| Description of Applehead & Traditional Siamese Cats |
| Appearance The pointed pattern 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. 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. A Blue Point style Siamese. 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, out crosses with other breeds developed Siamese-mix cats with points in other cat colours and patterns including flame point, lynx (tabby) point, and tortoise-shell ("tortie") point. In the United Kingdom, all pointed Siamese-style cats are considered to be 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 colour points in colours or patterns aside from these four are considered Color point Short hairs in the American cat fancy. Siamese have almond-shaped, bright blue eyes and short, flat-lying coats. Many Siamese cats from Thailand had a kink in their tails but over the years this trait has been considered to be 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 chasm, 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 through selective breeding, the trait is far less common today.
sometimes described as "extroverts". And as there are extrovert Siamese, there also are very sensitive and nervous temperaments, which are not easily adapted to the changes of environment or to the strangers. They are extremely vocal, with a loud, low-pitched voice – known as "Meezer", from which they get one of their nicknames – that has been compared to the cries of a human baby, and persistent in demanding attention. They also have a great need for human companionship. Often they bond strongly to a single person. These cats are typically active and playful, even as adults. The social orientation of Siamese cats may be related to their lessened ability to live independent of humans. Siamese coat colouration is appealing to humans, but is ineffective for camouflage purposes. They are 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. Like blue-eyed white cats, they may also have reduced hearing ability, though most are not deaf. Indeed Siamese are known for being an exception to the rule of thumb that white cats with blue eyes are deaf. Regardless, being dependent on humans may have been a survival trait for ancestors of the Siamese. Breeds derived from the Siamese # Balinese – a long haired 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 G. Thompson. She was brought to San Francisco, California, where she was bred with Siamese. While technically not derived from Siamese, the breed was considered to be a form of Siamese for many years, leading to cross-breeding. # Color point Short hair – 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 short hair cats. Considered to be 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 - Long-haired 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 color point Persians. In CFA they are a colour division of the Persian breed. # Javanese – a long haired version of the Color point Short hair in CFA. In Europe, an obsolete term for the long haired version of the Oriental Short hair. # Ocicat – a spotted cat originally produced by a cross between Siamese and Abyssinian. # Old Style Siamese – The Old-Style Siamese (OSS) also known as 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, and are still bred and seen in Thailand today. # Oriental Short Hair – a Siamese-style cat in non-pointed coat patterns and colours, including solid, tabby, silver/smoke, and tortoise-shell.
# 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 Short hair in the 1960s. # Tonkinese – a cross between a Siamese cat and a Burmese. The Tonkinese are "pointed" cats but their bodies are of a darker colour than the Siamese. # Thai Cat – A pointed cat also called the Thaikatzen or Wichien-Matt, which represents the early 20th century Siamese, and can still be found in Thailand Cattery's (in Thailand called Wichien-Maat) |
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Siamese AKA Traditional Siamese
Chocolate Point Copyrights 2009
Chocolate Point Copyrights 2009
