Siamese (cat)

Siamese (cat)
Siamese
Siam lilacpoint.jpg
A Lilac point Siamese
Origin  Thailand
Breed standard
CFA standard
TICA standard
AACE standard
ACFA standard
ACF standard
CCA standard
Cat (Felis catus)

The Siamese is one of the first distinctly recognized breeds of Oriental cat. The origins of the breed are unknown, but it is believed to be from Thailand. In Thailand, where they are one of several native breeds, they are called Wichian Mat (วิเชียรมาศ, a name meaning "moon diamond" ). In the 20th century the Siamese cat became one of the most popular breeds in Europe and North America.

Contents

History

The pointed cat known in the West as "Siamese", recognized for its distinctive markings, is one of several breeds of cats from Siam described and illustrated in manuscripts called "Tamra Maew" (Cat Poems), estimated to have been written from the 14th to 18th century.[1]

It is often said that the breed was first seen outside their Asian home in 1884, when the British Consul-General in Bangkok, Edward Blencowe Gould (1847–1916),[2] brought a breeding pair of the cats, Pho and Mia, back to Britain as a gift for his sister, Lilian Jane Veley (Veley went on to co-found the Siamese Cat Club in 1901). However, in 1878, U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes received "Siam", a gift from the American Consul in Bangkok; this cat was also the first documented Siamese to reach the United States, and predates the Siamese's arrival to the UK by 6 years.[3]

In 1885, Veley's UK cats Pho and Mia produced three Siamese kittens. These kittens – Duen Ngai, Kalohom, and Khromata – and their parents were shown that same year at London's Crystal Palace Show, where their unique appearance and distinct behavior made a huge impression. Unfortunately, all three of the kittens died soon after the show. The reason for their deaths is not documented.[4]

Wankee, born 1895 in Hong Kong, became the first U.K. Siamese champion in 1898.

By 1886, another pair (with kittens) was imported to the UK 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 longer and less "cobby" in body types, had heads that were less rounded with wedge-shaped muzzles and had larger ears. These differences and the pointed coat pattern, which had not been seen before in cats by Westerners, produced a strong impression—one early viewer described them as "an unnatural nightmare of a cat." These striking cats also won some devoted fans and over the next several years, fanciers imported a small number of cats, which together formed the base breeding pool for the entire breed in Britain. It is believed that most Siamese in Britain today are descended from about eleven of these original imports. Several sources give Gould's brother Owen Nutcombe Gould (1857–1929) as the British Consul-General in Bangkok, but Owen was only 27 in 1884 and not known to be in Bangkok. In their early days in Britain, they were called the "Royal Cat of Siam," reflecting reports that they had previously been kept only by Siamese royalty.[5] Later research has not shown evidence of any organised royal breeding programme in Siam.[1]

The original Siamese imports were, like their descendants in Thailand today, medium-sized, rather long-bodied, muscular, graceful cats with moderately wedge-shaped heads and ears that were comparatively large but in proportion to the size of the head. The cats ranged from rather substantial to rather slender but were not extreme in either way.

Modern development

While this show quality specimen from 1960 still exhibits relatively moderate characteristics, the breed standard was setting the stage for the modern Siamese, with its call for a "dainty, long and svelte" body, a long head that "taper[s] in straight lines from the ears to a narrow muzzle", "ears large and pricked, wide at the base" and tail "long and tapering".

In the 1950s - 1960s, as the Siamese was increasing in popularity, many breeders and cat show judges began to favor the more slender look. As a result of generations of selective breeding, they created increasingly long, fine-boned, narrow-headed cats; eventually the modern show Siamese was bred to be extremely elongated, with lean, tubular bodies, long, slender legs, a very long, very thin tail that tapers gradually into a point and long, wedge-shaped heads topped by extremely large, wide-set ears. 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, particularly in the UK, continued to breed and register them, resulting in today's two types of Siamese – the modern "show-style" Siamese, and the "traditional" 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 organised in order to preserve old, genetically healthy lines from extinction; educate the public about the breed's history; and provide information on where people could buy kittens of the more moderate type. Several different breeders' organisations have developed, with differing breed standards and requirements (such as whether or not cats must have documented proof of ancestry from an internationally recognised registry). Partially due to such disagreements, there are several different names used for the cats, including "Traditional Siamese", "Old Style Siamese", "Classic Siamese", and "Appleheads" (originally a derogatory nickname coined by modern-type Siamese breeders as an exaggerated description of less extremely wedge-shaped heads).[6]

A two-year-old "traditional" Seal Point Siamese cat

The International Cat Association (TICA),[7] in addition to the regular Siamese breed category in which modern show-style Siamese are shown, now accepts a breed for Championship called Thai,[8] similar to the Thaikatze which are seen in Europe. The TICA Thai is recognised, which includes Siamese cats of the less extreme type or a Wichian Mat imported from Thailand. The Thai is also recognized by the World Cat Federation. Thai are the original type of cats from Thailand, brought to America on January 3, 1879 as a gift from the American consul in Bangkok to the President's wife, Mrs. Lucy Webb Hayes.

Description

Appearance

Traditional Siamese Cat

The Thai or traditional Siamese shares some features with the Modern Siamese (e.g., the colour pattern and the short single coat, although not so short and "painted on" as the modern) but differs from it in head and body type. It has a "foreign" type (rather elongated, high on the legs, lithe but substantial, with medium boning) not an "oriental" type as in the modern Siamese and Oriental breeds) and it has a modified wedge head, with rounded cheeks from which project a wedge shaped muzzle (or "marten face" as it was called in 19th century descriptions). The ears are moderately large but not huge, and are placed higher than those of the modern Siamese ears are. The eyes are medium to slightly large, a full almond shape but not extremely "oriental."

Modern Seal Lynx Point Siamese

The breed standard of the Modern Siamese 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, with large wide based ears positioned more towards the side of the head. This positioning should form a perfect triangle from the tip of the nose to each tip of the ear. It has a long elegant neck, body, and wippy slender tail. The fur is short, glossy, fine, soft, tight, and adhered to the body with no undercoat. The Siamese is characterized by its typical pointed color scheme.

The pointed pattern [1] is a form of partial albinism, resulting from a mutation in tyrosinase, an enzyme involved in melanin production. The mutated enzyme is heat-sensitive; it fails to work at normal body temperatures, but becomes active in cooler areas of the skin.[9] This results in dark colouration in the coolest parts of the cat's body, including the extremities and the face, which is cooled by the passage of air through the sinuses. 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 recognise which colour 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 the vast majority of Siamese had seal (extremely dark brown, almost black) points, but occasionally Siamese were born with blue (a cool grey) points, genetically a dilution of seal point; chocolate (lighter brown) points, a genetic variation of seal point; or lilac (pale warm gray) points, genetically a diluted chocolate. These colours were at first considered "inferior" seal points, and were not qualified for showing or breeding. All of these shades were eventually accepted by the breed associations, and became more common through breeding programmes specifically aimed at producing these colours. Later, outcrosses with other breeds developed Siamese-mix cats with points in other cat colours and patterns including Red and Cream point, lynx (tabby) point, and tortoise-shell ("tortie") point.

In the United Kingdom, all pointed Siamese-style cats are considered part of the Siamese breed. In the United States, the major cat registry, the Cat Fanciers' Association, considers only the four original colourations as Siamese: seal point, blue point, chocolate point, and lilac point. Oriental cats with colourpoints in colours or patterns aside from these four are considered Colorpoint Shorthairs in the American cat fancy.

This Siamese cat demonstrates the once common cross-eyed trait that has largely been bred out.

Many Siamese cats from Thailand had a kink in their tails but over the years, this trait has been considered 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 coloured points. Like the kinked tails, the crossed eyes have been seen as a fault and due to selective breeding the trait is far less common today.

Temperament

Modern Siamese kittens

Siamese are usually very affectionate and intelligent cats, renowned for their social nature. Many enjoy being with people and are sometimes described as "extroverts". Often they bond strongly to a single person. Some Siamese are extremely vocal, with a loud, low-pitched voice – known as "Meezer", from which they get one of their nicknames[4] – that has been compared to the cries of a human baby, and persistent in demanding attention. These cats are typically active and playful, even as adults, and are often described as more dog-like in behavior than other cats.[10][11]

They are sometimes less active at night than most cats, possibly because their blue eyes lack a tapetum lucidum, a structure which amplifies dim light in the eyes of other cats. The mutation in the tyrosinase also results in abnormal neurological connections between the eye and the brain.[12] Unlike many other blue-eyed white cats, Siamese cats do not have reduced hearing ability.

Health

Based on Swedish insurance data, Siamese and Siamese derived breeds have a higher rate of mortality compared to other breeds. The median lifespan of the Siamese was somewhere between 10 to 12.5 years. Survival rate at 12.5 years was 42%. The majority of deaths were caused by neoplasms, mainly mammary tumors. The Siamese also has a higher rate of morbidity. They are at higher risk of neoplastic and gastrointestinal problems but have a lower risk of feline lower urinary tract disease.[13][14]

It has been shown that the most common variety of PRA -Progressive retinal atrophy in cat (among them the Abyssinian, the Somali and the big group of Siamese related breeds) is related to a mutation on the rdAc-gene and a DNA-test is available.[15]

Breeds derived from the Siamese

Adult female Balinese cat (siamese longhair)
  • Balinese – a longhaired Siamese. In the largest US registry, the Cat Fanciers Association (CFA), limited to the four traditional Siamese coat colours of seal point, blue point (a dilute of seal point), chocolate point, and lilac point (a dilute of chocolate point). Other registries in the US and worldwide recognise a greater diversity of colours.
  • Burmese is a breed of domesticated cats descended from a specific cat, Wong Mau, who was found in Burma in 1930 by Dr. Joseph Cheesman Thompson. She was brought to San Francisco, California, where she was bred with Siamese. While technically not derived from Siamese, the breed was considered a form of Siamese for many years, leading to crossbreeding.
  • Colorpoint Shorthair – a Siamese-type cat registered in CFA with pointed coat colours aside from the traditional CFA Siamese coat colours; originally developed by crosses with other shorthair cats. Considered part of the Siamese breed in all other cat associations, but considered a separate breed in CFA. Variations can include Lynx Points and Tortie Points.
  • Himalayan - Longhaired breed originally derived from crosses of Persians to Siamese and pointed domestic longhair cats in order to introduce the point markings and the colours chocolate and lilac. After these initial crosses were used to introduce the colours, further breed development was performed by crossing these cats only to the Persian breed. In Europe, they are referred to as colourpoint Persians. In CFA, they are a colour division of the Persian breed.
  • Javanese – a longhaired version of the Colorpoint Shorthair in CFA. In Europe, it is an obsolete term for the longhaired version of the Oriental Shorthair.
  • Ocicat – a spotted cat originally produced by a cross between Siamese and Abyssinian.
  • Oriental Shorthair – a Siamese-style cat in non-pointed coat patterns and colours, including solid, tabby, silver/smoke, and tortoise-shell.
  • Oriental Longhair – a longhaired version of the Oriental Shorthair.
  • Snowshoe – a cream and white breed with blue eyes and some points that was produced through the cross-breeding of the Siamese and bi-coloured American Shorthair in the 1960s.
  • Thai Cat – also called the Wichian Mat or Old Style Siamese, the original type of Siamese imported from Thailand in the 19th century and still bred in Thailand today; and throughout the first half of the 20th century, the only type of Siamese bred in the West.[16]
  • Tonkinese – originally a cross between a Siamese cat and a Burmese. Tonkinese x Tonkinese matings can produce kittens with Burmese "sepia" pattern, Siamese "pointed" pattern, or a Tonkinese "mink" pattern which is something in between the two, with less pattern contrast than the Siamese but greater than the Burmese, and with aqua eyes.

Famous Siamese cats

Real

Misty Malarky Ying Yang, with Amy Carter.

Fictional

References

  1. ^ a b Clutterbuck, Martin R. (2004). Siamese Cats: Legends and Reality. Bangkok: White Lotus. ISBN 974-480-053-4. 
  2. ^ "Edward Blencowe Gould or Owen Gould". Archived from the original on March 11, 2005. http://web.archive.org/web/20050311113730/http://www.siamese.mundikat.nl/subweb/siamese/siamees/roots-e.htm. Retrieved 2006-08-14. 
  3. ^ "Siam: America's First Siamese Cat". http://www.rbhayes.org/hayes/manunews/paper_trail_display.asp?nid=65&subj=manunews. Retrieved 2009-02-13. 
  4. ^ a b c d Connor, Janine (2007). I am Siamese - How to raise Siamese cats and kittens. ISBN 978-0-9804291-0-7. 
  5. ^ Weir, Harrison (1889). Our Cats. London. ISBN 1846640970. 
  6. ^ Dr. Cris Bird. "The Types of Siamese". http://home.earthlink.net/~sarsenstone/threetypes.html. Retrieved 2006-09-27. 
  7. ^ TICA. "The International Cat Association". http://www.tica.org. Retrieved 2007-05-29. 
  8. ^ The International Cat Association. "Thai Breed Standard". http://tica.org/public/breeds/th/th.pdf. Retrieved 9 September 2009. 
  9. ^ D. L. Imes et al. (April 2006). "Albinism in the domestic cat (Felis catus) is associated with a tyrosinase (TYR) mutation" (Short Communication). Animal Genetics 37 (2): 175. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2052.2005.01409.x. PMC 1464423. PMID 16573534. http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2052.2005.01409.x. Retrieved 2006-05-29. 
  10. ^ "Breed Portrait of the Siamese Cat" (PDF document). Cat Fanciers Federation. http://www.cffinc.org/Siamese.PDF. Retrieved 2006-08-10. 
  11. ^ Myrna M. Milani, D.V.M. (1987). The Body Language and Emotion of Cats. New York: Quill. ISBN 0-688-12840-8. 
  12. ^ Jon H, Kaas (2005). "Serendipity and the Siamese cat: The discovery that genes for coat and eye pigment affect the brain". ILAR Journal 46 (4): 357–363. PMID 16179744. 
  13. ^ Egenvall, A.; Nødtvedt, A.; Häggström, J.; Ström Holst, B.; Möller, L.; Bonnett, B. N. (2009). "Mortality of Life-Insured Swedish Cats during 1999—2006: Age, Breed, Sex, and Diagnosis". Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 23 (6): 1175–1183. doi:10.1111/j.1939-1676.2009.0396.x. PMID 19780926. 
  14. ^ Egenvall, A.; Bonnett, B. N.; Häggström, J.; Ström Holst, B.; Möller, L.; Nødtvedt, A. (2010). "Morbidity of insured Swedish cats during 1999–2006 by age, breed, sex, and diagnosis". Journal of Feline Medicine & Surgery 12 (12): 948–959. doi:10.1016/j.jfms.2010.08.008.  edit
  15. ^ Template:Http://pawpeds.com/healthprogrammes/pradnatest.html
  16. ^ Amy Rebeka. "Thai Cat History". http://www.evineacats.com/. Retrieved 2007-05-29. 

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Siamese cat — cat cat (k[a^]t), n. [AS. cat; akin to D. & Dan. kat, Sw. katt, Icel. k[ o]ttr, G. katze, kater, Ir. cat, W. cath, Armor. kaz, LL. catus, Bisc. catua, NGr. ga ta, ga tos, Russ. & Pol. kot, Turk. kedi, Ar. qitt; of unknown origin. Cf. {Kitten}.] 1 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Siamese cat — UK [ˌsaɪəmiːz ˈkæt] / US [ˌsaɪəmɪz ˈkæt] noun [countable] Word forms Siamese cat : singular Siamese cat plural Siamese cats a cat with short fur that is pale on its body and dark on its ears, face, feet, and tail …   English dictionary

  • Siamese cat — [[t]sa͟ɪ͟əmiːz kæ̱t[/t]] Siamese cats N COUNT A Siamese cat is a type of cat with short cream and brown fur, blue eyes, dark ears, and a dark tail …   English dictionary

  • Siamese cat — noun a slender short haired blue eyed breed of cat having a pale coat with dark ears paws face and tail tip (Freq. 2) • Syn: ↑Siamese • Hypernyms: ↑domestic cat, ↑house cat, ↑Felis domesticus, ↑Felis catus …   Useful english dictionary

  • Siamese cat — one of a breed of slender, short haired cats, raised originally in Siam, having a fawn or grayish body with extremities of a darker shade of the same color. [1905 10] * * * Breed of slender, short haired domestic cat that originated in Thailand… …   Universalium

  • Siamese cat — Si|a|mese cat [ˌsaıəmi:z ˈkæt] n [Date: 1800 1900; Origin: Siamese from Siam former name of Thailand] a type of cat that has blue eyes, short grey or brown fur, and a dark face …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Siamese cat — /saɪəmiz ˈkæt / (say suyuhmeez kat) noun one of a breed of slender, short haired cats having blue eyes, a small head, and a fawn or grey colour with extremities of a darker shading. Also, Siamese. {originally bred in Thailand, formerly known as… …  

  • Siamese cat — Si|a|mese cat [ ,saıəmiz kæt ] noun count a cat with short fur that is pale on its body and dark on its ears, face, feet, and tail …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Siamese cat — noun A shorthaired breed of cat having blue eyes and pointed coat pattern, that is, a pale body and dark extremities …   Wiktionary

  • Siamese cat — breed of cat …   English contemporary dictionary

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