Coloring
Himalayans have Siamese-like coloring -- a cream colored body with "points" of darker color on the face, ears, feet, and tail. Point colors are seal, blue, chocolate, lilac, red, cream, tortoiseshell, blue-cream, seal-lynx, and blue-lynx. (Lynx points have bars of slightly darker color on the points.) Nose and paw pad colors correspond to point color.

Eye Color: Deep, vivid blue.

Physical Attributes
Medium to large in size; short, stocky body; large head on short neck; snublike nose; small ears set low on head; large, round eyes; short, full tail in proportion to body length; long fine coat with ruff around neck.

Personality
Intelligent and outgoing; devoted, gentle, and affectionate; fairly vocal; gets along well with other pets.

Health Problems
The same problems seen in Persians afflict this breed: tear overflow; constricted nostrils (which may lead to noisy breathing and may also make the cat less able to cope with high temperatures); dental malocclusions (teeth that fail to meet each other properly, possibly causing more rapid buildup of plaque and tartar); cherry eye; entropion; polycystic kidney disease; seborrhea oleosa (a skin condition that causes itchiness, redness, and hair loss); susceptibility to ringworm. These cats are also notorious for litter box lapses, at least in part because they dislike having litter granules stuck to their feet and in their fur.