Balinese Kittens: Adopt or Buy in Australia?

Should you adopt or buy a Balinese?

It depends on whether the papers matter. If you want a registered Balinese with known parents and DNA results, a council-registered breeder is the only route, and with this breed you should expect to make enquiries and wait. If what you want is a talkative, affectionate Siamese-type cat, the Siamese and long-haired cats in rescue are worth watching: numbers change daily, and the fee covers desexing, microchipping and vaccination.

The RSPCA Australia Knowledgebase encourages prospective owners to adopt from the RSPCA or another reputable animal welfare, rehoming or rescue organisation. If you buy from a breeder, it suggests at a minimum checking they are registered by the relevant authority in your state or territory, visiting the place where the animal was born, and meeting the parents, especially the mother.

Rescue fees read 12 November 2026 on the pages linked below. Reference only, not a quote: rescues set and change their own fees, so check with them.

How do the Australian registries treat the Balinese and the Javanese?

The CCCA and the ACF each publish a Balinese standard that ties it to the Siamese, and ANCATS includes it in its breed profiles. The names differ for the unpointed longhair version. Read on 12 November 2026:

The Tasmanian Feline Association lists “Oriental Longhair (Javanese)” in the same Group 2 as the Balinese and Siamese, so you will see both names in Australian pedigrees. If a breeder offers a “Javanese”, ask which council registered it and under which breed name.

Overseas, TICA calls the Balinese a longhaired variety of the Siamese and part of its Siamese Breed Group, with the Siamese, Oriental Shorthair and Oriental Longhair. The Cat Fanciers' Association says longhaired kittens appeared in Siamese litters as far back as the early 1900s, that breeders began developing the Balinese in the 1940s, and that it was accepted for CFA championship competition in 1970. The CFA accepted non-traditional colours under the name Javanese in 1979, and in 2008 its breeders voted to combine the two as one breed with separate divisions.

What the Australian standard asks for

• Coat: semi-long, fine and silky, without undercoat, shorter on the head and shoulders, with a long, feathery tail plume. The CCCA penalises a definite double or woolly coat.
• Type: the Siamese wedge head, large flared ears and long, svelte body; the CCCA penalises a lack of Siamese type.
• Colour: pointed, in the Siamese colours and patterns, with decidedly blue eyes. White toes or incorrect eye colour rule a cat out of awards.
• Breeding note: since 2008 the CCCA standard says offspring of shorthair and longhair matings are not to be bred into shorthair programmes.

For the Siamese side of the family, including how the modern and traditional looks differ, see our guide to applehead vs modern Siamese.

What does a Balinese kitten cost in Australia?

We could not find a published price. No Australian cat council or club publishes a Balinese price, and Cats Victoria (GCCFV) says kitten pricing is up to individual breeders and will vary depending on the breed. In November 2026 we looked for Balinese catteries on council breeder lists and through search. The Cats Victoria, NSW CFA and GCCFSA breeder directories had no Balinese breeder listings; the Australian Balinese catteries we found advertise through directory listings without a website of their own or without a published price; the Siamese and Oriental catteries we read that publish a price do not list Balinese; and the other Balinese cattery websites we found were overseas. That is what we could check, not proof that no Australian breeder publishes a price. We do not quote overseas prices or prices from listing sites or social media.

Reference figures only, not quotes. Rescues set and change their own fees, so check with them; RSPCA NSW says its animals are desexed, microchipped, vaccinated and health-checked before adoption. Fees in other states are in our guide to kittens for sale in Australia. For what Siamese breeders publish, see our Siamese kittens guide; those prices are for Siamese, not Balinese.

When you ask a breeder, Cats Victoria suggests asking whether the kitten is desexed, how many vaccinations it has had, whether it is microchipped and whether there is a health guarantee.

Which health tests should a Balinese breeder show you?

The Australian Cat Federation's minimum testing list (October 2025) names two DNA tests for the Balinese and adds that because Balinese are freely interbred with Siamese and Oriental Shorthair and Longhair cats, testing for all diseases relevant to those breeds is recommended. The Siamese entry on the same list is longer.

Source: ACF DNA tests by breed (October 2025), read 12 November 2026. A test being on the list means breeders should screen for it, not that every line carries it. This is a buying checklist, not veterinary advice. The ACF also says AB blood group types should be monitored in all breeds.

UC Davis says PRA rdAc is autosomal recessive: a carrier sees normally, but two carriers bred together can produce affected kittens, and there is no treatment. Ask to see results for both parents, with names or microchip numbers that match the litter. The CFA says Balinese are generally healthy but can be predisposed to some conditions, from minor ones such as crossed eyes or tail kinks to others that need genetic or physical testing.

Are Balinese cats good for allergies?

Not reliably. The Balinese appears on some “hypoallergenic” lists: RSPCA South Australia, for example, names it among cat breeds that are considered hypoallergenic, while saying no furry friend is 100% allergen free. The medical position is plainer. The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) says that as all cats have sebaceous glands, all cat breeds can cause allergies.

If anyone at home has a cat allergy or asthma, talk to a doctor first, and spend long, repeated visits with the individual cat before committing. A breeder who guarantees a kitten will not trigger allergies is making a promise no one can keep. Our guide to hypoallergenic cats in Australia covers the evidence and how to test a cat.

What is a Balinese like to live with?

The Cat Fanciers' Association describes the Balinese as vocal, affectionate and active: alert and always curious, less talkative than the Siamese, but with “ongoing conversation” the norm. TICA says Balinese prefer to be near their people, though not always directly on top of them, gives adult females about 5 to 8 pounds (about 2.3 to 3.6 kg) and males about 8 to 12 pounds (about 3.6 to 5.4 kg), and says kittens do not fully develop until 18 to 24 months.

Grooming is lighter than the coat suggests. The CFA says Balinese are single-coated with no downy undercoat, so they are not susceptible to mats, and recommends combing or brushing several times a month to control shedding.

• Good fit: a home where someone is around much of the day and a chatty, people-focused cat is welcome.
• Think twice: long days out, a wish for a quiet cat, or choosing the breed for allergies.

Our Sydney guide to Siamese temperament and companionship covers the family personality in depth. Not sure what kind of cat suits you? Try the what cat breed am I quiz, and see our cost of owning a cat guide for the ongoing costs.

How do you check a Balinese breeder?

Rescue is not right for everyone. A registered breeder makes sense if you want a kitten with known parents and DNA results, a particular point colour, or plan to show. If you go that way:

1. Registration. Ask which council the breeder belongs to: ANCATS, a member body of the Australian Cat Federation, or a member council of the CCCA. Check with that council directly.
2. The breed name on the papers. Balinese, Javanese or Oriental Longhair mean different things to different councils.
3. DNA results for both parents: PRA rdAc, PKD 1 and the Siamese-relevant tests the breeder runs.
4. Amyloidosis history. It is listed for the Siamese with no DNA test; ask whether it has appeared in the lines.
5. The mother, in person or on a live video call, before any deposit.
6. Age and paperwork. At least 10 weeks old (ANCATS recommends 12), vaccinated, microchipped and desexed or with desexing agreed in writing. Our kittens for sale guide has each state's rules for kitten ads.

What do Balinese kitten scams look like?

Scamwatch says scammers set up fake websites, and fake social media and marketplace profiles, to get you to pay for popular breeds and pets that do not exist. Its advice: view the pet in person by visiting the breeder or seller, ask to see the pet on a video call with the breeder, verify the breeder is legitimate and accredited, and compare prices, because a very cheap pet is likely a scam. It also warns about being asked to pay by money order, pre-loaded card, or to several different PayIDs or accounts.

• “Hypoallergenic” guarantees. ASCIA says all cat breeds can cause allergies.
• A fluffy pointed kitten sold as a Balinese without papers. A fluffy colourpoint kitten could be any longhaired cat with pointed parents.
• “Registered” with no council named, or a membership you cannot confirm with that council.
• Copied photos. Run a reverse image search on the kitten photos and search a sentence of the ad.

If you have already paid, contact your bank straight away and report it to Scamwatch.

Where to find a Balinese type cat to adopt

We do not have a Balinese breed page, so watch the Siamese and long-haired cat listings and set an alert. A rescue's breed label describes how a cat looks; the foster carer can tell you how vocal it is and how it copes with time alone.

Siamese listings

• Siamese for adoption in Sydney
• Siamese for adoption in Melbourne
• Siamese for adoption in Brisbane
• Siamese for adoption in Perth
• Siamese for adoption in Adelaide
• Australia-wide: the Siamese and Oriental Shorthair breed pages.

Long-haired cats

Long-haired cats in Sydney, Long-haired cats in Melbourne, Long-haired cats in Brisbane, Long-haired cats in Perth, Long-haired cats in Adelaide. Our Sydney guides cover Siamese adoption and Siamese health issues.

Before you apply, the adoption readiness check takes a few minutes, and our guide to adopting a cat in Australia walks through the process.