Many people believe Siamese cats always looked like the conniving Si and Am from the movie "Lady and the Tra
Those cats, favorites to the royal family of Siam (Thailand), had round heads and stockier bodies. The original look of the breed is now known as an Applehead Siamese cat. Though it's a purebred Siamese, that appearance is no longer considered the breed standard.
Many people believe Siamese cats always looked like the conniving Si and Am from the movie "Lady and the Tra
Those cats, favorites to the royal family of Siam (Thailand), had round heads and stockier bodies. The original look of the breed is now known as an Applehead Siamese cat. Though it's a purebred Siamese, that appearance is no longer considered the breed standard.
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Siamese cats came to the West in the late 19th Century. The first Siamese cat documented in America was in 1878 when the American Consul in Bangkok sent one as a gift to President Rutherford B. Hayes. Siam's face was round and ears proportionate to her body. Five years later, people became intrigued by the appearance of a pair of kittens in Britain with wedge-shaped faces, long ears and thinner bodies.
Cat fanciers soon began selectively breeding Siamese to shape the head from an apple to a triangle. The longer ears form two points of the triangle, which ends at the chin. The body is now sleeker with point colors points the face, ears, feet and tails, which are thin, smooth and taper to a point. While Si and Am may look like the breed standard, the pair's temperaments aren't like the breed. Siamese are affectionate, laid back, affectionate with children and playful. |
Original applehead appearance
Current breed standard
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