Siamese cats hail from Thailand (once known as Siam) and made their way to other parts of the world beginning in the late 1800s. Though considered an ancient breed (possibly the most ancient of all breeds), the exact origins of the Siamese are unknown, but it is considered a natural breed and is one of four Oriental breeds. It is the unique look of the Siamese that made it so popular.
The most familiar looking Siamese has seal points – a fawn colored body with seal brown extremities. Other versions include blue points, dark gray points; chocolate points, milk chocolate points; and lilac points, pinkish gray points. The coats are always short and flat. Siamese have bright blue oval shaped eyes. Males will reach an average weight of eleven to fifteen pounds and females of eight to twelve pounds. Siamese are talkative cats with a purr that has been compared to that of a crying baby. When a Siamese wants something, it will use its voice to get its way.
Siamese cats are good for families with children and other pets, but they are demanding of attention, active and persistent when they want to get their own way purring loudly until their demands are met. They will give a warning swipe when they are done playing.
Though this is usually done with the claws sheathed, exercise caution when Siamese and children are playing together. While loyal and trainable (they can be walked on a leash) they have also been known to engage in attention getting antics to make sure they are noticed. As active cats, they enjoy exploring heights and have been known to find their way to the top of a refrigerator or bookcase to get attention or for their own enjoyment. Though they will enjoy being with another cat, it is important that they get a fair amount of human attention each day to be satisfied.
Siamese have been crossbred with other cats to result in a multitude of ‘cousins’ to this cat. Some of those include: Balinese, Burmese, Himalayan, and Tonkinese. Through careful selective breeding, some of the ‘undesirable’ traits have been bred out of the Siamese; however, they still occur occasionally. This includes a kinked tail and crossed eyes. Neither of these is serious health problems for a family pet but will disqualify it from being shown.
There is a website that has great information on Siamese and most other breeds of cats. It has details that pertain to a cat breeds health, grooming, living conditions, best food choices and more, the website is called: Dog And Cat Facts
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