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Siamese
Cat
The Siamese cat is one of the first
distinctly recognized breeds of Oriental cat.
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Siamese
Cat |
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The exact
origins of the breed are unknown, but it is believed to be from South-East
Asia, and may be descended from the sacred temple cats of Siam (hence their
name).
The breed was first seen outside their Asian home in 1884, when the
British Counsel-General in Bangkok, Mr Owen Gould, brought a pair of the cats
back to Britain for his sister, Mrs Veley (who went on to be co-founder of the
Siamese Cat Club in 1901).
The cats were shown at the Crystal Palace in 1885,
and the following year another pair (with kittens) were imported by a Mrs.
Vyvyan and her sister.
A small number of cats were brought in over the next
few years, and together these formed the base breeding pool for entire Siamese
cat breed
in Britain.
As a result of thousands of generations of
selective breeding and the pressures of competition there are now actually
two sub breeds of Siamese cat- the modern show Siamese cat, and the traditional or
'apple headed' Siamese cat.
Modern show Siamese cats have been bred to be
extremely elongated, with bodies slender to the point of emaciation, and a
Y-shaped head with an extremely long muzzle and extra-large 'batwing'
ears.
The traditional Siamese cat are much sturdier,
with a round head and ears more in proportion to their size.
Siamese cats often have a kink in their
tails, because the original breeders saw that as a unique feature of the
breed. In recent years the kinked tail has become a "flaw" and
breeders have largely eradicated it from the Show Siamese cat.
Both breeds of Siamese cat have almond-shaped
eyes and like all Oriental cats they are extremely talkative and demanding
of attention.
They often will engage themselves in crazy antics to get the
attention of their people, and often attach themselves to one human in a
household.
As they are wired for sound, they can meow loud enough to compete
with fire and rescue equipment.
All Siamese cats have a creamy base coat with colored
"points" on their muzzles, ears, paws and lower legs, and tails.
The darker Siamese cats have a darkening of their back and hindquarters as well.
Originally Siamese cats were all seal-pointed, but now they have been bred in all
of the standard cat colors including red, lilac, blue, chocolate, tabby and
torty or tortoise-shell.
In the United Kingdom, all pointed
Siamese-style cats are considered to be part of the Siamese breed.
In the
United States, however, only four colorations are considered as a Siamese
cat: seal
point, blue point, chocolate point, and lilac point.
Oriental
cats with color points in colors or patterns aside from these four are
considered Color point
Shorthairs in the American cat fancy.
The coloration of the coat is determined by
an enzyme that is heat-sensitive.
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 the kitten is four weeks old the
points should be clearly distinguishable enough to recognize which color
they will be.
Many Siamese cats are cross-eyed to compensate
for the abnormal uncrossed wiring of the optic
chiasm, which is produced by the same albino allele that
produces colored points.
Recent Siamese cats have been named
'Serengeti' when they are crossed with Bengal
cats.
The Serengeti
often is almost indistinguishable from a normal Siamese. Siamese cats
crossed with Burmese cats are known as 'Tonkinese'.
The above information sourced: Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
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