Siamese, Oriental and Balinese Cats

Siamese from Orimese Cattery

THE SIAMESE

One of the oldest breeds of domestic feline, the Siamese has a history as long and colorful as the cat itself. The Siamese is also (arguably) the best- known breed on the planet. These sleek cats with the beautiful baby-blues and outspoken nature originated in Thailand (formerly Siam, thus the breed's name), where they were treasured by royalty as companions and thought to inherit the transmigrating souls of these people en route to the hereafter.

Stories involving the Siamese are plentiful, including fanciful tales that account for some of the breed's traits. One such story recounts how sacred Siamese temple cats, charged with guarding a valuable vase, curled their tails around it and stared at the object with such intensity that their eyes became crossed. Another story tells of Siamese cats appointed to guard princesses' rings: The cats kept the rings on their tails, which made the appendage kink to keep the rings from sliding off.

The cat is described and depicted in the Cat-Book Poems, a manuscript written in the city of Ayudha in Siam sometime between 1350, when the city was founded, and 1767, when the city was burned by invaders. The illustrations clearly show cats with slim bodies and legs and pale-colored coats with dark coloring on the ears, tails and feet. The book describes them as having red eyes, possibly because of the way, as any cat photographer will attest, that cats' eyes reflect light.

                         Tangoni Siamese and Orientals karrider@supanet.com  

Balinese

Supreme Champion Les Beaux Chats Antonius Marcus

Balinese have the same body type and colouring as Siamese but with long hair.

Orientals

Les Beaux Chats Kimelpha Xanthus Tia

The Oriental Shorthair has the same body type and hair length as the Siamese but comes in a cornucopia of colors and patterns, and the coat colors are not point restricted. The Oriental Longhair is a longhaired version of the Oriental Shorthair.

COLOR COORDINATED

The breed standard is very similar to that of the Siamese, calling for a svelte cat with long, tapering lines — a cat that's lithe but muscular and strong. The aristocratic head is a long wedge that narrows to a fine, sophisticated muzzle. The ears are large, wide at the base and taper to a point. The nose is long and straight; the eyes are almond shaped and slant toward the nose.

Unlike their blue-eyed Siamese relatives, the only allowable eye color for Orientals is green, with the exception of pure White Oriental Shorthairs, which may have blue or green eyes.

What really sets this cat apart from other Siamese-type breeds, though, is the plethora of colors and patterns. There are solid, smoke, shaded, particolor and tabby color classes. The solids come in Blue, Chestnut, Cinnamon, Cream, Ebony, Fawn, Lavender, Red and White. The coat color is uniform from the tip to the root of each hair, and from nose to tail. Particolor classes contain the combinations Blue-cream, Fawn- cream, Lavender-cream, Cinnamon Tortoiseshell, Chestnut Tortoiseshell and Ebony Tortoiseshell.

Cattery Von Fiero Temperamento  Siamese and Orientals