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SIAMESE
The Siamese are by many breeders respected as “Mother of all breeds”, because they were used in developing many other breeds as sort of "gene
stabilizers",
and for others represent the ultimate beauty in feline world. Their points make them so specific that everybody recognizes them even tough they are not feline experts. They are
medium sized, rather long-bodied, muscular, graceful cats with moderately long wedge-shaped heads and ears that are comparatively large but in proportion to the size of the head. The cats range from rather substantial to rather slender but are not extreme in either way. All Siamese have a creamy base coat with colored points on their muzzles, ears, paws and lower legs, tails and (in males) scrota. All Siamese kittens, although pure cream or white at birth, develop visible points in the first few months of life in colder parts of their body. By the time a kitten is four weeks old the points should be clearly distinguishable enough to recognize which color they are. Siamese cats tend to darken with age, and generally adult Siamese living in warm climates have lighter coats than those in cool climates. Originally all Siamese have seal (extremely dark brown, almost black) points, but occasionally Siamese were born with blue (gray) points, chocolate points, or lilac (pale gray) points, each of which was eventually accepted by the breed associations and allowed to compete in shows. Siamese have almond-shaped, bright blue eyes and short, flat-lying coats. Many Siamese cats from Siam had a kink in their tails but over the years this traits has been considered to be a flaw and breeders have largely eradicated it. 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. The Siamese voice, which they use frequently, is unlike that of other breeds, and has been compared to the cries of a human baby. As they are "wired for
sound", they can meow loud enough to compete with fire and rescue equipment. The Siamese temperament is legendary: like all Oriental cats Siamese are active, playful, extremely vocal and persistent in demanding attention. They usually get on well with other cats, especially other Siamese or related breeds, but they also have a great need for human companionship and often will engage in crazy antics to get the attention of their people. Siamese cats are generally believed to be highly intelligent, and their behavior usually reflects this. Siamese are often described as "dog-like" because of their loyalty, often attaching themselves to one human in a household, and their trainability--they can be taught to walk on a leash, fetch and perform tricks. They are the noisiest, the most boisterous, the most intelligent, the most temperamental and the most demanding cat in all breeds, but also the most affectionate.
ORIGIN: The Siamese are well documented in the art and literature of Ancient Siam (now Thailand ). Although there are many theories about their origin, it mostly believed today that they are breed of cat native to the city of Ayudha , which was founded in 1530 and was Siam 's capital until invaded by Burmese in 1767. One specific manuscript named The Cat-Book Poem from period of 1350-1750 describes beautiful, pale-coated, seal-point Siamese cats. The breed was first seen outside their Asian home in 1884 , when the British Consul-General in Bangkok , Mr. Owen Gould, brought a pair of the cats back to Britain for his sister, Mrs. Veley (who went on to be co-founder of the Siamese Cat Club in 1901 ). The cats were shown at the Crystal Palace in 1885 , and the following year another pair (with kittens) was imported by a Mrs. Vyvyan and her sister. Compared to the British Shorthair and Persian cats that were familiar to most Britons, these Siamese imports were somewhat longer and less "cobby" in body, had heads that were less round and larger ears. These differences and the pointed coat pattern which had not been seen before by people from western world, produced a strong impression--one early viewer described them as "an unnatural nightmare of a cat"! But these striking cats also won some devoted fans and over the next sever
al years fanciers imported a small number of cats, which together these formed the base breeding pool for the entire breed in Britain. It is believed that most Siamese today are descended from about eleven of these original imports. Sometime in 1950s - 1960s, many breeders and cat show judges began to favor the more slender look and as a result of generations of selective breeding, created increasingly long, fine-boned, extremely "Oriental" cats; eventually the modern show Siamese was bred to be extremely elongated, with thin, tubular bodies, long, slender legs, a whip-thin tail and long, narrow, wedge- or triangular-shaped heads topped by extremely large ears. The major cat organizations altered their official breed standards to favor this newer streamlined type of Siamese, and the minority of breeders who stayed with the original style found that their cats were no longer competitive in the show ring. By the mid-1980s, cats of the original style had disappeared from cat shows, but a few breeders continued to breed and register them, resulting in two types of purebred Siamese – the modern show Siamese, and the "traditional," or "Apple Head" Siamese, both descended from the same distant ancestors, but with few or no recent ancestors in common. In the late 1980s, breeders and fans of the older style of Siamese, concerned that the old lines were threatened with extinction, organized to preserve them, to educate the public about the breed's history and to provide information on where people could buy kittens of the more moderate type, which became known primarily as "Traditional Siamese".
STANDARD:
HEAD (20)
6.. Long, flat profile
5 .. Wedge, fine muzzle, size
4 .. Ears
3 .. Chin
2 .. Width between eyes
EYES (10)
10 .. Shape, size, slant, and placement
BODY (30)
12 .. Structure and size, including neck
10 .. Muscle tone
5 .. Legs and feet
3 .. Tail
COAT .. 10
COLOR (30)
10 .. Body color
10 .. Point color (matching points of dense color, proper foot pads and nose leather)
10 .. Eye color
Accepted Colors:
Chocolate Point 0270 0271
Seal Point 0272 0273
Lilac Point 0274 0275
Blue Point 0276 0277
AOV 0280 0281
Other links: FBRL TICA ACFA CCA ZC SFDH WCF CFA
