Siamese (More...)

Appearance
The Siamese has the prototypical oriental physique: long and svelte from its wedge-shaped head to its tapering tail, with long, delicately boned legs supporting a tubular body. The nose, too, is long, while the ears are large and the eyes are deep blue and almond-shaped. The Siamese's short, silky, close-lying coat is most remarkable for the pointed pattern of colored extremities--face, ears, legs, and tail--which contrast with the paler body. Until the 1930s, breed registries
recognized only the seal point color form (deep, seal brown points and a pale, fawn-colored body). Blue points (a bluish-white body with slate blue points), as well as chocolate points and lilac points, are now recognized.
Origins
Siamese cats have been around for centuries in their native land of Siam (now Thailand) but were unknown in the West until the 19th century, when it became fashionable to own a Siamese cat. The first Americans to own Siamese cats had to be fairly affluent, as it cost about a thousand dollars to import one from England at the turn of the century. Siamese remained immensely popular until the 1960s, when supply exceeded demand. By then, the Siamese gene pool had been on loan to enterprising breeders for some time. Colorpoints, Oriental Shorthairs and Longhairs, Balinese, Javanese, Tonkinese, Havana Browns, and Himalayans all owe some component of their genetic make-up to the Siamese. With all the competition, the Siamese's unparalleled reign in popularity came to an end.
Special Alerts
These are active, demanding cats that require lots of attention and space to play. Provide them with an interesting environment where they can climb, scratch, and run, and anticipate spending some playtime with them every day.
Breed-related health problems: crossed eyes due to an inherited neurological defect; nystagmus (a slight but very rapid jerking back-and-forth of the eyes); congenital heart defects.