Siamese cat – all about character, price, breeding and why it is different from the Thai.

Breed origin

The Siamese cat comes from the ancient Siam, now Thailand. It should not be confused with the Thai cat, they come from the same strain but the Siamese, as we know it today, is the result of a careful selection of breeders, while the Thai cat has a totally different standard. Many fascinating legends tell about the arrival of this magnificent cat in Europe. In Bangkok National Library, the “Cat Book Poems”, about this cat origins, was recently recovered.
Apparently it wasn’t loved by the Siamese people, which preferred brindle coat cats, but it was very appreciated by the princesses. It is said that the Siamese arrived for the first time in Europe in 1880, the King of Siam gave two pairs of Siamese cats to Owen Gould, the British Consul in Bangkok, who took him to an exhibition in 1881.
In 1890 the Siamese landed in USA. In the 20s there was a real boom of requests of this breed, so that the breeders, due to the continuous crossings with relatives, risked to make them die out, because more and more weakened.
In the 60s, fashion and breeders drove to select subjects much more long-limbed and elegant, with a slimmer body, elongated ears and snout, right up to today’s extreme Siamese (modern Siamese), so that the “traditional” Siamese, or Thai, began to disappear, despite being a specimen loved at cat shows.
In the late 80s, thanks to the influence of a feline association, the World Cat Federation, a group of people lobbied for breed recognition. Thus the traditional Siamese took the Thai name, which was recognized in 2007 by TICA (The International Cat Association) as “trial breed”, while FIF and CFA do not recognize the Thai as a breed itself, but only the selected and extreme breed: the modern Siamese.

Character traits

The Siamese cat loves to play, like every cat, but it can be easily trained, till to be taken on leash. Very docile and affable, it wins everyone over with his big blue eyes.
Very attached to its humans, but it doesn’t love being manipulated by other people, it doesn’t tolerate much living with other cats. For this reason it is a cat who loves exclusive relationships. It ‘a special cat, very smart and cuddly, so that it gets to ask pampering with characteristic vocals.

Aspect and Features

Elegant and sinuous body, long legs, short hair.
The head is almost wedge-shaped, large ears and oval eyes, that can be light blue or deep blue.
The coat is creamy white uniform with darker areas of colour called points covering ears, mask, tail, legs and part of the limbs. There are different points colours (seal, blue, chocolate, lilac, tortie, tabby blue / cream, red, cream). The points may vary colour intensity depending on the temperature in which a specimen is grown. A Siamese grown in cool environment will have darker points and vice versa.
Siamese breed standards (SIA)
Codice EMS: SIA
Associations that recognise the breed: AACE, ACF, ACFA, CCA, CFA, FIFé, GCCF, LOOF, SACC, TICA, WCF

• Aspect:
  The ideal cat is sleek, elegant with long and slender lines, nimble and well muscled.
  Medium size.
• Head:
  Shape: Medium-sized in proportion to the body, well balanced; wedge-shaped with straight lines.
  The triangle begins at nose level and increases in width with straight lines on both sides towards the ears. These two lines should not present disruptions at whiskers level.
  The skull profile is slightly convex.
  Nose: Long and straight, continuing the forehead line without any interruption.
  Snout: subtle
  Chin: the medium-sized chin point forms a vertical line with the tip of the nose.
• Ears:
  Shape: Big and pointed, wide at the base.
  Placement: the ears prolong the triangle lines.
• Eyes:
  Shape: medium size, not deep set nor protruding. Almond-shaped and slightly oblique towards the nose, to be in harmony with the triangle lines.
  Colour: intense and deep blue
  For white cats: vivid, bright green, deep blue or odd eyed (one green, one deep blue).
• Neck:
  Long and subtle.
• Body:
  Structure: long and slim, well muscled but always charming and elegant. The shoulders are not larger that the hips.
• Legs:
  Long and subtle, in proportion to the body.
  Small and oval feet.
• Tail:
  Very long, subtle also at the base, it wears thin at the end.
• Hair:
  Structure: Very short, subtle, glossy, silky and attached to the body. Almost without undercoat.
  Colour Point: mask on the snout and “point” on ears, legs and tail. The colour of all the “point” should be as uniform as possible.
  The mask must not extend over the entire head but it’s connected to the ears by traces of colour.
  Body colour: uniform, a slight shading on the flanks is tolerated but there must be a clear contrast between the “point” and the body colour. “Point” with white.
  Notes about HAIR: slight shading on the body in harmony with the colour of the “point” are tolerated.
  A darker body colour is allowed in older cats.

Siamese cat price

The Siamese cat cost may vary $300 – $500 USD

Siamsese Cat Gallery