Siamese Cat |
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Siamese CatThe exact origins of the breed are unknown, but it is believed to be from Southeast Asia and is said to be descended from the sacred temple cats of Siam (now Thailand). According to some of the legends, the Siamese cat guarded Buddhist temples and was considered sacred - and was only kept by priests and royalty. The first Siamese cat to appear in England was a gift from Siam to an ambassador who brought them home. In 1871, Siamese cats were first exhibited in Britain in the first modern-day cat show at London's Crystal Palace, where Siamese cats were disparagingly described as an unnatural, nightmare kind of cat. Nevertheless, the Siamese cat rapidly became popular among British fanciers. By the early 1900s, the Siamese had made the move to America, where the breed quickly became popular with American cat lovers as well. In the twentieth century Siamese cats became one of the most popular breeds in Europe and North America. In the 1950s - 1960s, as the Siamese was increasing in popularity, many breeders and cat show judges began to favor the more slender look and as a result of generations of selective breeding, created increasingly long, fine-boned, narrow-headed cats; eventually the modern show Siamese cat was bred to be extremely elongated, with thin, tubular bodies, long, slender legs, a whip-thin tail and long, narrow, wedge-shaped heads topped by extremely large, wide-set ears. 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. Partially due to such disagreements, there are several different names used for the cats, including Traditional Siamese, Old Style, Classic siamese and Appleheads (originally a derogatory nickname coined by modern-type Siamese breeders as an exaggerated description of less extremely wedge-shaped heads). Siamese cats are a talkative, affectionate cat, and appears in the traditional seal, blue, chocolate, and lilac point colors, as well as the colors associated by other registries with the Colorpoint Shorthair, such as red, cream, tortie, bluecream, and lynx points. Each Siamese cat has a different personality - some, if you tell them once, will desist from the activity forever, while those Siamese cats with the more mischievous natures, though they know it's forbidden, will merely wait until you're not around, and then do it anyway. Combine this beauty with acute intelligence, inquisitive personality and a loving nature and you have the essence of the Siamese cat. The Siamese kitten is pure white at birth - the gene that produces the "points" on the face, paws, and tail is heat sensitive, and the point color gradually develops on the cooler parts of the body. 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. Siamese cats tend to darken with age, and generally adult Siamese living in warm climates have lighter coats than those in cool climates. They are very calm, affectionate cats, typically healthy and long-lived - 15-20 years is average, and over 20 are not uncommon. While Siamese cats overall are very hardy, some Siamese cats have problems with gingivitis , a liver-destroying disease called amyloidosis and the heart disease cardiomyopathy . Stumble It! • Submit To Netscape • del.icio.us • Y! MyWeb |
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