The first Oriental Bicolour cats were the result of pairings initiated by Lindajean Grillo, who owned Ciara Cattery. In 1979, Grillo decided to pair Siamese cats with bicolored American Shorthair cats. The most appealing bicolored offspring were then mated back with Siamese or Oriental cats to enhance type.
In Europe – primarily in France and the Netherlands – breeders worked to create their own Oriental Bicolour cats, first pairing a red and white Moroccan street cat with a Siamese, and then pairing a black and white Cornish Rex cat with a Siamese.
American cats were imported as a method of assuring genetic diversity when mating Oriental Bicolor cats with one another.
The International Cat Association (TICA) granted its official recognition in 1983, and a cat named Ciara Quite-N-Oreo was the first TICA Oriental Bicolour champion.
In 2003, Federation International Feline (FIFe) granted championship recognition status to bicolor Oriental Shorthair cats. The organization granted recognition to white and colorpoint cats from the same group in 2005, but separated them further into the breed name Seychellois.
In 2004, Oriental Bicolour cats were imported to the UK. The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) granted recognition in 2006, and in 2008, the breed achieved provisional status.
It’s worth noting that different organizations categorize Oriental Bicolor cats differently. Some differentiate between long and shorthaired varieties, and some opt to keep solid and colorpoint patterns separate from one another.
The GCCF treats Oriental Bicolour cats as a separate, distinct breed and prohibits cats that carry color-pointed longhair genes. GCCF does allow for outcrossing but only to Siamese, Balinese, Oriental Longhair, and Oriental Shorthair cats. The resulting offspring are not allowed registry under the outcrossed parent’s breed but instead, must be registered as Oriental Bicolour cats, with one exception: Any offspring without white spots can be registered and shown as Orientals.