Siamese and Oriental Shorthair

Siamese and Orientals are medium-sized cats known for their long, lean bodies and exquisitely refined appearance.

Siamese and Orientals Shorthairs have short, glossy coats that lie close to the body. As pointed cats, Siamese have lighter-colored bodies and darker colors on their face, legs, tail, and ears. The light-colored hair on their bodies usually darkens with age. Still, there is always a strong contrast between body color and points. Points on the mask, ears, legs, feet, and tail are dense, clearly defined, and all the same shade.

The Siamese coat comes in four different colors: Seal point (pale cream bodies and dark brown points), chocolate point (ivory bodies and milk chocolate points), blue point (bluish-white bodies and deep blue points), and lilac point (glacial white bodies and frosty grey, pinkish points).

Under the breed standard, all coat patterns and colors—including solid, shaded, smoke, parti-color, bi-color, pointed, or tabby patterned—are possible.

Siamese and Orientals have long, tapering wedge-shaped heads and flat skulls. Their massive, pointed ears are wide at the base. And they have a long, straight nose and a wedge-shaped muzzle.

Siamese have vivid blue, almond-shaped eyes that slant toward the nose—one of the breed's most distinguishing features. Orientals' eyes are typically blue, green, or one of each.

Both breeds have slender necks, svelte bodies, slim legs, thin, tapering tails, and small, dainty paws.

Though legends abound, no one knows the exact origins of the Siamese breed. But cats fitting the description of Siamese appear in manuscripts dating back to the 12th century. Many experts believe these cats lived in palaces with the royalty of Siam (now Thailand).

Siamese cats were exported to England toward the end of the 19th century and appeared in the Crystal Palace Cat Show in 1871. The breed's American debut came eight years later—when the U.S. Consul from Bangkok gifted a Siamese to President Rutherford B. Hayes' wife.

As awareness of these beautiful cats spread, fanciers in the United States jumped on the chance to import them. The Siamese appeared in the Beresford Cat Club Stud Books in 1900 and was one of the inaugural breeds accepted by the Cat Fanciers Association in 1906.

By the 1930s, these fashionably colored cats had become American favorites. But quality suffered as breeders rushed to meet the demand, and the number of cats whose features strayed from the breed standard grew. Fortunately, breeders dedicated to the Siamese have successfully revived the ancient breed's original beauty.

Cat breeding saw a dramatic decline during World War II. As breeders started up again after the war, they experimented with unique crosses that yielded many modern cat breeds—including the Oriental Shorthair.

In the 1950s, breeders crossed Russian Blues, British Shorthairs, Abyssinians, and regular domestic cats with the Siamese. These litters were then bred with Siamese, which produced pointed and non-pointed kittens. In just a few generations, these cats were indistinguishable from the Siamese, except for their coloring. And the non-pointed cats from these breedings formed the foundation of the Oriental breed.

Today, Siamese and Oriental Shorthairs enjoy a reputation as fun-loving, affectionate pets wrapped in elegant, artistic packages.