Balinese Breed Information

The Balinese is a breed that’s full of energy and highly active, requiring lots of toys to keep them entertained. They are powerful jumpers and enjoy being high up, thinking nothing of jumping to the top of furniture such as wardrobes. Providing a cat tree should help to encourage your Balinese to stay off the top of your furniture!

Balinese enjoy chatting with people and can be quite vocal at times. They usually enjoy plenty of interaction with their owners, and will happily sit on your lap or even try to get into bed with you.

Breed-related health problems:

Owners are, understandably, upset when their cat develops a health problem linked to its breed. Often they wish they’d known what problems the breed was prone to have. The potential health problems that Balinese are prone to include:

• Progressive retinal atrophy – a genetic eye problem which causes progressive blindness. Tests are available to check for the disease.
• Mediastinal lymphoma – a cancer which typically causes fluid to accumulate around the lungs, causing coughing and breathing difficulties.
• Asthma – a disease of the airway, signs of which can include persistent or bouts of coughing, laboured and/or fast breathing, noisy breathing and wheezing and difficulty breathing.
• Systemic amyloidosis – a disease where protein is deposited abnormally in various organs such as the liver, kidneys and intestines. This can lead to liver failure or kidney failure.

We’d recommend discussing the medical history of your potential kitten’s parents and grandparents, and think very carefully before taking on a cat with any of the health conditions listed above evident in the family line.

Coat care:

Although the Balinese has a long coat, their lack of undercoat means their fur is less likely to tangle. A quick daily comb-through will remove any loose hairs.

Estimated cost over lifetime:

These costs are based on essential items such as:

• A bed, litter and tray
• Grooming items
• Food and bowl
• Preventive treatment such as flea, worming, vaccinations and neutering
• Toys
• Cat carrier
• Pet insurance

This does not include initial purchase cost, non-essential items (such as holiday care) or potential veterinary treatment of which an excess needs to be paid before your pet may be covered by pet insurance.

Insure your Balinese Cat with PDSA:

1 in 3 pets need vet treatment each year and vet bills can come to hundreds of pounds. PDSA Pet Insurance can give you peace of mind when your cat is poorly, especially for breeds like Balinese that are prone to certain conditions. PDSA Pet Insurance offers:

• 5 Star Pet Insurance* - from the vet experts
• 4 levels of cover to suit you
• Monthly payment at no extra cost

*Defaqto 5 Star rating applies to our Plus and Premier policies only. Defaqto’s Star Ratings provide an independent assessment of the quality of financial products.

By insuring your Balinese cat with PDSA you’ll also be helping to provide vet care to some of the UK’s neediest pets.

For more information on taking care of your cat please visit our kitten and cat section.

Rehoming from a reputable source:

Where you get a cat from can have a big effect on how healthy and happy it is for the rest of its life. Find out where our PDSA vet experts recommend you get your cat from.

Not sure if the Balinese is the right pet for you?