The Siamese breed, originating in Thailand, is one of the oldest recognized breeds in the world. As time has passed the breed has split and been the foundation of many other breeds. Today there are two distinctive types of “Siamese” cat. The more modern CFA standard Siamese and the traditional cat that was originally imported from Thailand which has been recognized as a separate breed, the Thai, by TICA. Despite the assertions of some Thai breeders otherwise, these cats descend from the same lines and are the same breed. Most original TICA Thai’s were originally listed as Siamese before the new Thai breed was added.

Siamese cats are known for their vocal personalities. They are talkative cats who often have cries that sound a bit off from a typical cat meow which has earned them the nickname Meezers. If you are a person that likes peace and quiet a Siamese should not be a cat breed you consider as they are well known for being overly vocal. They are friendly and attach strongly to their people. They are also super active and need playtime and things to keep them occupied in between snuggle sessions. These cats are very people orientated and they do not do well with long periods of isolation. If you work long 12+ hours away from home or go on frequent trips and cannot take the cat these are not the cat for you. Health wise the breed has dental issues and heart issues prevalent in the breed. I have found this to be more prevent in the modern style. While they are known to be outgoing cats, accepting of attention from strangers, they tend to only strongly bond to one person.

Fun Facts:

• Siamese are born totally white and do not develop their points until a few weeks later.
• Crossed eyes and crooked tails were once part of their breed standard.
• Siamese have weaker eyesight than other cats, attributed mostly to their blue eyes which tend to be more reactive to bright light and have poorer nightvision.
• The Siamese cat is one of the most popular and widely recognized cat breeds in the world.
• The Siamese’s pointed coloration is actually a mutation of that is temperature sensitive. The coloration is actually a form of albinism. The cat gets coloration at the coldest points of the their body but the coloration can be darker or lighter depending on the ambient temperature around them. This change is not immediate but you will notice your cat being darker in the winter and lighter in the summer.

Here are some examples of what the CFA Siamese standard produces:

We work with the old style of Siamese.