An exquisitely beautiful cat, the Siamese is very affectionate and requires dedication from their parent.
The Siamese is the legendary temple cat of the King of Siam.
Weight range:
Male: medium: 3-5 kg.
Female: small: <3 kg.
Eye colour:
Blue
Expectations:
Life Expectancy: 8-12 yrs.
Social/Attention Needs: Moderate, High
Tendency to Shed: Low
Coat:
Length: Short
Characteristics: Smooth
Colours: Chocolate, Seal, Lilac, Blue, Red, Cream, Fawn, Cinnamon
Pattern: Points
Less Allergenic: No
Overall Grooming Needs: Low
Club recognition:
Cat Association Recognition:
CFA, ACFA , FIFe, TICA
Prevalence: Common
The Siamese is a long, elegant cat. The body, neck, legs and tail are long.
The breed is medium sized but nicely muscled.
The Siamese is a cat of extremes. The head is a long triangle. The tall ears are set on the head to be a continuation of this triangle. The nose is long and straight. The legs are long and slender. The tail is long and tapers to a point. The eyes are almond shaped and bright blue.
The Siamese coat is short, glossy and lies close to the body. The beauty of the Siamese cat is the look of the slender body, the blue eyes and the contrast between the colour on the body and the darker colour of the extremities. This contrast is called colour restriction, or, more commonly, pointing. The colour of the fur on the ears, tail and feet are a different colour than that of the body, and this darker colour gradually blends into the lighter colour of the body. The face also shows a mask of the same deeper point colour. The mask covers the face, surrounds the eyes and covers the whisker pads. The mask is smaller in a kitten and gradually increases as they grow.
Personality:
The Siamese cat is not only beautiful, but also highly intelligent. They can be trained to walk on a lead. This intelligence does not mean that they can be trained to do everything you might wish. Like most other highly intelligent breeds, the Siamese has their own desires.
The Siamese is an affectionate cat and requires a dedicated parent. They must be affectionate to the Siamese and make time to play.
Living With:
With their long muscular body, weight gain will show quickly in the Siamese. Siamese show a pot belly after indulging in one day of overeating. Nutrition must be carefully controlled. The long, slim legs are not made to hold a fat body.
Siamese are great jumpers and love heights, so perches and cat trees should be provided. Siamese love to play and appreciate toys around the house for their pleasure. While the coat needs little care, Siamese tend to associate brushing with affection and will enjoy spending time being groomed.
The Siamese, as elegant as they look can be quite a lap cat. They are extremely affectionate and will sleep next to their parent.
History:
The beautiful Siamese is the legendary temple cat of the King of Siam. The cats were not only valued by the king for their exquisite beauty, but also they were used as guard cats. Siamese would be perched on tall columns around the throne of the king. If anyone threatened the king, the cats would jump down from the pillars onto the individual. Between the size of the Siamese, their strength and their ability to jump down from a height, they would knock the person to the floor. If need be, they would scratch at the face of the person who thought he could harm the King of Siam.
No one knows if this legend is true, but the cat seen by the German naturalist and explorer Peter Simon Pallas may have been a Siamese. This cat was noted in Pallas' reports on explorations of the Caspian Sea in the 1700s. Pallas described them as having "ears, paws and tail … quite black. It is of a middle size, has somewhat smaller legs than the common cat and the head is longer toward the nose."
The first Siamese cats in Europe were a gift from the King of Siam to the English consulate general in Bangkok in the late 1800s. The first Siamese cats in western cat fancy were named Pho and Mia. They were a breeding pair brought into England in 1884 by Owen Gould. The kittens from Pho and Mia were exhibited by Mr. Gould's sister at the London show held in the Crystal Palace in 1885. The first Siamese cat in the United States was also a gift from the King of Siam to a friend. In the late 1890s and early 1900s, Siamese cats were imported into North America from Britain, France, Japan, and Siam. The Siamese remained somewhat rare until after World War II, when they quickly became number one in terms of registrations.
