I have had a Siamese cat (called Topsy) for the last 15 years, they are quite simply the friendliest, most loving pets I know of.
They were originally bred by the King of Siam as pets and as gifts, they were chosen for their beauty and temperament above all and those qualities have lasted down the ages. A typical Siamese cat will live to between 15 and 20 years old, they are smaller and slimmer than most cats (see below for different body types) and are characterised by large ears and a distinctive colour scheme. They are extremely friendly; it is unusual for my cat to not greet me when I get home, if she has been alone in the house all day she will demand a hug. Last thing at night, she will always come and see the last person to go to bed for a snuggle before she curls up to sleep in her basket. From what I have heard from other cat lovers, this is pretty typical behavior of a Siamese.
There are three different body types that have been bred over the last 20 years:
- Traditional Siamese
This is the heaviest and cutest of all the breeds. Much rounder, especially in the face that the other two breeds and with slightly longer fur, this is the closest modern equivalent to the original cats bred in Siam.
- Classic Siamese
This is rougly halfway between the other two breeds and is my personal favorite (Topsy is a Classic). They are probably what you see when you visualise a cliched siamese cat in your mind, slightly slimmer than the traditional with slightly larger ears and a more pointed head.
- Modern Siamese
The Modern Siamese is the result of selective breeding during second half of this century to produce a more oriental-looking cat. All "bad" siamese cats in Disney films are modelled on the Modern Siamese and in my opinion they are not nearly as attractive as the other two breeds. They are much slimmer with very large ears and a more pointed head.
The most popular of the Siamese breeds is the "
Seal Point", that is, they are a very light brown with dark brown "
points" (the points are the
ears,
face,
feet and
tail). Siamese cats do come in a variety of recognised colour schemes though, including:
The
cat will generally get
darker with
age and the amount of fur that is "
point coloured" will extend round each point (my cat now has brown legs and thighs, where they used to be almost
ivory coloured). Almost all
Siamese cats (except for
Albino ones) have bright blue eyes (which magically turn into evil red demon eyes in the wrong light).
Siamese cats are indoor cats but will happily venture outdoors on warm days. We frequently took ours away on 6 week family holidays to the Lake District which included a 6 hour drive each way. This was taken within the stride of the cat who stayed outside most of the day, scaring ducks and taunting dogs.
If you are buying a Siamese cat, go to a reputable breeder, there are lots of them around. Play with the cat before you buy it, you will be able to get a good idea of its temperament straight away. My advice is to get it spayed (neutered), it will save you a lot of trouble later on and is a fairly simple procedure for the cat. They will cooperate with other pets as long as they are introduced to them at a young age. My father owned a Siamese cat that saved their Labrador's life once (it fell into a steep sided pond in winter and could not escape, the cat raised the alarm). They are perfectly safe with children and would sooner walk away than scratch if abused.