Oriental Longhair

It was born in the UK in the 1960s, when several breeders set out to recreate the look of the old Angora from Siamese and Orientals that carried the longhair gene. In Britain it was simply called the Angora for years, until it was renamed to avoid confusion with the Turkish Angora. It is the same cat as the Oriental Shorthair, with a fine body, wedge-shaped head and large ears, but with a semi-long coat and a spectacular plumed tail. Its personality is identical too: sociable, chatty and very dependent on its people. Having no undercoat, it looks less bulky than you might expect and hardly ever tangles.

Despite the coat, it is groomed almost like a shorthair: combing with a long-toothed comb once or twice a week prevents the few mats that form behind the ears and under the legs. It needs intense daily play, tall scratching posts and company; it is not a cat to leave alone for whole days. It appreciates a warm bed. Check its teeth often and get it used to toothbrushing from kittenhood.

It inherits the same predispositions as the rest of the Siamese family: progressive retinal atrophy (rdAc, DNA test available), hepatic amyloidosis, gingivitis and asthma. As it is a minority breed, choose breeders who avoid high inbreeding and can show you the parents' test results. As with the Shorthair, no cat is free of allergens.