The long, silky coat of the Balinese has the same basic fawn color as the Siamese, which it also matches with dark brown to black legs, tail, face, and ears. Similarly, too, the eyes are a deep blue. This resemblance is not surprising, for the Balinese first appeared as a mutant in a litter of Siamese in the mid-1950s. This cat was later bred to other longhairs that showed up in subsequent litters, and the offspring of these bred true. From these, seal points, blue points, and chocolate points have been developed, again duplicating the shorthaired Siamese.

The head of the Balinese is wedge-shaped, though a little less so than in the Siamese. The sharpness of the feature is somewhat obscured by the long hair. The ears are wide set and relatively large compared to those of longhaired Persians. The coat is long but not as long as a Persian's and thus needs somewhat less grooming. Like the Siamese, these are affectionate and highly intelligent cats. They do have loud, demanding voices but use them a little less persistently than Siamese.