Siamese Cat - Lovable Bundle of Energy That Sparks Your Home
01.01.2024 - Reading time: 3 minutes
Anyone who wants a Siamese cat as an additional family member should know one thing: With her comes a "chatterbox" in the house! She purrs, meows, coos, babbles and unmistakably communicates her mood to her human (and sometimes also to his neighbours).
NewsletterSiamese Cat
Breed | Siamese Cat
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Origin | Siam (today’s Thailand)
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Size | medium |
Weight | Female cat at 3 to 4 kg, male cat 4 to 5 kg
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Physique | elegant, slender, sleek, long-legged, muscular; long, thin tail with a tapered tip; small oval paws
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head shape | wedge-shaped face; chin and ears form a triangle
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Eyes | blue, almond-shaped, wide-set
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Coat and colour | close-fitting, thin topcoat with almost no undercoat; colour accents on ears, paws, face and tail, light body (partial albino); more than 100 known colour and pattern nuances; recognized basic types: seal, blue, chocolate and lilac point
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Coat care | occasional brushing
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Special features | must have companions, needs access to outside or a large home with a safe balcony
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Nature | communicative, intelligent, stubborn, socially acceptable, people-oriented, cuddly
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Furthermore, the Siamese cat captivates with its unusual elegance. Its mysterious gaze from blue eyes and the unmistakable markings on its coat are enchanting. But the Siamese cat is not just beautiful – this extroverted feline wants action and feels right at home with company.
They have great charm, a will of their own and are very assertive. What the Siamese cat wants it will confidently claim. And when something does not please them, they indicate it very clearly. Some say Siamese cats have a good portion of stubbornness. They are also intelligent, sensitive and very devoted, seek physical contact, follow their humans around and show that they are cuddly and playful. With its close relationship to people, the Siamese cat is also used a therapy animal to help children with disabilities or dementia patients.
Because their coat is very fine and has hardly any undercoat, the Siamese cat is very sensitive to cold and damp weather. The Siamese cat, as a short-haired cat, is very easy to care for. Occasional light brushing, as well as massage, is enough. The effort not needed for care will be offset by the that needed for playing and cuddling: Siamese cats need movement and a lot of engagement to work off their keen hunting instinct and keep fit. Pleasantly playing with a ball is not enough – Siamese cats want to frolic about.
Accordingly, you must provide your feline with stable scratching trees and places to climb. Many Siamese cats can be accustomed to going for a walk on a leash. To do so, however, you must have a great deal of time and patience. Clicker training and retrieving are also fun for the intelligent animal. A Siamese cat behaves almost like a dog in many respects. This active animal also needs a feline companion.
The unmistakable, typical colours of the Siamese cat result from the combination of partial albinism and dark colour accents on the ears, tail, paws and head. An insufficient contrast between the points and the even, at best moderately shadowed body colour are considered flaws. It takes some time before the Siamese cat has developed its final coat colour. The baby coat is light, and at around nine months the pigmentation is generally formed. The four colour accents of seal, blue, chocolate and lilac are the recognized basic types, however there are over 100 known colour variants.
The Siamese cat was already known in the 14th century in the court of Siam and as temple cats. Their mysterious beauty was ascribed to spiritual powers. Because of this exclusive status, keeping of these cats was reserved for appropriate levels of society. Siamese cats arrived in England in 1884, when the King of Siam presented the British General Consul with a breeding pair named Pho and Mia as a gift. Just 8 years later, the first breed standards were established for the slender short-haired cat. Breeding in Germany began in 1927.
Many cat fanciers ask the same question: What age do Siamese cats reach? That varies from cat to cat because the breeding has made them prone to genetic diseases. However, with a life expectancy of 18 to 20 years, Siamese cats have the highest life expectancy among cat breeds. So-called “Methuselahs” who make it to 24 or 25 are frequently seen in this breed.
Breed portrait: Siamese cat
Elegant, intelligent and devoted – the Siamese cat is one of the world’s most popular cat breeds. Learn all about their origin, character and care in our breed portrait.