Siamese

Breed Description

If you’ve ever met a Siamese, you already know there’s no such thing as a quiet one. This is a sleek, elegant cat with a slender tubular body, long legs, a wedge-shaped head, and huge ears that seem almost too big for its face. But the calling card is those famous blue eyes set in a pale coat with darker “points” on the ears, face, paws and tail.

Siamese come in four classic colors recognized by the CFA: seal point, blue point, chocolate point, and lilac point. Other registries recognize even more variations, including tabby and red points.

Don’t let the delicate looks fool you, though. Underneath that svelte frame is a surprisingly solid, muscular athlete who loves to climb, play fetch, and generally run the household.

Breed History

The Siamese traces its roots to old Siam, today’s Thailand, where cats matching this description turn up in manuscripts dating back centuries. Legend has it these cats guarded Buddhist temples and were treasured by royalty, so much that owning one was once restricted to the royal family.

The breed’s journey west began in the late 1800s. In 1878 the American consul in Bangkok sent a Siamese cat as a gift to First Lady Lucy Hayes, and just a few years later, in 1884, the British consul-general in Bangkok brought a breeding pair home to England for his sister, who went on to co-found Britain’s first Siamese Cat Club.

The breed caught on quickly on both sides of the Atlantic. The Cat Fanciers’ Association officially recognized the Siamese in 1906, making it one of the very first pedigreed cat breeds anywhere.

Over the decades breeders in the mid-20th century began favoring an increasingly slender, elongated look, which produced the racy, tubular-bodied show Siamese seen today. Fans of the original, rounder-bodied cat kept breeding that older style too, and it now exists as its own separate breed, the Thai cat.

Behavioral Characteristics

Siamese cats are famous for one thing above all: talking. They have a loud, distinctive voice and are not shy about using it to tell you exactly what they want, when they want it, and how they feel about your decisions.

They bond intensely with their people, often picking one favorite human to shadow around the house. Many owners describe them as almost dog-like, since they’ll follow you room to room, learn tricks, walk on a leash, and even play a mean game of fetch.

These are smart, curious, high-energy cats that need mental and physical stimulation to stay happy. A bored Siamese can get into mischief, so sturdy cat trees, puzzle toys, and plenty of playtime go a long way toward keeping them content.

They generally do well with children and other pets, including dogs, as long as introductions are handled thoughtfully. Just don’t expect a Siamese to be a background pet; they want to be part of everything that’s happening in your home.

Fun Facts

• “A Siamese cat named Siam was sent as a gift to First Lady Lucy Hayes in 1878, becoming the first Siamese cat known to arrive in the United States.”
• “A Siamese cat named Scooter, from Mansfield, Texas, was recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest living cat at 30 years old in 2016.”
• “Siamese kittens are born completely white and only start developing their signature dark points as they grow, since the color-producing enzyme is triggered by cooler skin temperature.”
• “The Siamese is considered the parent breed behind several other cats, including the Balinese, Oriental Shorthair, Oriental Longhair, and Colorpoint Shorthair.”

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