Class of cat breeds. An attempt, from the 1950s onwards, to recreate the historical varieties of colouring which western explorers had found in the cats of Siam, which had been since bred out by the breeders of Siamese cats in the west and subsumed into general mogginess back home. The process involved cross-breeding various types of Siamese with other self-coloured and patterned breeds - a sealpoint Siamese and a Russian Blue in the first instance - to produce a cat with the Siamese body shape but with a uniform coloured or patterned coat. The self-coloured breeds were originally known as "Foreign " but all except Foreign Whites and Havanas (the earliest variety) are now known under names following the "Oriental " pattern. A large number of Oriental breeds now have championship status.
Oriental cats share many of the typical characteristics of Siamese, in that they are elegant, streamlined, companionable, have loud voices, and don't like the cold much. They mostly like company and hang around in packs given half a chance (none of this Cat who Walks by Himself nonsense). Despite their elegant appearance they have a certain reputation for clumsiness.
In South American Spanish, a native of Uruguay, or, to name it correctly, the República Oriental de Uruguay, thus named because it lies to the East of the eponymous river.