Foreign White

During the 1960s, the introduction of new colors in the Siamese standard resulted in the birth of fully solid-colored cats. The Foreign White was born from a breeding program aiming to create an all-white Siamese and was recognized by the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy in 1977. Initially, each color of Siamese became a breed; however the federations quickly understood that it was not viable to continue on such a model and merged all the united breeds into one: the Oriental Shorthair. The GCCF decided, however, that the foreign white was a breed in its own right. As of 2022^[update] GCCF and the Australian Cat Federation are the only breeder/fancier organisations to recognize the Foreign White as a breed.

The white coat of the Foreign White is induced by the W gene, the "dominant white". This gene favors the appearance of deafness in white cats with blue eyes. This breeding constraint leads Foreign White breeders to systematically cross their subjects with Siamese cats, and to avoid reproductions with the red colors and the tabby pattern.