Coloured by temperature
The dark colour only develops where the skin is cool: ears, face, paws and tail. Kittens are born pure white.
Short-haired cats · Time every day
Siamese
Pedigree breed · from Thailand
A slim, cream cat with dark brown ears, mask, legs and tail, a wedge-shaped head and vivid blue eyes.
- Size
- About 25cm at the shoulder; 3 to 5kg
- Lives for
- 12 to 20 years
- Suits
- People who are home a lot and like to be talked to
Follows you everywhere, complaining. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about the siamese
The loudest cat
It has a loud, low, wailing voice and uses it constantly. People say it sounds like a baby crying.
A temple cat
In old Siam, now Thailand, these cats lived in palaces and temples, and are shown in a book of poems hundreds of years old.
Always blue-eyed
The gene that gives the pointed coat also gives blue eyes.
Squints and kinks
Early Siamese often had crossed eyes and a kink in the tail. Breeders have nearly removed both.
Almost a dog
Many will fetch, walk on a lead and come when called.
The real thing
Photos of the siamese
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
Looking after one
A Siamese needs company, conversation and play for much of the day. It feels the cold and loves a warm lap. The short coat needs little brushing.
Before you get one
It is clever, demanding and devoted. Left alone all day it becomes miserable and noisy; two together do better.
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