Although it is possible to mate various cat together and produce kittens which look more or less like Oriental Longhairs, only certain matings will produce cats which can be registered and sold as Oriental Longhairs.

Only Oriental Longhairs, Oriental Shorthairs, Balinese and Siamese are allowed in Oriental Longhair pedigrees. (The US Javanese are considered Balinese here, and Colorpoint Shorthairs are Siamese)

Turkish Angoras (often referred to just as Angoras in books and magazines) are a totally separate breed and are not allowed in Oriental Longhair breeding in the UK.

The following is the official registration policy. The amendment to require white parents to be tested for deafness was approved in February 2002

A change of name from Angora to Oriental Longhair (Angora) came into effect officially on 1st June 2003 and the Registration Policy was amended to reflect this name change.

Further amendments were made in February 2005.

The registration of Oriental Longhair Variants was changed from the Reference Register to the Supplementary Register in October 2012.

Registration Policy for Oriental Longhairs

This registration policy applies to all colours of Oriental Longhair which are recognised by GCCF at present. It shall also apply to any other colours of Oriental Longhair which may be produced by a combination of the colour genes already accepted in Oriental Longhairs.

When breeding Oriental Longhairs every attempt should be made to select healthy cats to breed from, free from known hereditary diseases.

If a cat is known to have possessed the gene for Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), its progeny should be screened for PKD, either under the FAB/PKD scheme or by a reliable genetic test, before being used for breeding Oriental Longhairs.

If practical and reliable genetic tests become available for Hepatic and/or Renal Amyloidosis, cats should be screened for this before being used for breeding Oriental Longhairs in order to be aware of the extent of the problem.

If any hereditary disease, for which a practical and reliable test is available, becomes prevalent in Oriental Longhairs, this Registration Policy may be amended to require testing for that particular disease before progeny may be registered on the Active Register, untested cats being registered on the Genetic register.

    Breeds Permitted in the Pedigrees of Oriental Longhairs
A. ORIENTAL LONGHAIRS

Oriental Longhairs are recognised in the following colours: white (green-, blue- and odd-eyed), black (brown), blue, chocolate, lilac, red, black tortie, cream, apricot, blue tortie, chocolate tortie, lilac tortie, cinnamon, cinnamon tortie, caramel, caramel tortie, fawn and fawn tortie. Smoke Oriental Longhairs are recognised in all of the above colours (except white). Tabby Oriental Longhairs and Shaded Oriental Longhairs are recognised in all of the above colours (except white) and the silver versions of all of these.

B. ORIENTAL LONGHAIRS OF UNRECOGNISED COLOURS & ORIENTAL LONGHAIR VARIANTS

Colours which are not yet recognised at Preliminary level but which are produced by a combination of the colour genes already recognised in Oriental Longhairs are accepted in the pedigrees of Oriental Longhairs.

Pointed Oriental Longhairs in any of the accepted Oriental Longhairs colours, or a combination of these colour genes, are accepted in the pedigrees of Oriental Longhairs.

Oriental Longhair Variants, the shorthaired offspring of Oriental Longhair matings to Oriental or Siamese, are accepted in the pedigrees of Oriental Longhairs.

C. BALINESE & BALINESE VARIANTS

Balinese (breed 61, all colours) and Balinese Variants (breed 61v, all colours) are accepted in the pedigrees of Oriental Longhairs.

D. ORIENTAL SHORTHAIRS

Oriental Shorthairs (breeds 29, 29c, 35, 37, 37a, 37d, 37e, 37f, 37fn, 37g, 37h, 37j, 37k, 37m, 37n, 37p, 37r, 37y, 38, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45) are accepted in the pedigrees of Oriental Longhairs.

E. SIAMESE

Siamese (breeds 24, 24a, 24b, 24c, 24k, 24n, 24r, 32, 32a, 32b, 32c, 32fn) are accepted in the pedigrees of Oriental Longhairs.

Pointed cats of any of the Oriental Longhair colours described in A or B above, but which are not yet accepted as Siamese, are accepted in the pedigrees of Oriental Longhairs. e.g. Silver Tabby Point,hadow (Smoke) Point etc. For the purposes of this document these cats will be described as Siamese.

NB Any breeds displaying white spotting (but not the piebald spotting which is the genetic basis for bicolours), white gloving or the gene for Burmese colour restriction are excluded.

F. ORIENTAL BICOLOURS

Oriental Bicolours of all colours and patterns are accepted in the pedigrees of Oriental Longhairs.
Note. Shorthair non-bicolour offspring of bicolour matings will have been registered in the past on the reference register as "xxx point shorthair of Siamese type" or "xxx shorthair of Oriental type". These and Shorthair Oriental Bicolour Variants are to be considered as the appropriate colour and pattern of Siamese or Oriental Shorthair for the purpose of this registration policy.

    Registration Policy
1. FULL REGISTER

Oriental Longhairs with Full or Provisional recognition which have in their pedigrees within five generations only Oriental Longhairs as listed in A above shall be registered on the Full Register, with the exception of those cats whose pedigrees include within three generations a cat registered on the Experimental or Reference Register.

2. SUPPLEMENTARY REGISTER

Oriental Longhairs with Full or Provisional recognition which have in their pedigrees within the preceding five generations only cats of breeds listed in Section I above shall be registered on the Supplementary Register.

Shorthaired cats of Oriental or Siamese appearance which have in their pedigrees within the preceding five generations only cats of breeds listed in Section I above and which are not covered by the Registration Policies for Oriental Shorthairs, Siamese or Balinese shall be registered on the Supplementary Register as Oriental Longhair Variants.

3. EXPERIMENTAL REGISTER

Oriental Longhairs with Preliminary recognition which have in their pedigrees within five generations only cats of breeds listed in Section I above shall be registered on the Experimental Register.

4. REFERENCE REGISTER - I

Oriental Oriental longhairs of breeds, such as those listed in B above, which do not yet have Preliminary recognition but which have in their pedigrees within the preceding five generations only cats of breeds listed in Section I above shall be registered on the Reference Register but shall be eligible to be considered as registered on the Experimental Register in the event of Preliminary recognition of their breed.

Cats of Oriental Longhair appearance produced from matings to other recognised breeds whose Registration Policies permit Oriental Longhairs as an outcross breed shall be registered as directed by the Registration Policy for the other breed, but with no reference to Oriental type, and shall not be permitted in the pedigrees of Oriental Longhairs.

All other cats of Oriental Longhair appearance which have in their pedigrees within the preceding five generations any cats other than cats of breeds listed in Section I above shall be registered on the Reference Register as "no recognised breed" and with no progression, unless accompanied by a five-generation pedigree showing no gloved, Burmese/Tonkinese coloured, Bengal, rex-coated or hair-deficient breeds, together with an explanation of the reason for the outcross: this may be referred to the relevant BAC before progeny may be registered as "LH of Oriental type".

NOTE 1: All Red, Cream or Apricot Oriental Longhairs with one or more Tabby Point, Tabby or Shaded parents must be registered as Red, Cream or Apricot Tabbies or Shadeds until proved otherwise. They may not be registered as Selfs or Smokes until test matings or genetic testing have proved them to be free of the agouti gene.
No cat may be registered as a Red, Cream or Apricot Tabby or Shaded unless it has an agouti parent.

In the case of cats imported onto the GCCF register, no cat with a Tabby Point, Tabby or Shaded within five generations may be registered as a Red, Cream or Apricot Self or Smoke unless either
a. the cat has been proved by test matings or genetic testing to be non-agouti, or
b. there is a non-red, non-agouti cat breaking the line descending from the Tabby/Shaded, or
c. a Red, Cream or Apricot cat in the line descended from the Tabby/Shaded has been proved by test matings or genetic testing to be non-agouti.

NOTE 2: Before the registration of any White Oriental Longhair (62 14, 62 14b, 62 14c) or White Oriental Longhair Variant (62 14v, 62 14bv, 62 14cv), a certificate of freedom from deafness for the white parent(s) must be supplied to the GCCF.

Amendments since first adopted:
January 1994 (Cinnamon, Caramel and Fawn, formerly not accepted as Siamese colours, now recognised)
October 1997 (Addition of Apricot to the recognised colours of Oriental Longhair)
February 2001 (Amendment of E to move Apricot Point to listed colours, Addition of Note 1)
February 2002 (Addition of Note 2)
September 2002 (Approval of change of breed name)
February 2005 (Addition of notes re health andtesting, Oriental Bicolours and amendments of Notes)
June 2012 (Oriental Bicolours allowed in OLH pedigrees. Clearing of tabby for red series cats may be by genetic testing)
October 2012 (Variants registered on the Supplementary rather than Reference register)

N.B.
This ruling shall take effect from 26th April 1989 amended February 2014 and shall not be retrospective. All suitable offspring of two Full Register parents shall themselves be registered on the Full Register. All suitable offspring of two Supplementary or Experimental Register parents, or from one Full Register and one Supplementary or Experimental Register parent, shall be registered on the Supplementary or Experimental Register as appropriate. From 26th April 1989 amended February 201 any kittens born from parents of any breed not listed in Section I shall be registered as defined above.

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