Himalayan Kittens: Adopt or Buy in Australia?

The short answer

If you want a papered Himalayan (colourpoint Persian) kitten, buy from a breeder registered with a cat council, ask to see both parents' PKD and Persian PRA results, and choose parents with open nostrils and a moderate face. In November 2026 the colourpoint specialists we found published no price on their own websites, and no council or club publishes one, so ask registered breeders directly. If what you want is a calm longhaired companion, check the live Persian and longhaired listings (numbers change daily); a rescue cat costs a rescue fee (RSPCA NSW listed $220 for a cat over 6 months on 12 November 2026). Fees change, so check with them; reference only, not a quote.

A long-coated seal point Himalayan (colourpoint Persian) with blue eyes lying on a grey sofa — Colour on the mask, ears, legs, paws and tail, with blue eyes: in Australia this is registered as a colourpoint Persian.

Should you adopt or buy a Himalayan?

It depends on whether the papers and the colour pattern matter. If you want a registered colourpoint Persian with known parents and DNA results, a council-registered breeder is the only route. If what you want is a gentle, longhaired lap cat, check the live Persian and longhaired listings (numbers change daily); the rescue fee covers desexing, microchipping and vaccination. Either way, a Himalayan is a daily grooming commitment and, if the face is very flat, a health commitment too.

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.

Route	Reference cost	What you usually get	Main risk
Registered breeder	No colourpoint price published on member breeders' own websites (November 2026); ask	A papered colourpoint Persian with known parents and PKD and PRA results	Waiting lists; very flat faces with breathing and eye problems
Rescue	A rescue fee; see the examples below	A Persian or longhaired cat when one is listed (numbers change daily), desexed, microchipped and vaccinated	Unknown parents and health history; coats may need a reset groom
Online ad or social media	Anything; Scamwatch says a very cheap pet is likely a scam	Anything from a real litter to a kitten that does not exist	Scams, untested parents, pointed crossbreds sold as Himalayans

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.

Is the Himalayan a separate breed in Australia?

Not in the standards the Australian registries publish. Each one folds the Himalayan into the Persian, which matters when you read a pedigree or a breeder's registration. Read on 12 November 2026:

Registry	How it treats the Himalayan	What it says
CCCA	No Himalayan standard; a “Pointed Group” inside the Persian standard (issue date November 2024)	“Coat pattern is confined to the extremities (points) i.e. mask, ears, legs, paws and tail.” Eye colour “Decidedly blue; the deeper the better”. “The type standard is the same for all Persians and Exotic Shorthairs.”
ACF	No Himalayan standard; a “Colourpoint Persians” section in the Persian standard (that page effective 11 October 2022; standard source FIFe 1987)	Points “must be as equal in colour density as possible” with good contrast to the body; “The mask should not extend over the head.” Eye colour “Blue, pure and deep as possible.”
ANCATS	A “Persian Longhair” breed profile; no Himalayan or colourpoint profile (its standards are not published on its website)	Ask ANCATS directly how it registers pointed Persians
CFA (US)	A colour division of the Persian	Persians are shown in seven colour divisions, including “Himalayans (those with the pointed pattern)”; Himalayan Division eye colour “deep vivid blue”

Both Australian standards list the Exotic as the only allowable outcross for the Persian, and the CCCA adds a note (20 November 2019) that bi-colours are not to be used in a colourpoint breeding program for Persians and Exotics. So a Himalayan pedigree should show Persians and possibly Exotics. If a seller calls a kitten a Himalayan but cannot name the council that registered the litter, treat it as unpapered. Langford Vets, a UK laboratory, still lists the Himalayan by name in its at-risk breed lists, so the name is used in health testing even where registries file it under Persian.

What the Australian standard asks for

Points: the CCCA recognises solid points in seal, blue, chocolate, lilac, red and cream, plus tortoiseshell and other pointed patterns. It notes that body colour often darkens with age, particularly in seal points.
Head: round and massive, with a profile “as straight a line as possible” and an indentation marking the nose stop.
Faults that matter for welfare: the CCCA penalises a stained face or runny, stained eyes.

What does a Himalayan kitten cost in Australia?

We could not find a published price for a colourpoint kitten. No Australian cat council or club publishes one, and Cats Victoria (GCCFV) says kitten pricing is up to individual breeders and will vary depending on the breed. In November 2026 we checked the Persian lists of Cats Victoria, the NSW CFA and the GCCFSA (none of them has a separate Himalayan category, and the Tasmanian Feline Association list had no Persian breeder), and searched for catteries that specialise in colourpoints. The two colourpoint specialists we found with their own websites, both in Victoria, take enquiries and waiting-list applications but publish no price; a third, in NSW, advertises through a directory and social media only. That is what we could check, not proof that no other breeder exists. We do not quote prices from listing sites or social media.

Some Persian breeders publish one price for all their Persians and Exotics, without saying whether they breed colourpoints. Those figures, and how we checked them, are in our Persian kittens guide; ask any breeder whether a colourpoint costs the same.

Route	Reference figure	Read
Colourpoint member breeders	No price published on their own websites; ask each breeder	12 Nov 2026
Cat councils and clubs	No Himalayan or Persian price published	12 Nov 2026
RSPCA NSW	$270 kitten under 6 months; $220 cat over 6 months	12 Nov 2026
Cat Protection Society of NSW	$150 per cat or kitten; $250 for two	12 Nov 2026

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.

Which health tests should a Himalayan breeder show you?

Because Australian registries treat the Himalayan as a Persian, the Persian tests apply. The Australian Cat Federation's minimum testing list (October 2025) names these for the Persian:

Test (ACF list)	What it screens for
PKD 1	Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Langford Vets lists the Himalayan among breeds at moderate risk. A University of Sydney study (Barrs et al., 2001) ultrasound-tested 320 Persian and related cats (48 of them Himalayans) and found the disease in 45% of the cats tested in Sydney and 42% in Brisbane; those figures cover all the Persian-type cats tested, not Himalayans separately
Persian progressive retinal atrophy (PRA-pd)	An early-onset inherited blindness. Langford Vets says it is recessive, that most affected cats are blind by 16 to 17 weeks of age, that carriers have normal vision, and lists the Himalayan among breeds at risk
Niemann-Pick disease (sphingomyelinosis)	Listed by the ACF for one laboratory only; ask whether it was done

Sources 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; ask your vet about anything that worries you. The ACF also says AB blood group types should be monitored in all breeds.

The flat-face question

International Cat Care (updated 26 September 2025) says an extremely flat face in Persians causes large, protruding eyes with a reduced ability to close the eyelids, deformed tear ducts and constant runny eyes, teeth that do not align, and small nostrils with a soft palate that is too long, and that brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome is common in these cats. It also says PKD was found in more than a third of all Persian and Exotic cats in the 1990s, and advises buyers to ask the breeder for proof of a negative PKD test. Meet the parents, listen to them breathe, look at their eyes and nostrils, and prefer a breeder who talks about open nostrils. Our guide to doll face and flat face Persians goes further.

See the Persians listed right now

Persians, including Himalayan colourpoints when a rescue lists one, from the rescues and shelters we aggregate, with each rescue's notes on personality and health. Numbers change daily. Every listing links to the rescue, where you apply directly.

Persians in Australia →Sydney →Melbourne →Brisbane →Perth →Adelaide →

What is a Himalayan like to live with?

The Cat Fanciers' Association describes Persians as “playful yet placid”, easygoing and mellow, more interested in attention from their people than in climbing the curtains, and compatible with children of all ages and other pets. It also says owning one calls for “a serious commitment to regular grooming”, with a steel comb to keep the coat free of mats, and that the large eyes may stain and need cleaning with a soft, damp cloth.

Good fit: a calm home with time for daily grooming and eye cleaning, and a budget for professional grooming if needed.
Think twice: if you cannot groom every day. International Cat Care says many Persians cannot keep their coat free of mats on their own.
Not a reason to choose one: allergies. ASCIA says all cat breeds can cause allergies; our hypoallergenic cats guide covers how to test a cat first.

Our Sydney guides to Persian grooming and care and Persian health issues cover daily care in more detail. Not sure what suits you? Try the what cat breed am I quiz, and see our cost of owning a cat guide.

How do you check a Himalayan breeder?

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

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. Expect the kitten to be registered as a Persian (colourpoint), not as a separate breed.
DNA results for both parents: PKD and Persian PRA, with names or microchip numbers that match.
The parents' faces. Open nostrils, quiet breathing at rest, and eyes that are not constantly running.
The mother, in person or on a live video call, before any deposit.
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 Himalayan kitten scams look like?

Never pay for a kitten you have not seen with its mother, in person or at least on a live video call, and never pay a deposit to a seller you cannot verify.

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.

A fluffy pointed kitten sold as a Himalayan without papers. A pointed pattern alone does not make a kitten a Himalayan; the Himalayan is a registered colourpoint Persian.
“Registered” with no council named, or a membership you cannot confirm with that council.
“PKD free” with no certificates for the parents.
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 Himalayan or Persian to adopt

We do not have a separate Himalayan page: our Persian pages include cats rescues list as Himalayan. Watch the Persian and longhaired listings and set an alert. A pointed longhair in rescue may be a Himalayan or a mix, and that is no reason to pass it over; the foster carer can tell you about its coat, eyes and breathing.

Persians in the big cities

Longhaired cats

Longhaired cats in Sydney, Longhaired cats in Melbourne, Longhaired cats in Brisbane, Longhaired cats in Perth, Longhaired cats in Adelaide. The Sydney guide to adopting a Persian covers the local rescues.

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

Frequently asked questions

Should I adopt or buy a Himalayan kitten?▼

Buy from a breeder registered with a cat council if you want a papered colourpoint Persian with known parents, and insist on PKD and Persian PRA results for both parents. If what you want is a calm, long-coated companion, check the live Persian and longhaired listings, because numbers change daily. Either way, budget time for daily grooming.

Is the Himalayan a separate breed in Australia?▼

Not in the published Australian standards. The Coordinating Cat Council of Australia has no Himalayan standard: its Persian standard (issue date November 2024) covers the colourpoint pattern in a Pointed Group. The Australian Cat Federation's Persian standard has a Colourpoint Persians section (effective 11 October 2022). ANCATS has a Persian Longhair profile and no Himalayan profile. In the US, the Cat Fanciers' Association also shows Himalayans as a colour division of the Persian.

How much is a Himalayan kitten in Australia?▼

We could not find a published price for a colourpoint or Himalayan kitten. No council or club publishes one, Cats Victoria (GCCFV) says kitten pricing is up to individual breeders, and the colourpoint specialists we found in November 2026 publish no price on their own websites. Prices that Persian member breeders publish in general are in our Persian kittens guide. A rescue cat costs the normal rescue fee, for example $220 for a cat over 6 months at RSPCA NSW (read 12 November 2026; fees change, so check with them; reference only, not a quote).

What is the difference between a Himalayan and a Persian?▼

Only the colour pattern. The CCCA says its type standard is the same for all Persians and Exotic Shorthairs; the pointed pattern means colour confined to the mask, ears, legs, paws and tail, with eyes decidedly blue, the deeper the better. The ACF says colourpoint eye colour should be blue, pure and deep as possible.

What health tests should a Himalayan breeder do?▼

The Persian ones. The Australian Cat Federation's minimum testing list (October 2025) names PKD 1 and Persian progressive retinal atrophy for Persians, plus Niemann-Pick disease at one laboratory. Langford Vets lists the Himalayan among breeds at moderate risk of polycystic kidney disease and among the breeds at risk of Persian PRA. Ask to see results for both parents.

Was PKD common in Australian Persian-type cats?▼

It was. A University of Sydney study (Barrs et al., Australian Veterinary Journal, 2001) ultrasound-tested 320 Persian and related cats older than 10 months in Sydney and Brisbane (48 of them Himalayans) and found the disease in 45% of the cats tested in Sydney and 42% in Brisbane. Those figures are for all the Persian-type cats tested, not for Himalayans separately. International Cat Care says breeders are now using screening to try to eradicate the problem, which is why the parents' results matter.

Do Himalayans have breathing and eye problems?▼

Flat-faced ones can. International Cat Care says an extremely flat face in Persians can cause protruding eyes, deformed tear ducts with constant runny eyes, dental malocclusion, small nostrils and a too-long soft palate, and that brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome is common in these cats. Choose a kitten from parents with open nostrils and a less extreme face, and ask your vet to check breathing and eyes.

How much grooming does a Himalayan need?▼

A lot. The Cat Fanciers' Association says owning a Persian calls for a serious commitment to regular grooming, with a steel comb to keep the coat free of mats and tangles, and that the large eyes may stain and need cleaning with a soft, damp cloth. International Cat Care says many Persians cannot keep their coat free of mats on their own, and that the corner of the eye, the side of the nose and the area under the tail need regular cleaning.

What is a Himalayan like to live with?▼

The CFA describes Persians as playful yet placid, easygoing and mellow, happier receiving attention than climbing the curtains, and compatible with children of all ages and other pets. Every cat is an individual, so ask about the one you meet.

Are Himalayan cats hypoallergenic?▼

No cat breed is. The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) says that as all cats have sebaceous glands, all cat breeds can cause allergies. A long coat that needs daily grooming spreads hair around the home. If anyone at home is allergic, get medical advice first.

How old should a Himalayan kitten be when it goes home?▼

At least 10 weeks. ANCATS rules set 10 weeks as the minimum and ANCATS recommends 12, and Cats Victoria (GCCFV) says a kitten must be 10 weeks of age or older, vaccinated, desexed and microchipped before it comes to you.

Sources

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The parent breed