as the main colour – in many different shades, by the way. The eyes are green.
The varieties were recognised and given official status at different times. Siamese cats are considered an old breed with a long history. The Oriental is a later breed and was only developed in the 1950s.
The Siamese and the Oriental are, so to speak, identical except for the coat and eye colour. However, there are some minor differences between them. The latter are due to the fact that Orientals were obtained by crossing Siamese cats with Russian Blue, Abyssinian, Bengal… The Siamese gene is recessive, so that when crossed with other short-haired cats, kittens were born that looked exactly like Siamese cats, or differed only in the colour of the coat or the colour of the eyes. Even nowadays, it is sometimes possible to find Orientals with blue-blue eyes.
It should also be added that many international felinologists’ organisations consider that the two breeds can be crossed.
Interesting fact: when two Siamo cats are only born Siamese, but a cross between two Orientals can produce a Siamese.
There are also several new breeds developed by crossing Siamese and Orientals with each other: Bengal + Oriental = Serengeti; Sphynx + Siamese / Oriental = Peterbold
Ears with pointed tips to the head. They are arranged in such a way that the nostrils of the nose and the tips of the ears form an equilateral triangle, extending the sides of the wedge.
The almond-shaped, slightly protruding eyes blend well with the wedge-shaped head. The distance between the eyes is not less than the width of the eye. The eyes of the Siamese are bright blue and those of the Oriental are bright green. Possible exception: Oriental with blue/blue eyes.
The coat is very short, shiny and close to the body. The coat has a silky texture and no undercoat.
The Book of Lines, dating from the Ayutian period (1350-1767), describes the most common colour of the Siamese cat, sil point.
On 27 December 1871, the Siamese were exhibited at the Crystal Palace in London. In 1890, these cats were introduced to the USA, but initially had difficulty adapting to the local climate and spread relatively slowly. However, around 1930, a veritable ‘Siamese cat boom’ suddenly began.
In 1892, the first official standard for the “Royal Siamese Cat” was created, describing one of the Siamese cat’s characteristic colours, sil point. This standard was created by Harrison Weir.
By the 1950s, the Siamese cat standard was already similar to the present one. In addition to the four main colours: sil point, chocolate point, blue point and lilac point, tabby point was introduced in 1966 and red point in 1967.
In our time, the imagination of breeders really knows no bounds. There are tortie-points – Siamese cats with tortoiseshell paintings; cinnamon-points, silver-points, caramel-points…
However, even with all this diversity, breeders are striving to preserve and even extremise the Siamese type.
The “royal origin of the Siamese” is perceived as a legend, but the record of the first Siamese cats in the breed book of the NCC (the Northern Cat Club, one of the most influential feline organisations in England) says: “The breeder is the King of Siam”.
another colour; Bicolour – white with a coat of another colour.
There are combinations of colours which claim the status of a separate breed:
Seychelles – Pointe coat with white spots, blue/blue eyes.
Foreign white – an all-white cat with blue/blue eyes (Siamese or Oriental), green or different coloured eyes (Oriental).
Black, Seal – black
Blue – Azure
Chocolate – chocolate
Lilac – light purple
Red – red
Cream
Fawn – brownish yellow
Cinnamon – light brown with an orange tinge
Silver – silver, the lower part of the hair colourless, white
White – white