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This breed originally came from Siam (now known as Thailand) in the late 1800's. An English ambassador received a cat as a gift and brought it to England. It was even then a slender, graceful cat, although not to the extremes of today's Siamese. Early descriptions refer to its long legs, and long wedge-shaped head. This combined with the dramatic dark points on a pale body made it very popular with cat lovers.
The breed grew in popularity, to the point that Siamese classes at shows in the 1950's often had a hundred cats in them. However, quality does not always follow quantity and many of these cats were heavy boned, lacked refinement, and had pale eyes. Later breeders began breeding for a longer, leaner look and this is the hallmark of the breed today.
The Siamese could quite possibly be referred to as the "Queen of Breeds" as it has been instrumental in the development and revitalization of numerous breeds, as well as spawning a couple of sibling breeds. It is the direct ancestor of the Oriental Shorthair, Colorpoint Shorthair, Balinese, and the Javanese as all are color and/or coat-length varients of the Siamese. It was central to the development of the Himalayan and the Tonkinese.
Because of its vitality, it was used in the revitalization of many other unrelated breeds such as the Russian Blue, Burmese, Havana Brown, and Ocicat.
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The point-restricted color pattern is a well-known attribute of this breed, but it is a color factor only. Many other breeds have point-restricted color (Birman, Exotic, Devon Rex, Himalayan) and it is a disqualifying fault in other breeds (such as the Japanese Bobtail). As many random-bred cats are also pointed, the genetic factor is not limited to purebreds alone. Many cat lovers believe that their pointed cat must be a Siamese, whereas the coloring is simply due to the cat's having that particular color-restricted gene in its makeup. The dark blue eyes of the Siamese are also associated with the gene that carries the pointed coat factor.
The coat itself lies very close to the body giving rise to the expression of a Siamese having a "painted on coat."
The Siamese coloring comes in 4 colors:
Chocolate (deep rich brown), seal (dark brown-black) and their dilutes blue and lilac. All four colors are possible in a litter.
In some parts of the world such as the UK, additional solid colors, such as red and cream, are shown in the Siamese class. These colors would be shown in the Colorpoint Shorthair class in the United States and elsewhere.
All Siamese are born white. Color begins coming in to the coldest areas of the body as the kitten begins to mature. Eventually, the color may begin shading the main body areas with the darker colored cats (such as the seals) becoming overall more dark than their lighter siblings (such as the lilacs). As the coloring is affected by temperature, small injuries that expose the skin (such as a scratch) will result in the hair that grows in there to be darker.
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The Siamese body is often described as feeling like a lead pipe. It may appear slender and delicate, but the body itself is dense and muscular. Its tail is very long and thin, in keeping with the lithe body. The Siamese head is a long triangular wedge, flat across the top and long and straight down the nose.
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Next to its physical appearance, people often associate this cat's plaintive and frequent vocalizations with the breed. They are very loving and intelligent cats, moderately active and enjoy the company of their human companions.
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