gains weight without anyone noticing. Extra weight also makes breathing and cooling harder.
What to do
Feed from a wide, shallow dish, so they can reach their food without pushing their face into it. Weigh their daily food and split it into small meals. Once a month, weigh yourself holding them, then without them, and note the difference.
Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD, cysts in the kidneys) is the first risk on their health record, and it is silent for years.
Every age, start wet food as a kitten
Why
Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD, cysts in the kidneys) is the first risk on their health record, and it is silent for years.
What to do
Some wet food every day. Two or three wide water bowls around the flat, away from their food and their tray, washed daily. Notice if they start drinking more, or the clumps in their tray get bigger, and tell your vet. A PKD renal ultrasound (a scan of the kidneys) is in your plan as a kitten, a junior and a prime adult.
Bladder trouble shows in the tray first, and long fur holds on to litter and faeces.
Every age, most of all 7 months to 6 years
Why
Bladder trouble shows in the tray first, and long fur holds on to litter and faeces.
What to do
Scoop daily in a low-sided tray with unscented litter, kept in the same quiet place. Watch for them going in and out often, straining, crying or passing blood. A male cat straining, crying or going in and out of the tray with little or nothing coming out may have a blocked bladder. That is an emergency: contact your vet now. If a female cat is straining, contact your vet the same day.
Their teeth are crowded into a short jaw, trapped food means gum disease, and cats keep eating with sore teeth.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
Their teeth are crowded into a short jaw, trapped food means gum disease, and cats keep eating with sore teeth.
What to do
Lift their lip gently and look at their teeth and gums. Start brushing as a kitten, a few seconds at a time, with cat toothpaste. Tell your vet if they drop food, chew on one side or go off hard food. An annual dental evaluation (teeth and gum check) is in your plan from their junior years.
Their health depends on being handled: eyes wiped, coat combed, mouth looked at. A cat who is used to gentle hands finds a vet visit far less frightening, and gets a more thorough look.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
Their health depends on being handled: eyes wiped, coat combed, mouth looked at. A cat who is used to gentle hands finds a vet visit far less frightening, and gets a more thorough look.
What to do
Leave the carrier out, door open, with a blanket inside, so it is somewhere they sleep. Every day, touch their face, paws and belly for a few seconds, then give them a treat. On the day of a visit, cover the carrier with a towel and carry it level.
Four of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 6 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
11 to 14 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
15 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
One cat, three names
You may see any of the three names on a breeder's paperwork: Himalayan in America, Colourpoint in Britain, or simply Persian. It is the same cat, a Persian in Siamese colours, and they need the same daily care.
Colours
Every Himalayan has a pale body with a darker face, ears, paws and tail, and blue eyes. The points run from deep seal brown and chocolate to soft blue and lilac, through flame, cream and tortie, and even tabby-striped lynx points.
The first months
A minute with the comb, a few seconds with a damp pad, then a treat. A kitten who learns it now is an adult who lets you, and their face and coat will need you every day of their life.
Getting the home ready
Air conditioning that stays on while you are out, a wide, flat dish, and a low-sided tray with unscented litter. Give them somewhere low to hide as well as somewhere to climb, then keep it all where it is. Change stresses them more than it looks.
Before you commit
With a face this flat and the Persian's kidneys, their care starts in the kitten months: a scan of the kidneys for Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD, cysts in the kidneys), and an evaluation of their airway and tear ducts, so you know where you stand from the start.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
If it's a kitten: First 30 days with a new kitten · Kitten vaccinations in the UAE
When it is not behaviour.
He'll still skip the exercise. If he starts skipping meals too, call your vet.
Before they were yours.
1871 onwards
Their body, coat and face are the Persian's, bred on European show benches from the first cat show at Crystal Palace.
What they still carryThe Persian's build, coat and calm.
The 1930s
In Massachusetts, a Harvard researcher and a breeder crossed a Siamese with a Persian to see how the Siamese colouring is passed on. They got a long-haired colourpoint kitten, published the result and stopped.
What they still carrySiamese points and blue eyes on a Persian coat.
1955 and 1957
After about ten years of breeding in Britain, the cat was recognised as the Colourpoint Longhair in 1955. In America it became the Himalayan in 1957.
What they still carrySiamese colouring, with the Siamese body and voice bred back out.
1984
One American registry made the Himalayan a colour of the Persian. Bred to Persians, the face flattened in step with theirs.
What they still carryThe Persian's short skull, and the Persian's kidneys.
Today
A common pedigree in the UAE, living indoors in air conditioning.
What they still carryA flat-faced, long-coated cat who needs daily help with their eyes and coat.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Himalayan suits you, so might these.
PersianThe same kind of cat: the same flat face, long coat and calm, in solid colours, silvers and tabbies instead of points
Exotic ShorthairThe same kind of cat: the same quiet nature, in a short, plush coat that needs only a weekly comb
British LonghairThe same calm, quiet temperament, in a bigger, round-faced cat with a normal nose and a coat combed several times a week
Domestic LonghairA similar size and a long coat too, with no pedigree and no flat face, brushed a few times a week instead of every day
