Range of Siamese Cat Points

Here is a picture by Flickr photographer Chris Isherwood of his Siamese cats and an Oriental Shorthair (an associated cat breed). I have guessed (incorrectly on two occasions!) what type of pointing the cats have:

Siamese cat types and one Oriental Shorthair

One aspect of the cats that you can see clearly is the smooth single coat that lies close to the skin. This is typical of Siamese cats. It is in complete contrast to the shaggy long coat of the Maine Coon and the dense tight coat of the British Shorthair.

Someone can leave me a comment to correct me! Go on, I dare you.

Seal Point Siamese Cat in Thailand

This is an interesting photo of a Siamese cat in Siam - well it is called Thailand now but does this cat give us a clue as to what the original Siamese cat looked like before being picked up by the English cat fancy in the late 1800s.

The picture was taken where the marker in this map indicates:


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This is the photo:

Seal Point Siamese Temple Cat in Thailand

You can see that this cat is not oriental in shape but mid range moggie shape (semi-cobby) and a little fat actually!

Cat breeders in the USA justify breeding very slender cats on the basis that the shape is what the Siamese cat was like in Thailand - rubbish obviously. Or if they don't try and justify selective breeding in that way they are clearly breeding cats that are unnatural and unpopular with the public.

You can see the tabby banding on the forelegs. This cat has, it seems, an element of tabby pointing about him (lynx points).

Lovely Lila Siamese Elegance

Lovely Lila, a photo by fofurasfelinas on Flickr.

This is another smooth, cool and elegant photograph of a seal point Siamese cat in Brazil by Gaine Portal - Flickr name fofurasfelinas.

The photograph captures the elegance of the Siamese cat. The mood really is in harmony with the cat breed. Everything is right about this individual cat for me - moderate in all ways and very elegant. This cat looks like a Thai cat (classic Siamese).

I expect to see a film star about to step in for the next shot. And the Siamese cat is well known as being a cat breed that is favored by film stars because it was and still is an exotic cat. See a page on the Siamese cat and film stars.

Once in the late 1800s and early 1900s it was a rare cat in the West. The wildcat hybrids have taken over the role of exotic cats in the 21st century.

The photo on this page is protected by copyright ©. Violations of copyright are reported to Google.com (DMCA).

Siamese Cat in Siam (Thailand)

Siamese cat in Thailand.

This Flickr photographer, xiffy, has managed to photograph the real thing, a Siamese cat in Siam; now Thailand, of course. The photo was taken near or in Chiang Mai International Airport.


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It is really nice to see the "real thing". This cat is probably more purebred than a purebred Siamese in the USA! Despite not not being registered with any cat association. I mean the genetics are probably more pure.

Several things stand out to me. The cat has normal sized ears. Modern Siamese cat breeders tend to breed cats with ears that are far too large - abnormally so.

Secondly this is the classic seal point. What you would expect in Thailand. The color of the eyes are not deep blue although this is a young cat. The color may deepen. "Extraordinary blue eyes" are how Gloria Stephens in Legacy of the Cat describes the Siamese cat eyes.

Finally the torso color is quite dark too. The classic Siamese show cats have higher contrast between center of body and extremities.

I have another picture of a Siamese cat in Siam on the Siamese cat history page and he or she also had a dark torso.

This cat's body type is classic and not extreme of course.

One Seal and One Blue Point Siamese

Seal and Blue point Siamese - photo by Insomniac86 on Flickr.

This is a nice photograph of what I believe is a seal point Siamese on the left and a blue point Siamese on the right. The photo provides a nice reference point for the blue point against the seal.

These are two very good looking Siamese cats. They are modern Siamese in body conformation (oriental body type) although I have seen more slender.

Napcoware Siamese Cats

Napcoware Siamese Cats, a photo by SportSuburban on Flickr.

Well, I love these cats. They have great style and poise. I might not have been the intention of the manufacturer but they are modern or contemporary Siamese cats.

It appears that Napcoware is made in Japan. And they don't have a website.

This implies that they company or business are no longer in operation although I could be very wrong.

Siamese Cats Seal Point

Seal Point Siamese cat - Photo by chexov

Seal point Siamese cats are the original Siamese cats it is said. In other words these were the non-purebred cats that were the domestic cat companions of people living in Siam (Thailand now) over a thousand years ago. The pointing is dark brown approaching black, a "dark seal brown". This is what makes the pointing so beautiful because it is in good contrast to the creamy white body colour.

Subsequent development of the breed through selective breeding to create a wide range of additional pointing colors is arguably less than successful. Some pointing is so subtle and broken as to be hardly pointing at all (e.g lynx pointing).

The Siamese is recognised in the pointed category, in all divisions and in all pointed colors, including seal, chocolate, lilac, blue (dilute seal?), cinnamon, fawn, red and cream. These base colors are sometimes broken with tortoiseshell pointing and tabby pointing (lynx). There are also shaded or chinchilla points, smoke points and particolor points.

The seal point Siamese cat is a "non-agouti black with the addition of the Siamese allele c^s. The genotype is aaB-c^sc^sD-.

You are probably aware that the dark extremities of the Siamese is due to the temperature dependance of the production of pigment that is deposited in the hair strands when the hair is produced. The temperature of the main body area is too high for the pigment to be produced. The Siamese is a seal colored cat but for the body temperature. You will see Siamese cats that are quite dark in overall body colour. I would expect the body color to be darker in cooler ambient temperatures. Newborns are all white as they are at body temperature in the womb.

The cat in the photo is a classic or traditional Siamese - see Siamese cat types.

Note: quotes are from Robinson's Genetics under fair use.