Siamese cats were the first breed of  oriental cats to be introduced to the UK.  They are thought to have come from south east Asia, but it’s impossible to pinpoint their exact location.

They were first introduced to the UK in 1884 by the  British Consul-General in Bangkok who brought them back to his sister as a gift.  He brought her a pair of breeding Siamese.  They went on to have a small litter of 3.  These kittens didn’t live long but managed to make a huge impression at the Crystal Palace cat show before their deaths.

Another cat fanatic followed the Consul-General in 1886, so another pair were brought into the UK.  As the breed gained a small but strong fan base, a number of breeders created a breeding base. It’s from this small base of roughly 11 cats that all Siamese cats in the UK are descended from.

In 1950′s and 60′s as the breed got more popular there was a demand for these cats to refine their characteristics.  Show goers were preferring a more slender look, so they selectively breed until they got the shape that they wanted.  This produced a longer leaner body shape, a more defined wedge shaped head with large ears set apart and a very long tapered tail.  Those cat breeders who stayed true to the original type of Siamese found them to be less competitive at cat shows and as a result there was very little demand for them.

By 1980′s the original style of Siamese cats where in the minority at cat shows as many owners preferred the new slender look as apposed to those with a bulkier body and a rounder face.  However some UK breeders continued to breed them to preserve their original genetics so now there are 2 distinctive types of Siamese Cats, the tradition and the modern.

The original style of Siamese are also now known by a number of different names such as the the Traditional Siamese, The Old Style, and Classic Siamese.  Where as the more modern style are know as Show Style Siamese.

I haven’t gone into the characteristics of this breed of cat in detail but they are easily recognised by their pointy face, large ears and percing eyes.  They’ve very playful in nature and love to be with people.  They’re also very vocal and love to talk to each other and their owners.  They need a lot of attention and stimulation so will benefit from cat toys and human interaction.

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