breeding siamese cats

Question
I bought a Balinese kitten a few months ago from an individual who breeds Siamese cats. I am not all that knowledgeable on the breeding and genetics of these cats. Have done some research though. My question is...What's the probability of these Siamese cats throwing off a Balinese? And if I breed my Balinese..will I have Siamese along with Balinese kittens?

Answer
Roxanne,

The long haired gene is a recessive, so both Siamese parents had to carry the long haired gene for your kitty to be a Balinese.  Thus, your Bali is homozygous for the long haired gene.  If the Balinese is bred to a Siamese NOT carrying the long haired gene, you would get no Balinese kittens.  If the Balinese is bred to a Siamese carrying the long haired gene, then then, all things being equal, one could expect the litter to be half Balinese and half Siamese.

BTW, you can test for the presence of the long haired gene in a Siamese.  The Veterinary Genetics Lab at University of California -- Davis is one lab which carries out such testing.  There are instructions on their web site.

Best regards... Norm.