Siamese Cat Breed Profile - Breed Information with Description & Photos

Old Style Siamese Cat

Siamese Cat Breed Profile Related Links Siamese Cat Photos     Siamese Cat Breeders   (Australia Only) Siamese Cat Appearance The Siamese Cat is easily recognizable by its distinctive coloring and almond shape brilliant blue eyes. They are a very sleek cat with colored points on their ears, face, tail and feet. The Siamese Cat is a small to medium sized slender and elegant cat with a long body, neck and tail with a long wedge shaped head The breed standard of the Modern Siamese Cat indicates an elegant, slim, stylish, flexible and well muscled body. Its head is triangular shaped, with a thin snout. The eyes are almond-shaped and oblique, the ears large and thin. It has a long neck, body and tail. The hair is short, glossy, fine, soft, tight and adhered to the body. The Siamese is characterized by its typical pointed color scheme.

Siamese Point Colors

The point colors are the color of the face, ears, tail and feet. Siamese point colors can be Seal, Chocolate,  Blue, Lilac, Cinnamon, Fawn, Red, Cream, Apricot or Caramel.  The points can also be Tortie (Tortoiseshell) and Tabby (or Lynx)

Siamese Personality

Siamese Cat History

Although there have been many theories about the origin of the Siamese cat, it is now quite certain that it was a well loved variety in the ancient Siamese city of Ayudha.  Ayudha was founded in 1350 and was Siam's capital until fire destroyed the city during the Burmese invasion in 1767. 

In the National Library, in the present day capital of Bangkok, there are manuscripts from Ayudha that provide a record of native cats, describing them as having black tails, feet and ears with a white body and blue eyes which reflect a reddish glow at night because it is part albino.  The Siamese Cat's eyes are a brilliant sapphire blue.  The original Siamese cats in Siam lived in temples where they were closely guarded to keep the breed pure.  So highly were they regarded that there ownership is said to have been restricted to members of the Royal family.  Only if a man was promoted to a knight or nobleman could he possess that cat with, as they believed, "special powers."

Many Siamese cats from Thailand had a kink in their tails but over the years this trait has been considered to be a flaw and breeders have largely eradicated it, although it persists among street cats in Thailand. Many early Siamese were cross-eyed to compensate for the abnormal uncrossed wiring of the optic chiasm, which is produced by the same albino allele that produces colored points. Like the kinked tails, the crossed eyes have been seen as a fault and through selective breeding, the trait is far less common today.

More Siamese Photos

   Siamese Breeders  (Australia)  

Photos courtesy of Tamjana Cattery - Lushbaby Cattery - Shamuneko
Arinacourt Cattery