Animal stories: Siamese

Siamese are medium sized cat breeds well known for their loud vocal and its classic looks. They have long, slender body that is graceful and elegant. They are muscular and feel much heavier than they appear. The body is well balanced and athletic. Their face is angular, wedge-shaped and have almond shaped eyes that slant toward the nose. The hind legs are higher than the front. The legs are slender and the paws are small and oval. The tail is long and tapering and free from kinks. They have soft, glossy, very short fur that lies closely against the body.

Siamese are known for their talent for communicating their ideas and desires clearly to their chosen humans. They are immensely loyal to their chosen human and they may not tolerate rivals for their affection. Determinedly social and very dependent upon their humans, Siamese crave active involvement in your life. They follow wherever you go. They can be unpredictable in their behaviour and can appear disinterested but its all an act. They tend to settle best with cats of their own type such as Burmese or Orientals but being territorial tend to bully less domineering breeds.

Siamese need to be treated with respect and patience and require lots of affection if they are to develop a good relationship with their human companions.

Coat colour

Their coat colour includes blue, chocolate and lilac point.

Temperament

Siamese cats are very human-oriented and intelligent. They are outgoing extrovert and can be extremely noisy. Siamese cats are inquisitive and may become destructive if bored. They will pine if left too often alone.

Lifespan

They live for about 15 years.

Pet grooming

Their short glossy coat does not require excessive grooming. But the cat will enjoy the attention gained from being groomed.

Country of origin

THAILAND: Siamese cats are originally from Thailand. They are believed to have been present in that country as early as the 1300’s. Legend says that they were sacred cats and guarded Buddhist temples. Siamese kittens were highly prized and it was considered a great honour to be given one. Their distant ancestor was an albino cat belonging to the King of Siam. Theft of one of the Royal Cats of Siam from the Royal Court was punishable by death. They were finally imported into Britain in the 1880’s and arrived in America shortly afterwards.

The original Siamese colour was the classic seal brown points with a warm cream coloured body but breeders in the west developed more colours by introducing other breeds of cat into the breeding schedule.