Javanese (Balinese Lynx Point)
The Balinese breed, like that of the Siamese, also comes in additional colors outside the primary colors of seal, blue, chocolate, and lilac. Lynx points, or what I like to call them, "Wildcat Points", are very beautiful and exotic in both color and in design.
They come in the four primary pointed colors but have stripes. This added touch makes them look as if they are straight from the wild, resembling a wild lynx cat or white Siberian tiger. The lynx point Balinese cat is also classified as a separate breed in itself due to how they aren't considered a natural color of the Siamese/Balinese, and they're mainly specified as Javanese; the sister island of the Balinese island, because of their close proximity to each other.
The reason for this is to separate the actual lines that created the lynx point design from the original points seen normally in the Balinese breed. This doesn't mean that lynx pointed Balinese are not purebred, as this cross took place many generations ago, but it also assures the difference between those lines where the Siamese/Balinese bloodline has been established to also produce these lynx pointed Siamese/Balinese.
Javanese (Balinese Lynx Point) History
Lynx points were first seen in many other cat breeds by the efforts of past cat fanciers who wanted to produce additional colors and designs in future litters. With this in mind, they wanted to pass on the genetic features of the “tabby” or lynx point design to other breeds to obtain the stripes that would otherwise be impossible to obtain.
The lynx point design in the Siamese and Balinese breed comes from the previous breedings of a purebred Balinese/Siamese cat with a tabby house cat or a colorpoint shothair, meaning a Siamese crossed with a tabby cat. The word "tabby" comes from the Spanish "tabi", meaning a cloth with irregular tie-die like stripe markings. Lynx points are also referred to as “tabby” cats where their stripping and design resemble that of a tabby house cat.
The first Javanese cats were produced around the end of the 1900s, with breeders in primarily New York among other states working together to promote a cat that resembled the Balinese but that had an added touch.
The Javanese is now a popular breed with its exotic looks and Siamese/Balinese personality and appearance. This overall combination makes for a wonderful house cat for those wanting a touch of the “wild” side to their regular house cat or Balinese primary colors.
Javanese (Balinese Lynx) Color Points
Seal Lynx Point
The Seal Lynx point is one of the most popular and most common Lynx point color variation in the breed(s). They are the darkest form of all Lynx points with dark brown to black, or seal coloring persisting in its points and throughout its body. Lynx pointed Balinese cats resemble the true wild Lynx cat, and are very exotic looking which is how this pattern variation got its name.
A Seal Lynx points' markings are tabby stripes between its face, legs, tail and body that tend to be colored black, dark brown. Like all Lynx point variations, the Seal Lynx point will have an M marked on its forehead. This Lynx mark will be a dark brown, black color due to its Seal point characteristics. A Seal Lynx pointed cat will generally have a dark, black colored tail with some or very faint dark brown rings/stripes.
The Seal lynx point kitten is the easiest to distinguish in a kitten litter due to their darker color and apparent stripes.
Chocolate Lynx Point
The Lynx point version of the Chocolate point Balinese is very similar to the Seal Lynx point but is lighter in color with light to dark brown markings and a white-ivory to white-tan body.
As the Traditional Chocolate point, its brown points and color will vary from a light brown to almost a dark chocolate' brown. Its brown/chocolate coloring persists in its points and tails, with the exception of its body which remains much lighter just as the Traditional Chocolate point having an ivory colored body.
For some, the differences between a Chocolate Lynx point and Seal Lynx point are not very apparent and they can be hard to distinguish. The way to distinguish a Chocolate Lynx point from a Seal Lynx point will be through its nose as Chocolate Lynx points have a brown, velvet color nose while Seal Lynx points tend to always have black noses.
Chocolate Lynx point kittens can be a bit difficult to distinguish in a litter until the apparent white body remains being that Seal Lynx point kittens will have a darker, brownish hue colored body.
Blue Lynx Point
The Lynx point variation of the blue point is a cat whose profound points are of a dark silver to bluish grey color, and has tabby/Lynx markings of the same color point throughout its body, face, tail and feet. Like all Lynx points, it will carry an M on its forehead with its color variation.
Blue Lynx points can easily be distinguished from the Lilac Lynx point through the difference in its darker Lynx markings. Blue Lynx points have a light to dark grey hue throughout its body rather than a faint or ivory colored hue as seen in Lilac Lynx points; just like Traditional Blue color points are darker than Lilac points. Their nose and tail are that of a dark grey-silver leather color.
The way to distinguish a Blue Lynx point from a Seal Lynx point will be through its nose. Blue Lynx points have a greyish-velvet color nose while Seal Lynx points tend to always have black noses.
Blue Lynx point kittens will have a very faint greyish color around its face and other points.
Lilac Lynx Point
The Lynx point variation of the Lilac point is the rarest color variation of all the Lynx points. The Lilac Lynx point is the lightest of all the Lynx point color variations. Their color tends to remain a light silver, or greyish hue and it as well has a tinge of pink or lavender that is noticeable in the sun.
Lilac Lynx point kittens are the hardest to distinguish at birth because of their lighter color. They closely resemble their Traditional Lilac pointed counterparts until kittens are old enough to compare faces. A Lilac Lynx point will have a white ring around its eye and M forehead marking only seen in Lynx pointed cats, the Traditional Lilac point does no thave this M on its forehead or tabby stripes.
The reason why Lilac Lynx points are rarer is because they do not commonly appear in kitten litters. There are breeders who have only produced 1-2 Lilac Lynx points in a couple of years. It is believed that if breeding pair has two or more Lilac point ancestors in their breeding lines, there is a higher probability in producing Lilac Lynx points, but this is only a theory.
Not only are lilac lynx point Balinese very rare, but they're very beautiful and resemble the “snow” or white Siberian tigers in the wild. Because of the lilac lynx's appearance, many breeders or fanciers like to describe lynx points as “snow tiger” cats. In my opinion, the only Balinese Lynx point resembling snow tigers are the lilac lynx points due to their lighter and contrasted colors.
