Siamese Kitten Breed

In 1793 a German traveler reported seeing a cat with darker points, like those of the Siamese, west of the Caspian Sea, but we do not know when this type first appeared in Europe. They were already being shown at the Crystal Palace, London, in 1871 but the first recorded exports of cats from the Thai court, where they had been established for centuries, are not until 1884. Paintings in the Thai archives show slender cats with very limited points — perhaps the result of climate. Siamese coat density is affected by both temperature and age, but an illustration of the cat from the Caspian region shows a heavily-built animal and early show cats were much more bulky than the modern Siamese. There has been a continuous develop-mint towards a lither animal, so that those known today are extremely slender. The early Siamese also often had a kink in the tail and crossed eyes but these have long since been bred out and would be regarded as a fault. However, a high proportion of indigenous south-east Asian cats still have kinky tails. The Siamese should be a medium sized, beautifully balanced cat with long, svelte lines, lithe and muscular. Its pattern displays the albino gene effect of removing color from the warmer parts of the body, restricting the darker areas to the points, which should show in clear contrast on feet, tail, ears and a face mask. This mask spreads out from the nose and whisker pads to cover the face and links up with tracing to the ears but should not extend over the top of the head. In the USA, Siamese had become so popular by the end of the 1970s that they were probably the most frequently seen shorthair on the show bench — yet in 1991 hardly any were exhibited. An emphasis on a 'dainty' appearance had produced cats with long, tapering heads and flat foreheads which were of excessive type but increasingly frail, probably because they were confined to an increasingly restricted gene pool. In Britain, where a wider range of colors is accepted, the situation did not occur. However, on both genetic and aesthetic grounds, some people feel that the extreme modern show Siamese has been taken too far and are seeking to reverse the exaggerated look of the most recent cats. The CFA standard still calls for a more extreme form than that of the BritishGCCF, asking for the wedge shape of the head to flare out from the nose to the tips of the ears to form a triangle and for the ears to be 'strikingly' large. Several colors based on red or reproducing tabby and tortoiseshell patterns, which are recognized as Siamese in Britain, are assigned in the USA to a different breed known as theColorpoint Shorthair. Siamese have a reputation for intelligence and can be demanding of attention, making friendly, talkative companions. They often have a loud voice and a particularly harsh call which some people find disturbing. Although long-established in Thailand, the Siamese pattern did riot necessarily develop there and cats with color restricted to the points have appeared elsewhere.

Medium size, long and svelte; CFA requires hips never to bewilder than the shoulders, and tight abdomen; long slim legs, hind legs slightly higher than the front, feet small and oval; tail long, (and thin says the CFA) and tapering to a point.

Long and well-proportioned on an elegant neck, head and profile being wedge-shaped,(neither round nor pointed says the GCCF standard), width between the ears, narrowing imperfectly straight lines to a fine muzzle with a strong chin; ears are rather large and pricked, wide at base.

Almond oriental shape, slanting toward the nose in harmony with the lines of the wedge but with width between. They should always be blue; whatever colors the coat, the more intense the color the better.

Short, fine textured and glossy, lying close to the body.

Pointed patterns with a light body color and dark extremities. Most American bodies recognize only seal, chocolate, blue and lilac points. In Britain red, cream, seal torte, cream torte, bluebottle, chocolate torte, tabby point in all these colors adsorptive tabby points are all recognized too - torte tabbies resemble tabby points rather than torte points.