Do you have a half Siamese cat or a part Siamese cat? Is your cat a strange color point or a tabby that has siamese features? If you suspect your cat is a siamese mix read on. You might be able to confirm their heritage by spotting some of the common siamese traits.
Siamese cats have one of the most striking appearances of any house cat. Its dark face, tail, paws, and ears combined with light body fur are immediately identifiable characteristics of this feline. Siamese cats are an exotic breed, but it’s gaining in popularity worldwide, and you can find them in homes throughout the six continents.
The Siamese cat breed is a popular breed for mixing, you might have wondered “is my cat part siamese”? Your cat could have a Siamese lineage if they have the typical pointy ears, triangular face, blue eyes, color points, and slender athletic frame found in the breed. Just having some of those characteristics might indicate a siamese cat in your cat’s lineage.
Pure breed Siamese kittens are born pure white with a face and points that slowly develop color with time. If you’re wondering if your kitty has Siamese genes, you can identify the cat’s traits and looks to get your answer.
Is the Siamese a Rare Cat Breed?
The Siamese breed originates from Thailand, where it emerged somewhere around the 14th century. The Siamese was originally a breed kept by the aristocratic elites and the Thai Royals.
The cat’s influence on Thai culture is apparent through the many drawings and written works of Thai scholars. Their work heralds the cat and its impact on the country’s elitist culture.
The social elite and royals would give Siamese cats as gifts to the leaders of nations they traded with, spreading the cat’s genetics around Asia and eastern Europe, and as far as Africa.
While they were a rare breed some 600-years ago, today, purebred animals are commonplace throughout the world.
The Siamese is ranked as the 12th most-popular cat breed in the United States. The Siamese is popular for breeding, and many mixed varieties display Siamese characteristics.
What are the Physical Traits of Siamese Cats?
If you’re trying to identify Siamese traits in your cat or kitten, the first feature to look for is the blue eyes. The Siamese typically has bright blue eyes. However, mixed breeds can often have lighter or darker shades of blue, with an “ice-blue” color being fairly common in mixes.
The eyes are the standout feature in a Siamese. Mixed cats with distant siamese genetics can even come without the blue eyes but with other shared siamese characteristics. Look out for slender faces, with a more pointed-look than other cat breeds.
If you have an adult cat, look for a light-colored body. While kittens are born white and gain color as they age, adults can vary from a sandy color to a light brown.
Seal and chocolate point types of Siamese cat typically have a dark face, paws, and the tail’s tip also has a chocolate or deep brown color. Blue point Siamese cats have a slate grey face, paws, and tail with a light-colored body and blue eyes. Lilac point siamese cats tend to be very similar to blue point cats but have a silver hue to their color points rather than dark grey and pink noses. This color scheme, known as “point coloration,” is one of this breed’s defining visual characteristics.
If your cat lacks these point-coloration characteristics, it’s probably not a pure Siamese. A tabby and Siamese mixed cat will sometimes have stripes at these traditional color points. These cats are called lynx point siamese cats.
A ragamese cat is a mix between a siamese and a ragdoll – they usually have blue eyes and may have colorpoint fur or be mitted and often have the longer fur of the ragdoll – but they are not a recognized breed as yet!
Most cat owners don’t realize the breed comes in two varieties; The traditional and modern Siamese.
The traditional Siamese features resemble its ancestors more closely than the modern breed. They have slender bodies, pointed, web-like faces, and the classic point-coloration with black faces, paws, ears, and tail tips.
The modern breed lacks the pointy look to the face, with a more rounded effect. However, the modern Siamese retains the same deep-blue eyes and point-coloration.
Therefore, if your cat has green or brown eyes, there is little chance that it’s a pure direct Siamese mix although it may have siamese heritage. The eyes are often a dead giveaway that there’s Siamese in your cat’s genetics.
Siamese cats are slender, and they typically weigh between 8 to 12-lbs, placing them in the median range for cat body weight.
The Siamese appears thinner than other breeds due to their short fur coat. It lacks the fluffy appearance of the ragdoll or Maine Coon cat breeds. As a result, the Siamese doesn’t shed as much as other breeds.
If your cat has long hair and sheds frequently, it probably has distant Siamese lineage at best. Siamese doesn’t need much grooming like long-haired breeds, and you won’t ever have to take them to the parlor for grooming.
Siamese also has long, slender legs, and they display a lithe movement when walking. We like to think of them as the supermodels of the cat world, giving the appearance of walking down a runway at a fashion show.
If your cat appears to stand taller than other cats, with longer legs than other breeds, there’s a good chance it has Siamese in its genetics.
Other Breeds That Have Siamese Heritage
The siamese is such a popular cat that many owners have bred them with other cats to try and utilize some of their favored characteristics.
Some breeders look for color, some look for personality, build, and other traits.
Burmese, Havana Brown cats, and Himalayan cats all have some genetics that comes from a Siamese cat heritage even though they are recognized breeds in their own right.
Himalayan cats are a mix of Siamese and Persian cats, Burmese cats are a mix of Siamese and an unknown dark-colored breed of cat, and Havana’s are a Siamese and domestic black cat mix.
If your cat has one of these breeds as a parent then they are likely to show characteristics that might be identified as originating with their siamese genes.
Identifying Siamese Traits in Kittens
If you adopt a kitten, it’s challenging to discover if it has Siamese genetics in its early life stage particularly if it has distant siamese genetics. All purebred Siamese kittens are born a snow-white color. As they age, they start to develop the signature coloring on their face and extremities.
The white fur on the body slowly starts to turn a darker color. It might take three to six months before you start seeing the color appear in your cat’s fur. However, one color trait present from birth is the characteristic deep blue eyes found in every Siamese cat.
Kittens are born with color-sensitive enzymes in their hair follicles, giving a darker color at the extreme tires while the body remains lighter.
As a result, the color of your Siamese may depend on the environmental conditions in your country. The coloration may differ depending on which hemisphere they live in and the local climate conditions.
Do Siamese Cats Have Nice Personalities?
The Siamese has a reputation for being a friendly cat with a huge personality. One of the most interesting and unique features of a Siamese is its chatty behavior.
Some Siamese will sit next to you and have a conversation with you, answering your questions with a series of meows and vocal tones.
Siamese meow frequently, and they use it as a communication tool to tell you when they’re feeling hungry or if they want to play.
Most owners note that their Siamese is incredibly vocal, and they often display moody behavior that’s not common in other cat breeds. As a result of this personality type, they might require more attention than other breeds.
If you have a cat who is very vocal and has other siamese characteristics like body shape and head shape – even if they don’t have blue eyes or a colorpoint coat then they may still be a Siamese mix cat.
Owners find that the cat can get moody and irritated if you don’t play with them enough. The Siamese is also a breed with high energy, and they’re particularly active at night.
If your cat is vocal, has high energy, and has a distinct personality they may have siamese heritage. If your cat has a short colorpoint coat, blue eyes and an athletic body shape the chances are that it is a purebred Siamese.
A tabby cat with an athletic body shape, wedge head shape, short coat, and a vocal personality but green eyes might have a single siamese parent in their lineage.
