Siamese cats are a quite popular breed, but many people don’t realize that they come in many shapes, sizes and colors which make them quite distinct from each other. Yet, each type of Siamese cat have distinctive markings and characteristics that make them quintessentially S-I-A-M-E-S-E!
Siamese cats make wonderful companions. They have a number of variations, but they are similar in their personalities and certain aspects of their physical characteristics. They always have striking blue eyes, and they have fur that is a lighter color with darker points. The shape of their heads can vary, and they can be triangular or more rounded. They are all friendly and energetic, and they can be very vocal pets. They are social by nature and will get along well with people and pets. They love to play and follow you through the house. Although they come in different variations, the nature of the breed remains the same throughout.
Siamese cats usually weigh between eight and twelve pounds. They are average in size for a cat, but they may look smaller than other cats of the same size. They generally have short fur, so they are easier to take care of. If your cat is part Siamese, then it could have long hair. There is a breed called Himalayan that is a cross between a Siamese and a Persian cat, and they typically look like a Siamese cat with long hair. The Siamese cat is typically thin, and it is known for having long, skinny legs. It is smaller in stature than other cats, but it can appear taller because it has long legs.
History of the Siamese Cat
History | Types | Behavior | Training | Biting | Purr | Life | Health | Cost | Names
The Siamese cat is an amazing cat with a rich history and one of the oldest known breeds of cat. These cats have many aspects to their appearance and personality, ranging from their cream-colored coats to their cerulean blue eyes and their vocal disposition. They are also known for being one of the most intelligent breeds of cat around, able to understand concepts that most cats would find too puzzling or boring to care for.
The Siamese cat was a cat that was owned by royalty in Siam, a region in Thailand. It was first seen in the 14th century, and it was an exotic cat with remarkable features. Most remarkable is the bright blue eyes. The eyes are almond-shaped and can range from pale blue to deep ocean blue. They generally have a triangular shaped head, and they are usually thinner than other cats with long legs.
They are vocal and friendly, and they are a popular breed of cat. Their fur usually has points at the extremities, so they are a lighter color on their bodies. There are nine types of Siamese cats. Keep reading to take a look at what is unique about each one.
Choosing to adopt a Siamese cat is a choice that should have some thought put into it, as should all decisions that involve taking in the care of any animals. Naturally, this means that you should work on researching what you should expect, especially if you are raising a newborn Siamese cat.
9 Types of Siamese Cats
History | Types | Behavior | Training | Biting | Purr | Life | Health | Cost | Names
Applehead Siamese
Applehead | Old Style | Classic | Modern Wedge | Seal Point | Chocolate Point | Blue Point | Lilac Point | Red Point
The Applehead Siamese is the original breed of Siamese cat that was the first one to be imported from Siam, which is Thailand today. They are a larger cat, weighing as much as 18 pounds. They have round, muscular bodies, and they have an apple-shaped head. This is where they derive their name. Their eyes are bright blue, but they are rounder.
The Applehead Siamese has ears that are similar to a normal domestic cat. They have long legs, and their tails are long for a Siamese cat but shorter than other types of cats. They usually have short silky hair, and they are not quite as vocal as other more modern types of Siamese cats.
The Applehead Siamese was the official cat of the royal family in Siam. They date back to at least 1350 AD. They are called the Applehead Siamese cat because they have a head that is shaped similarly to an apple. These cats were treated with great respect, and they were considered to be very wise. They are friendly, and they make wonderful pets.
The Applehead Siamese cat is a healthy breed of cat, and it has been known to live up to 25 years. They are energetic and need exercise and stimulation, and they are beautiful and intelligent. They are loving and kind companions.
Old Style Siamese
Applehead | Old Style | Classic | Modern Wedge | Seal Point | Chocolate Point | Blue Point | Lilac Point | Red Point
An Old Style Siamese cat is a purebred cat that has an Asian look to it, and it will have a legitimate pedigree. They look similar to the Siamese cats shown in old photographs, and they mostly refer to the Siamese cats that were most common in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. When you register these cats, they are simply Siamese, even though they are a specific type of Siamese cat.
The Old Style Siamese cat is not as round and heavy as the Applehead. These cats are more angular through their head and bodies. The head is shaped similar to a wedge, and they have ears that follow the angle of their jaws. The ears are also more upright, and they are triangular.
They are not as small as the Modern Siamese cat, and they have a balanced look that makes them beautiful cats. They have the blue eyes, the fur with points, and other physical features that all Siamese cats share, but they have a more distinct angular look. These cats are wonderful pets, and they are harder to find today.
Classic Siamese
Applehead | Old Style | Classic | Modern Wedge | Seal Point | Chocolate Point | Blue Point | Lilac Point | Red Point
The Classic Siamese cat is an average sized cat. It has a lighter build, and it has a longer body and a longer tail. They also have large ears, and they have a distinct look that makes them undeniably a Siamese cat. This version is the most athletic type of Siamese cat, and it is the tallest as well. They have long, sleek bodies, and they have long tails.
This type of Siamese cat has big ears, and they are triangular shaped. The face is pointed and has an upturned nose. They are affectionate, vocal, and can be pushy. They love to rest on the couch next to you, and they love to have you pet them and play with them.
Classic Siamese cats are generally healthy cats, but they are prone to ear infections and overly zealous cleaning. They have more energy than other Siamese cats, so you need to find time to pay attention and play with this type of Siamese cat.
Modern Wedge Siamese
Applehead | Old Style | Classic | Modern Wedge | Seal Point | Chocolate Point | Blue Point | Lilac Point | Red Point
The Modern Wedge Siamese cat became popular in the 1980s. They are called this because they have a head shaped like a wedge, and they have large pointed ears. Their ears are set lower on the sides of their heads, and they have long, lean bodies. Their eyes are more slanted, and they have wide noses that are known to point straight out.
The Modern Wedge Siamese cat is affectionate and loves people. There are many different Siamese cats that will fall into this category, and it is the most common today. They weigh between five and fifteen pounds, and their bodies are usually whiter than the other types.
The lighter color combined with the bright blue eyes are distinct to this cat, and they are known to be the loudest of all of the Siamese cats. This type of cat is more inbred than other types, and they have a higher probability of suffering from kidney disease and heart failure. However, they live long, happy lives.
Seal Point Siamese
Applehead | Old Style | Classic | Modern Wedge | Seal Point | Chocolate Point | Blue Point | Lilac Point | Red Point
The Seal Point Siamese cat has the same blue eyes as all Siamese cats. They have fur that ranges from pale fawn to cream on their bodies, and their points are a rich seal-brown color. These points are found on the head, the feet, and the tail, and it is a dark brown color. Their paw pads and their nose is dark brown.
Seal Point Siamese cats are born white, and they darken as their coats grow in. Their full coloring won’t be apparent until they are at least a year old. The seal color can range from a rich brown color to such a dark brown that looks almost black. The seal points are darker and richer than other Siamese variations.
In general, the Seal Point Siamese cat will have Siamese characteristics no matter what color it is. This type of cat will be curious, friendly, and affectionate, and it will get along well with people and other pets. It will be vocal, and it will be beautiful to look at. The primary distinguishing feature is its coloring because it is cream with a rich brown seal color at its points.
Chocolate Point Siamese
Applehead | Old Style | Classic | Modern Wedge | Seal Point | Chocolate Point | Blue Point | Lilac Point | Red Point
The Chocolate Point Siamese looks very similar to the Seal Point. The primary difference is that the Seal Point is darker and richer than the Chocolate Point. The Chocolate Point Siamese cat is a lighter brown color, and it is a very rare color.
This type of cat is very popular because it is unique and beautiful. This is considered to be the oldest color of Siamese cat. At one time it was considered to be an unacceptable variant of the Seal Point coloring, but in the 1950s, it became an official color for this breed again.
Although they are similar to the Seal Point, they have an ivory colored body with little shading. They have chocolate points that are a warm color, and they can be patchy in their variations. The coloring is similar enough that you can’t tell the difference between Seal Point and Chocolate Point Siamese kittens.
The eyes are still a very vivid blue color, and their eyes are striking against the rich color of their fur. They do remain pale for a longer time when they are kittens, but their coats get darker with age. Another difference is that they have pink skin in places, whereas the Seal Point will have black skin and pads on their paws.
Blue Point Siamese
Applehead | Old Style | Classic | Modern Wedge | Seal Point | Chocolate Point | Blue Point | Lilac Point | Red Point
The Blue Point Siamese cat is one of the more interesting color types. It has a creamy body, and the points are a bluish gray color. They tend to be docile and gentle pets, and they love to curl up in a warm spot and sleep throughout the day. They also love to play, and they will demand a lot of your time.
The points are a light gray color, which is called blue. This allows the blue eyes to stand out. The color is softer and cooler than the warm brown of Seal Points and Chocolate Points. This color was officially recognized in 1934, so it has been around for a long time.
In the past, Blue Point Siamese were considered inferior in the world of showing cats, but they have gained acceptance. The points are a silvery blue, and they have a softer look. They have the same body and shape as any other color of Siamese cat, and they still have the longer legs and body with large ears and a shorter tail.
Lilac Point Siamese
Applehead | Old Style | Classic | Modern Wedge | Seal Point | Chocolate Point | Blue Point | Lilac Point | Red Point
The Lilac Point Siamese is one of the most famous colors. It was first recognized in the 1960s, and they are made as a result of the dilution of the blue gene to chocolate. For this reason, they are diluted chocolate points and blue points in reality.
When you see a Lilac Point Siamese, it appears to be a pale Blue Point, and they have the same electric blue eyes that really stand out against this coloring. They have skin that is pale pink, and you can see it in the pads of the feet and the nose.
Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference between the Blue Point and the Lilac Point, with the difference being subtle. Kittens won’t show their true coloring until they are around a year old. They have a similar personality to the Blue Point Siamese, and they are affectionate and playful. They get along well with people and other pets, and they are vocal.
They can also be very dramatic and demanding if you don’t pay enough attention to them. They aren’t shy about letting you know when they need something, and they are very clean. They are intelligent cats, and their striking beauty makes them a very popular pet, although they are rare.
They are healthy cats, and they are medium in size, weighing between eight and twelve pounds. They have short hair that is sleek and shiny. They are wonderful pets, and they are very exotic.
Red Point Siamese
Applehead | Old Style | Classic | Modern Wedge | Seal Point | Chocolate Point | Blue Point | Lilac Point | Red Point
The final color of Siamese cats is the Red or Flame Point Siamese. This cat has a cream colored body and reddish-gold points. They have pink skin underneath, and this is the rarest color. Their eyes are an electric blue color, and they can range from a pale blue to a bright blue.
It is believed that the Seal Point Siamese was bred with a red Tabby to get this coloring back in the 1930s in the UK. You may notice striping on their faces and on the other points of their bodies, which comes from this breeding. The flame colored points show up more as the cat ages. It can take up to two years for a Siamese cat’s full coloring to come in. You may not realize that you have a Flame Point Siamese until it is five or six months old.
Red Point Siamese cats have short hair and similar bodies to other Siamese cats. The primary difference is the color of their points and the fact that they have pink skin. They have similar personalities as well, and they are great pets. The coloring is one of the more rare colors, so they are more difficult to find.
Personality | Rarity | Allergies | Weight | Lifespan | Behavior | Where to Get
Behavior of a Siamese Cat
History | Types | Behavior | Training | Biting | Purr | Life | Health | Cost | Names
Are Siamese Cats the Smartest Cat Breed?
Siamese cats are famous for their appearance, their social attitudes, and are also well-known for being smart, but are they really the smartest cat breed you can adopt? There’s a bit behind this question that you will need to understand first. You will need to have a good sense of what makes a cat “smart” compared to other breeds of cat, and how their intelligence is displayed. Once you have a better understanding of this, you may be able to see whether or not Siamese cats are truly the smartest.
Why Are Siamese Cats So Smart?
There is no denying that Siamese cats are smart, and there is good evidence to prove this. Siamese cat intelligence does appear to be higher than many other cat breeds, as these cats quickly learn how to communicate with their people and enjoy problem-solving toys and puzzles rather than just getting frustrated by them. In fact, Siamese cats are one of the few cats that seems to truly want to show off how smart it is. Siamese cats in particular seem to excel in communication and object permanence, which are two of the biggest areas of testing a cat’s intelligence that you can focus on.
Siamese cats tend to enjoy the idea of object permanence tests, toys, and games that you can purchase, as it gets their brains active and stimulated. This is one way to keep your Siamese cat busy as well, and most cat owners will have fun watching their feline friends check out puzzles and solve them themselves. Siamese cats have also been shown to be able to understand and follow through with training, which is something that a lot of people struggle with when trying to teach cats things.
This only goes to show just how smart these cats really are compared to the rest of the breeds, as many breeds rarely get past the stage of learning tricks and prefer to laze about in the sun. Siamese cats, on the other hand, actively seek new challenges and new things to learn, meaning that training can be a fun bonding experience for you both.
Are Siamese cats the smartest breed of all cats?
The answer to this is unfortunately a bit muddled because the research on measuring cat intelligence isn’t entirely complete yet. Scientists and animal behavioralists are still working to find the best ways to measure something fluid and changing, such as an animal’s capability for intelligence when it cannot simply answer questions in the way that human children do.
What is known for certain is that the Siamese cat is among the smartest cat breeds that you can own, and may very well be the smartest cat breed out there.
How to Determine Feline Intelligence
Measuring the intelligence of an animal that is not a human is a little bit different than you might think. Animals cannot converse with people and can confirm whether they understand concepts such as object permanence and whatnot, so it is up to scientists and animal behavioralists to determine a set of traits animals need to be considered “intelligent” compared to other forms of life.
There are more than a few ways to do this, ranging from more numeric-focused methods such as counting brain cells to more subjective and observant methods such as how easily an animal can grasp a new trick. With as many different methods as there are, it can be hard to try and get a sense of whether or not cats are truly intelligent, especially because most cats are not inherent pleasers.
This means that, unlike dogs, they do not seek to please the person who is offering them treats, and generally will do as they please. On a scientific and observer’s level, cat intelligence is focused into six broad categories and how smart a cat is depends on how well it can grasp and utilize each of these categories.
The categories are the following:
• Object permanence and memory
• Physical cause and effect
• Understanding quantities and time
• Sensitivity to human cues
• Communication
• Personality
Object Permanence / Memory
Object permanence and memory is pretty straightforward. If your cat understands that an object is still there, even if it is not in a direct line of sight, then it has a good sense of object permanence. Some forms of enrichment toys will explore this, as you can hide treats and watch your cat try and find them. Memory, when looked at from measuring intelligence, is focused on short-term ability, as even the smartest breeds seem to have a 30-second memory.
Physical Cause and Effect
Physical cause and effect for cats boils down to gauging how well a cat understands that an action will have an effect. When a cat knocks items off the edge of a surface, it is actually experiencing that cause-and-effect understanding, rather than just being a defiant pet. Doing this, it learns that by pushing an item off the edge, the effect is that it will likely break or make a noise.
Understanding Time and Quantity
Understanding quantities and time is a bit tougher in cats, as research has shown that while cats do seem to understand numbers and quantities, they also don’t seem to really care about them, so while they understand the subject being presented to them, they will likely act as if they don’t. Most cat owners also know that cats do develop a sense of time and schedule, especially when you are about three seconds off schedule for feeding your cats.
Understanding Human Cues
Sensitivity to human cues can also be phrased as how well a cat learns commands in the way that dogs do. While cats are far more aloof and don’t always care, they do pay attention and even more so when there is food involved. The most intelligent cat breeds can learn to sit, stay, and sometimes even more than this.
Communication
Communication is where Siamese cats really shine. Cats, by their nature, need to learn to communicate to their people through their equivalent of yelling since cat communication is primarily nonverbal. A cat realizing it needs to meow at you is a sign that it is learning and picking up on what you notice. As cats excel in communication, they will be able to tell you what they want through the tone of their meow, how often they meow, and how many different noises they make when aimed at you.
Personality
Finally, there is the concept of personality. This is somewhat disputed, as individual cats will have strikingly different personalities. It is thought that cats with more striking and noticeable personalities tend to be more intelligent, though there isn’t much evidence to support (or deny) those claims.
So, what does this mean for the Siamese cat?
Siamese cats have a strong concept of object permanence and respond well to human training and guidance. Add in their inquisitive personality and you have the building blocks for one of the most intelligence breeds of cat around.
How to Train a Siamese Cat
History | Types | Behavior | Training | Biting | Purr | Life | Health | Cost | Names
Siamese cats have a reputation unlike most other cats out there. Of course, Siamese cats are known well for their characteristic coloring, but in addition to this, they are known for being one of the oldest breeds, one of the smartest breeds, and one of the longest-living breeds of cat out there.
Siamese cats can make a wonderfully enjoyable companion that will stay by your side for decades at a time and with their intelligence, can be a good pet to own if you are in a situation where you cannot own a dog.
After all, the intelligence of the Siamese cat ensures that you will be able to teach it and even train it, assuming that you have the patience to work with the often-aloof Siamese cat.
Just How Smart Are Siamese Cats?
It’s pretty difficult for animal behaviorists to accurately determine the intelligence of cats, but it is believed that cats are often a fair bit more intelligent than they seem at first, especially intelligent cats such as the Siamese cat.
The Challenge of Testing Feline Intelligence
The problem with trying to consider the intelligence of cats is that cats have the tendency to not care about participating in tests, which can make results seem as if the cats do not understand a certain concept for basing intelligence off (such as object permanence), even if they do.
Cognitive Development of Siamese Cats
With that being said, it is widely accepted that Siamese cats are one of the smartest cats that you can adopt. In addition, the Siamese cat is one of the few cats that seems to truly want to learn more about the world around it, at least before it reaches adulthood and mellows out.
What this means for you and your Siamese cat is that during the first one and half years of its life, between when the cat is a kitten first learning how to walk and before the Siamese calms down as it reaches maturity, it will seek to learn more from you and it will be at its most mischievous.
In fact, one of the best ways that you can redirect your young Siamese’s mischievous energy is to direct it toward learning new tricks and behaviors.
Not only will the Siamese get to spend its time learning something new and learning about the world around it, but you also won’t have to stress out nearly as much about having to deal with a hyper and chaotic kitten running around the house.
Teaching A Siamese Cat New Tricks
There are a wide variety of tricks that you can teach your Siamese cat depending on your patience and the resources you have at your disposal. Most Siamese cats can learn basic tricks the same way that dogs can, such as learning how to sit, high-five you, and even how to fetch.
If you have a particularly ambitious Siamese cat, you can even move to more complex tricks for your cat to learn, such as using the toilet and learning how to tolerate a harness and leash to go outside. It can be quite surprising to realize just how much a Siamese cat is willing to learn.
Before you can begin training your Siamese cat, you will first want to make sure that you have properly bonded with your Siamese cat. Chances are that it won’t want to learn tricks from you if you aren’t one of the people the Siamese cat wants to spend time with.
From here, you will want to focus on the most basic forms of training (such as using the litter box) before you begin teaching your Siamese cat more complex tricks such as tolerating a leash. With the right amount of persistent effort, training a cat is not much more difficult than training a puppy.
Bonding With Your Siamese Cat
First things first, you will want to make sure that you have properly bonded with your Siamese kitten before you try and teach it tricks. If you try to take the cat aside to learn new tricks before the kitten has bonded with you, then there’s a good chance that the kitten will simply not care as much about what you have to say.
If the kitten is especially young or has only recently been adopted, then there’s a good chance the kitten may even be scared of you at first.
Thankfully, bonding with cats, especially cats as notoriously social and clingy as the Siamese, is incredibly easy.
How to Bond With Your Cat
The first rule of bonding with your cat is make sure to spend a lot of time with your cat. If your kitten is new to the house and is still anxious after the adoption, they may view you as a natural predator. It takes time for your cat recognizing your smell, sounds, and sight before it begins to realize that you are not a threat and you are just comparatively large in the kitten’s eyes.
The best way that you can unobtrusively spend time with your kitten is to recognize which rooms in the house the kitten is used to being in, and simply remain in those rooms with the kitten.
Over time, the kitten will be curious about you, once it has learned that you are not a threat, and will want to spend time with you. You can speed this process along by offering blankets or clothes that smell like you so that it can get used to the smell.
From here, Siamese cats have a tendency to bond quickly to their people. Siamese cats are incredibly social and will often have a favorite person in the house that they bond the most to and want to spend the most time with.
If that person happens to be you, then you are in luck as you will likely get to hear the most meows from your cat, you will be able to hold and pet the cat more, and you will have the most opportunity to begin teaching your Siamese cat tricks that it can learn.
When a Siamese cat has bonded with a person, they become an inseparable pair, which is great news if you enjoy holding your cat and having a cat in your lap whenever you want to relax in a chair.
Litter Training Your Kittens
One of the first things you will want to train your cat is how to use their litter box. The amount of involvement you will want to put into this depends on whether or not the mother cat is present in the kittens’ lives.
If the mother cat is there and is healthy enough to move around, it will usually take the role of teaching kittens how to use the litter box just as it has learned. Otherwise, it will be up to you to teach the kittens that the litter box is the right place to relieve oneself.
How to Teach a Kitten How to Use a Litter Box Without Their Mother Around
To begin, you will want to make the litter box as appealing as possible to the kittens. For now, you will want to keep the litter box in the room that the kittens are most often in, though you may want to find a place that is out of the way and won’t be moved often, as the kittens will feel comfortable if they can reliably remember where the box is.
Most cats appreciate litter boxes that are not in heavily trafficked areas of the house, meaning that putting the litter box in a vacant corner will usually be your best bet of litter box location.
Your kittens will then want to explore the litter box.
It’s something new to them, and they may take some time to get over their fear of the brand-new object and smells that it brings with it.
Some kittens may try to eat a few bites of litter, and this is usually fine as this is how kittens explore the world around them. In a way, they are simply learning that their litter is not food when they are doing this, since they are much like toddlers and don’t know any better.
Some kittens may bring their toys into their litter as a form of play, the same way they would hide and bury prey in the wild. This should not be discouraged, as this is how your kittens will associate the litter box with their instincts. This is important because the litter box plays on a cat’s natural instincts of where it would want to relieve itself.
Kitten Litter Training Accidents
There will likely be accidents as your kittens learn how to use the litter box. Never scold your kittens for these accidents, as they will not understand the punishments and will come to fear you, which is not what you want if you want to bond with the kittens.
Instead, pay attention for behaviors that usually indicate the kitten is looking for a place to relieve themselves. These behaviors are usually crouching and sniffing the ground (more than usual).
If you notice these behaviors, you should place the kitten inside the box. Over time, they will come to understand what to do.
You will also want to reward them upon successful litter box usage, as this teaches them that this is the proper place to eliminate.
How to Train a Siamese Cat to Use a Toilet
Siamese cats are one of the few cats that can be trained to use the human toilet. This takes a considerable amount of effort, as it goes against most instincts of a Siamese cat, but if you are planning to take up this type of training, it is important to start when they are young and haven’t developed habits and behaviors that cannot be corrected.
Toilet training cats involves first litter training the cats, then once they are associated with the litter box, you will want to gradually move the litter box into the bathroom, near the toilet, and adjust the height so that it matches the toilet seat.
Next, you will want to replace the litter box with a special training box and remember to give your cat a treat every time it succeeds to help encourage the same behavior.
Teaching Your Siamese Cat Tricks
Siamese cats, being incredibly intelligent cats, can also learn various tricks the same way that dogs can. In fact, the way you train a cat to learn these tricks is almost the exact same as you would with a dog, except you will need a lot more patience and time.
Dogs have been bred over time to seek praise and rewards from people, while cats often do not actively seek out their treats. Cats will work for their treats when the cats are in the mood to do so, and it can be hard to gauge when this is, leading to frustration during training sessions.
Remember that cats can sense frustration, and that you should never punish the cat for the frustration it causes, as it often doesn’t understand why it is causing frustration. If your Siamese cat isn’t in the mood for training one day, then wait until it is more active and try again.
Clicker Training for Cats
One of the best forms of training to use is known as clicker training and it is incredibly popular when training other intelligent animals, such as dogs, horses, and birds.
Clicker training makes use of a handheld clicker, treats, and your patience to help the cat associate the sound of the click with a specific behavior (such as the sitting for the Sit command).
Using clicker training with cats is much the same as you would make use of it with dogs, and you can often follow dog training guides as long as you keep in mind that cats are not quite as reward-oriented as dogs and will want to learn on their own terms.
Training Your Siamese Cat to Use a Leash
Siamese cats are also one of the cats that are the easiest to train to walk on a leash. Typically, it is healthier to use a harness for cats, as they tend to be agile enough to slide out of simple neck collars.
Regardless of what you choose to use, the process of teaching a cat to work with a leash is a two-fold process.
First, you have to teach the cat to tolerate the harness on its own, as it can be a weird feeling to cats. This process involves putting the harness on the cat every day for a set amount of time until the cat walks around comfortable with the harness on.
Next, you add the leash to the harness.
Cats naturally walk against the leash. Cats are independent, wandering creatures, and everything about the leash goes against this.
It will take some time for your cat to learn how to walk with the leash, rather than against it. With the use of treats, patience, and a firm guide when the cat is trying to get places it shouldn’t when it has the leash on, you can easily teach a Siamese cat how to handle the leash, allowing it to come with you on your morning walks, though be mindful of how sensitive they are to sunlight.
Why Do Siamese Cats Bite So Much?
History | Types | Behavior | Training | Biting | Purr | Life | Health | Cost | Names
One issue that a lot of people have with their younger Siamese cats is that they have the tendency to bite more often than some people expect. To best understand why Siamese cats, especially kittens, bite as often as they do, you have to understand their general behavior as kittens and how cats react when they are overstimulated.
You will also want to look into common behavioral issues Siamese cats are prone to, as these can also lead to your cat biting you more often.
The best thing that you can do for your Siamese cat is to simply research what you should expect from your cat’s behavior when you choose to adopt a specific breed of cat.
How Do Siamese Cats Behave?
Siamese cats are known for a few personality traits such as highly sociable, intelligent and active as kittens. The latter point here is important to note, as Siamese kittens are notorious for being difficult and hard to manage with their mischievous and seemingly boundless energy.
Siamese cats are naturally intelligent creatures, and as such, they are more inclined to explore the world around them by interacting with any object they come across. Because they are cats, this means that they will often push things off ledges to watch them fall down and will get into places that you try to keep them out of.
A good way to redirect a Siamese’s curious energy is to focus it toward learning tricks or playing with more mentally stimulating toys. If you do not offer your Siamese cat enough of an outlet for its energy, then there’s a good chance you are going to get bitten by your kitten.
Common Problematic Siamese Cat Behaviors
As for potential problems with your Siamese cat’s behavior, there are a few problems that you may encounter.
For one, the seemingly boundless energy of a young Siamese cat can be hard to keep up with, especially if your cat is the type to knock things over. This will either mean that you are going to be spending time and energy keeping the cat from getting up to places where it can knock things down, or you will be spending a fair amount of money on enrichment toys to keep your cat satisfied with its life.
A good note about this is that most Siamese cats will mellow out after about two years as they transition from being young adult equivalents and into a more mature mindset. These cats can have a lot of issues if they don’t have a sufficient outlet for their energy. Pent-up energy can be expressed through aggression, hyperactivity, and similar.
Are Siamese Cats Aggressive?
Siamese cats have been known to be aggressive at times, especially in their youth. An aggressive cat, as you might imagine, is going to be more prone to biting you, your family, and also chasing after your family pets when they don’t feel like it, causing more problems for everyone in the house.
The best way to tackle aggression in Siamese cats is to tackle the source of the problem, which can often be that the cat simply has too much energy and no satisfactory outlet for it. Hyperactivity presents similarly in cats, with the cat becoming even more focused on causing just as much trouble as they can to get your attention. Again, the best way to fix this common behavioral problem is to try and make sure that your Siamese cats have good outlets for their energy during their young lives.
How to Make Cats Less Aggressive
These energy outlets can range from toys with treats that the cats have to work for, cat trees and wall mounts the cat can climb on and explore, interactive toys (that you can participate in too), and other “smart” toys for your cats.
Siamese cats are intelligent and curious animals, so they need to direct their desire to explore and interact with their environment somewhere, and if you want your cat to be happy and not quite as high-strung, providing enrichment toys will greatly help your cat out.
If you cannot provide sufficient enrichment for your Siamese cat, then there’s a good chance that you will end up with an overstimulated cat, which is one of the most common reasons why Siamese cats (who are normally loving and friendly) will bite their owners.
When Siamese Cats Start Biting
These cats are well-known for their tendency to bond deeply with their humans and often with a single person in the household they are living in. Most modern Siamese cats, once bonded, will cling to their favorite person, demanding attention and meowing at the person all throughout the day as they enjoy spending time with their favorite.
In fact, while most cats aren’t really protective over their owners, the Siamese cat is considerably protective over the person that they have bonded to and may become jealous if that favorite person spends a lot of time around others. As such, you may need to be mindful of making sure your Siamese cat behaves properly, even around their favorite person. Siamese cats tend to bond strongly to their people, so it can be somewhat surprising when they might try to bite the person they love the most.
Understanding Why Your Siamese Cat Bites You
Understanding why cats bite people will help you get a good sense of why your Siamese cat has suddenly turned its teeth toward you. Most cats have a reason for biting you, as it is one of the clearest and effective methods of communication.
- They want to play
The most common reason why Siamese cats bite their owners is because of overstimulation or overexcitement.
What this means is that your cat simply got too worked up during playtime or had too much pent-up energy that it needed to get rid of at once. You can usually tell when a cat is overexcited, as the tone of their meows will change and their pupils will dilate.
You won’t have to worry about these bites meaning anything bad toward you though, as biting is a common form of play for cats although since people don’t have fur, it is unwelcome. It is also an instinctual thing that cats do, and if they are too focused on their playtime, they may dive too deep into the mindset of “hunting” your hand.
The best way to counteract this is to either cool down the playtime for a bit until you notice your cat’s eyes go back to normal, or make sure that your cat doesn’t have too much unfocused energy by having toys in its room at all times. - They are annoyed
Siamese cats will also bite your hand as a warning if you are doing something unwelcome. Most people know that you shouldn’t pet a cat’s belly as it is one of the most vulnerable parts of a cat, and if you try to do so, most cats will give you a warning bite to make it clear that they don’t want to be touched. Siamese cats are especially prone to being sensitive, bordering on neurotic, meaning that they may have some areas of their bodies that they do not want being touched at all. It may be worth checking to make sure that the cat isn’t injured in these areas, but this is usually just a personal quirk that cats can have.
Cats, as a whole, will bite people when they want the person to immediately stop what they are doing.
This is most common in cats that are clearly irritated (a puffed-up, swishing tail, growling, and folded-back ears) and cats that are clearly afraid, as it is a way for your cat to protect itself or to make the problem go away.
Typically, bites that are done out of irritation or fear are going to be harder than the usual nip from overexcitement or if you try to touch the cat in an area it doesn’t want, as these bites are more out of protection than playfulness. - They are being neglected
Another reason why Siamese cats might bite you is because they are feeling neglected. Just as a cat will bite you to let you know immediately that you shouldn’t be trying to touch it, cats will also bite you to get your attention, and Siamese cats are no exception to this rule.
With Siamese cats being as historically clingy as they are, there’s a good chance that if you haven’t pet your Siamese cat in a while and the cat sees your hand, it may try to bite you to get your attention, since there is clearly no reason why you shouldn’t have your hands on the cat at all times. These bites tend to be gentle nips so that you notice the cat. Petting your cat more often will often drastically reduce biting out of feeling rejected or ignored. - How Can You Reduce Biting?
If you notice that your Siamese cat is biting you far more than you feel comfortable with, there are a few things that you can do to try and minimize this. - Get them a new toy to play with
Some of the most common reasons a Siamese cat will bite you is because it is either understimulated, lonely, or overstimulated, so most of the ways that you can reduce biting in Siamese cats is to provide enrichment that your cat can use at its leisure. Enrichment toys that can help reduce biting in cats include toys your cat has to really work at to get the treats out of to occupy its energy. You can also consider scratching posts, as this is an easy way to keep your cat occupied without having to purchase treats regularly.
With this, your cat will both be able to play with toys in its own time so it doesn’t have as much risk of being overstimulated by its environment and surroundings, and it also has the option to use all its pent-up energy on the toys if it is feeling understimulated. This works as a two-fold method to keep your cat happy and a little bit less bite-happy. If your Siamese cat often bites you because it feels lonely or neglected, you will want to make more of an effort to spend personal time with your Siamese cat. - Bring them to the vet
If you really feel that your Siamese cat is biting you too much and other methods aren’t stopping the frequency of the bites, you should consider taking your cat to the vet, especially if it is displaying signs of discomfort or agitation. Frequent biting can be a sign of fear and pain in cats, and when it is not attributed to your Siamese cat having endless wells of energy it needs to drain, it may require veterinary investigation. If that ends up finding that your Siamese cat is healthy and just has behavioral problems, you will want to work on teaching and training your Siamese cat.
Training your cat not to bite you is similar to teaching a dog not to bite you, relying on making sure that your cat understands that biting is not a welcome way to communicate.
Siamese cats, like all other cats, will bite you sometimes. If the biting is routine or happens more than it should, you will want to get to the source of your cat’s reasons for biting you. From there, you can tackle the problem through providing enrichment, personal time with the cat, and working with the cat’s emotions to create an atmosphere where your cat won’t feel the need to bite you to get your attention.
Why Do Siamese Cats Purr So Much?
History | Types | Behavior | Training | Biting | Purr | Life | Health | Cost | Names
There are also many people who appreciate it when cats are particularly vocal, and there is no cat that is better known for this than the Siamese cat. Siamese cats are often considered to be the most vocal of all cat breeds, and there is good reason for this.
Why Are Siamese Cats So Vocal?
Siamese cats, simply by nature, are incredibly social. They want to communicate with you, with their cat friends, and probably any other living thing that they come across. They will actively seek attention, and if meowing gets them that attention, then they will absolutely meow for it. To better understand why Siamese cats meow, purr, chirp, and are generally noisier than other cats, you have to first understand how cats communicate.
The Basics of Feline Communication
First things first, you will want to keep in mind that within the brain of your cat, it will see you as a strange, hairless kitten. Cats do not seem to differentiate that their human companions are not of the same species, and will treat you as if you were another cat in its group. Because of this, your cat will naturally communicate with you as if you were a cat, at least, it will try to do this.
The majority of communication between cat to cat is nonverbal. A twitch of the ears, dilation of the pupils, a flick of the tail, and the stance of the cat all carry words that humans simply won’t pick up on. Chances are that your cat, no matter the breed, will try and communicate with you in this way when you are first getting to know the cat, but the cat will quickly learn that this method of communication will not work with humans. This will lead the cat to devising a unique way to communicate to the humans in its house.
Normally, cats will not meow to each other. They may chirp or purr, but they do not vocalize meows to each other the way that they do with their people, and this is because cats can communicate effectively through nonverbal communication. But, because humans do not understand this, your cat will learn that meowing is one of the ways that it can get your attention.
To a cat with sensitive hearing who communicates primarily nonverbally, meowing is the equivalent of screaming at the top of its lungs at you. Through meowing, your cat will be able to get your attention, and it will learn that this is the proper way to communicate with the humans in the house.
This means that social cats, such as the Siamese, will become incredibly vocal cats when you take them in as your pet and once they have adjusted to their new environment. They will still communicate the same way they would with another cat because they still see humans as strange variants of cat, which means that you may also hear your vocal Siamese cat chirp, purr, and watch its tail flick in all different directions. However, because these intelligent and social cats simply want to talk to their companions, they will learn that meowing is the best way to get your attention.
Why Do Siamese Cats Purr a Lot?
One thing you may not realize is that a cat’s purr is also a form of communication to other cats, and by extension, to you as well. With the naturally social Siamese cat, not only will you get to hear your cat meow more than usual, but you will also hear it purr quite a bit more too. At its core, purring is a sign of comfort, or a desire to comfort oneself. More often than not, this is in a positive setting, such as you sitting beside your Siamese cat or when your Siamese cat first sees you. If one of the main things that makes a Siamese cat happy is getting attention, then there’s a good chance your Siamese cat will purr whenever you look at it, simply because you are giving it attention.
Be mindful that purring can also be a sign that your Siamese cat is attempting to soothe itself. Purring is often a sign of contentment, but it is also a way that cats will calm themselves down when they are stressed. A good example of this is that some vets will actually have a hard time examining a cat’s heartbeat because a cat will purr so hard in the vet’s office that it obscures the sound. All cats do this, and the vocal Siamese is no exclusion to this rule. If you hear your Siamese cat purring, but it is not doing the things it would normally do when it is a happy cat, you might want to look around and make sure that your Siamese cat isn’t actually in distress.
Chances are that you will be hearing a lot of purring if you choose to bring the Siamese cat into your home environment. Purring is just one of the many, many vocalizations these social cats will make when they want to express themselves to you.
What to Expect as Your Siamese Cat Grows Up
History | Types | Behavior | Training | Biting | Purr | Life | Health | Cost | Names
First things first; you should have a sense of what you should expect when your Siamese cat is done growing. All cats grow at slightly different rates, so it can sometimes be more helpful to know what to expect by the end of the growing period rather than stressing over which specific growth period your Siamese cat is in.
How Big Do Siamese Cats Get?
The Siamese cat itself is a moderately sized cat with a sleek coat that doesn’t add much to its size. Most male Siamese cats will weigh between 9 and 13 pounds, or about 4 to 6 kilograms. Some Siamese cats may be heavier-set than others or may be skinnier than others, but this is the general weight range for a male Siamese cat.
The female Siamese cat is a fair bit smaller, with an average weight between 5.5 and 10 pounds, or between 2.5 and 4.5 kilograms. Likewise with their male counterparts, some female Siamese cats may be slightly larger or smaller than this, but this is the expected weight range for a fully grown adult female Siamese cat.
Interestingly enough, the height of the Siamese cat does not show the disparity between size the way that weight does, leaving most female Siamese cats to appear skinnier and sleeker than males, depending on how the cat carries the weight. Siamese cats of both genders share a similar height range, with that being between 10 and 12 inches high, or between 27 and 31 centimeters in height. Males will often not be quite as short as females can get, but there may be some outliers that are somewhat short.
How Long Do Siamese Cats Live?
Siamese cats are known to have one of the longer lifespans of most purebred cats, partially because of how long these cats have been around. They have a natural lifespan range of between 15 and 20 years, with some people knowing their cats to live beyond this range. Keep in mind that it is relatively rare for cats, especially purebred cats, to live beyond 20 years so you should not expect this of your Siamese cat. This does, however, go to show that these cats are a robust breed that will stick with you for decades to come.
How Do You Know When a Siamese Cat is Full-Grown?
A full-grown Siamese cat, or a Siamese cat that has stopped having its fur change color, will typically have the traditional Siamese coloring pattern of white or off-white fur with dark brown or black markings on the tail, legs, face, and ears. One thing to keep in mind is that there are certain subsets of the Siamese cat breed because of how long it has been around, and there are some differences in how these cats change compared to the Modern Siamese that most people are used to.
The Thai Siamese cat is the second most common kind of Siamese cat, and it is slightly larger and fairly heavier than the standard Siamese cat and tends to live slightly longer. Aside from this, they are much the same.
Caring for a Newborn Siamese Kitten
While most places that adopt cats or sell them will not sell kittens under a specific age, as it can cause problems due to the kitten being taken away from its mother, you might find yourself in a situation where you are caring for a newborn Siamese cat. During this stage of life, it is almost always best to leave the kitten in the care of the mother cat, if that is possible. Much as with human babies, kittens rely almost entirely on their mothers for the first stages of life.
Siamese Kitten Fur & Eye Color
Typically around the end of your kitten’s first week of life, you will see coloring develop. All Siamese cats are born with some genes being related to albinism, and this is why these cats are born without their usual stark coloring. All cats will progress differently, but they will typically obtain their coloring starting at roughly three weeks of age and progressively intensifying until the kitten reaches one year of age.
The pattern of the Siamese is known as “point coloring” as all the “points” of the cat are what is colored. The points are the legs, nose, tail, and ears of the cat. A unique feature of Siamese cats is that, unlike other cats, they keep their blue eyes all throughout their life.
Siamese Kitten Temperament & Vocals
Depending on whether or not the mother is a large part of your kittens’ life yet, you will find that newborn Siamese cats are surprisingly demanding. From a young age, they use their wide range of vocalizations to get what they want, when they want, and this is all the more true for the youngest kittens. Siamese cats will typically start to mewl from a very young age and as they grow up, they will turn these sounds into more concrete vocalization, ranging from bold meows to chirps and everything in between as they learn how to talk with you.
How to Feed a Siamese Kitten
Again, the care for a newborn kitten should typically come from the mother cat. If the mother cat is not present or is unable to care for the kittens, then you will have to take on this role, which can be complicated.
Thankfully, there are many guides to properly feeding newborn kittens until they are of an age they can begin eating solids.
Siamese Kitten Growth Rate
Baby kittens will begin growing at an exponential rate, much the same way that human babies do. By the second week of life, they should be double the size they were at birth. They should begin to teethe and their ears should begin pointing up. It takes about five weeks for Siamese kittens to really show their personality beyond the first stage of life.
This is also the point in time where their intelligence begins to shine. They will want to play, explore, and learn how the world works far more than other cats would, and this is an optimal time to begin training your Siamese kitten, if you are interested in doing so.
Siamese cats are capable of learning a number of different tricks and the younger you begin teaching the cats, the better they will be able to grasp the concept of training before the standard aloof attitude of cats has time to set in. You might even consider buying your siamese kitty a gift to enhance their development.
Further Development
By about eight weeks, you should be able to get a good sense of not only the color points of the coat, but exactly what variation and color they will develop into. The full strength of the coloration may not have developed quite yet, but it should be easily noticeable.
Between 5 and 13 weeks is the best time for kittens (of all types) to be introduced to people rather than only the mother. This is also around the time the kitten should receive its vaccinations. The exact time does not matter as long as it is before five months of age, which is when Siamese cats reach sexual maturity. At this point, you need to consider getting the cat fixed, unless you are looking for more kittens.
Developing From a Newborn to a Baby
Cats are considered babies from about six months to two years of age. They will be more mature, be more curious, and have more energy than they were before this age. After about two years, they will settle down into their more adult personalities.
Young Siamese Cat Eating Habits
By this point, your kittens should be on kitten food and you should see their temperaments develop. Keep in mind that Siamese cats are known for being incredibly picky about food, so it might take a few tries to get the right kind of food.
Developing Their Signature Fur Color
As they draw closer to the one-year mark, they should have developed their full coloration. The main body of their coat should be a rich white, cream, or off-white color that relates to the coloring of their points. Siamese colors can range from blue, chocolate, and lilac to more exotic colors such as red, cinnamon, and apricot. Their main body of fur will often have tinges of this color throughout, often close to their legs and tail.
At this age, their coloring should be fully developed, encompassing their paws, tail, snout, and ears. You shouldn’t expect much else in terms of coloration after the one-year mark, aside from age-related greying of the fur as the cat approaches 15 years of age.
Growing Sassy
This is also the time that Siamese cats develop their energy and attitude the most. They will demand your attention, even emitting cries that aren’t dissimilar to baby cries if you don’t give them your full undivided attention. You can make use of this energy through training, tricks, and other mentally stimulating activities that really show off how smart Siamese cats are.
If there are multiple people in the house, there’s a good chance that the Siamese cat will latch onto one person as a “favorite” and bug that person the most, and may even become jealous if you spend time with the cat’s chosen person. If the cat is too persistent in its jealousy, this is also the best age to work on training out unwanted behaviors, so notice how your cat acts when you aren’t with it.
Caring for an Adult Siamese Cat
Your Siamese cat will likely mellow out somewhat once it reaches about two years of age. To put it in human equivalent years, this is about the time your cat would be out of school and looking for jobs, settling down in a house, and so on. It is simply the stage of life where your Siamese cat will not be so full of wild energy and will be calmer. Keep in mind that Siamese cats are still vocal, clingy cats even if they aren’t showing it quite as much as they otherwise would.
They can still get sad and depressed if they aren’t played with enough, and it might be even harder to see that as their aloof attitudes set in. They will, however, be much more tolerant to letting new people into their lives and even letting new people spend time with their chosen person.
This is a good age for large life changes to happen, such as moving households. At this age, your Siamese cat will still enjoy activities, toys, and plenty of other mentally stimulating objects. Chances are that your cat will enjoy these kinds of toys throughout its life, as these cats always seek to have a good time.
Be Mindful of Health Issues
This is also around the age where you will want to be mindful of the health issues that Siamese cats can develop.
Siamese cats are notorious for poor eyesight, especially in the dark, and you may need to make adjustments to your house to cater to this. As adults, Siamese cats can also develop kidney, bladder, and heart problems that you will need to be mindful of.
Caring for a Senior Siamese Cat
Despite the fact that many Siamese cats will live into their early 20s, Siamese cats are considered to be seniors once they reach the age of 10. Senior cats, much as with senior people, can’t move around as easily as they were once able to. Because Siamese cats love to jump high, you may find that you need to move toys and activities a bit lower for an older senior cat to get the most out of them.
Senior cats will often be even more mellow, opting to take more naps and not always wanting to play. You should make sure to still provide enrichment if your cat wants it. Be mindful that senior Siamese cats are far more prone to stressors, especially sounds and new people, and that they are more at risk of developing kidney conditions.
Health of a Siamese Cat
History | Types | Behavior | Training | Biting | Purr | Life | Health | Cost | Names
One common problem that Siamese cats face is that they have more sensitive skin than other cat breeds. These skin conditions can be a real nuisance for your feline friend, so it’s important to learn what you can do to alleviate the discomfort they feel and treat their skin problems. In this article we will help you understand what causes these problematic skin conditions and how you can spot them in Siamese cats.
Siamese Cats and Their Special Skin
All cats, and not just the Siamese cat, are meticulous groomers that want to keep their fur (and skin) as clean as possible. In fact, cats spend about half of their waking time simply just cleaning themselves. Your Siamese cat will likely be seen grooming itself often and this shouldn’t immediately mean that your cat has a skin condition as much as it just wants to feel clean. You might begin to suspect a skin condition if you notice problems underneath your cat’s fur, thinning fur, and excessive grooming.
Siamese Cats Shedding
Keep in mind that if you see fur around the house, it may just be attributed to natural shedding that the Siamese cat goes through. While Siamese cats are sometimes hailed as having limited shedding due to their shorter coats, they still shed seasonally, so during autumn and spring, you may find more fur around the house without there being an actual problem with your Siamese cat.
Can You Get Skin Disease From Your Cat?
One thing to note when caring for cats, not just the Siamese cat, is that there are very few skin-related problems that your cat can transfer from itself to you. However, there are still one or two that you should know about and recognize the signs of. Diseases that you can get from another species that transfer to humans are known as zoonotic diseases, and when relating toward a Siamese cat’s skin, the main condition you could develop is known as Scabies which is a parasitic infection.
If you develop Scabies, then there’s a good chance your Siamese cat also has Scabies. Aside from Scabies, most skin conditions your Siamese can develop will not transfer to you, so you don’t have to worry about handling the cat and contracting something.
Are Siamese Cats More Likely to Develop Skin Diseases?
As a whole, Siamese cats are not more prone to skin conditions than other cats are, but all cats are prone to these conditions if they are not cared for properly. A Siamese cat has a delicate coat that needs to be groomed by both the cat and their caretaker to provide optimal health, and if you have a tendency to ignore the grooming that your vet suggests because the cat can just groom itself, you may end up with a cat that develops a number of skin conditions.
Why Siamese Cats Develop Skin Conditions
Siamese cats are notorious for having sensitive stomachs. Because of this, they may not eat the foods that they need to have a full and healthy immune system. When this happens, your Siamese cat is far more likely to pick up an infection or an irritant because its body doesn’t have the resources it needs to fight off infections or other problems.
In addition to this, Siamese cats are far more prone to respiratory and heart conditions, both of which can lower a cat’s ability to care for itself through grooming.
This also increases the risk that the Siamese cat develops a skin condition, and some of the illnesses that it is more prone to may have symptoms relating to sensitive skin. However, Siamese cats have relatively healthy skin. It’s just that they sometimes do not have the resources their bodies need to fight off skin infections and problems because they may not always have a balanced diet tuned to their needs, or their bodies might be more preoccupied with fighting off another infection in a more vital area of the body.
How to Stop Your Siamese Cat from Developing a Skin Condition
As a Siamese cat owner, you should take special precautions to keep your cat’s skin healthy. This usually means being equally meticulous about grooming as your cats are, providing extra resources for the skin if you take your cat outside, and taking more time out of the day to inspect your cat’s skin for potential problems so that you can stop them before they cause major issues.
To do this, you will need to have a good sense of what the symptoms of sensitive and irritated skin look like in Siamese cats, since it can be hard to tell in creatures that have as much fur as cats do.
Gauging the Health of Your Siamese Cat’s Skin
It can be understandably difficult to try and determine the health of your Siamese cat’s skin, especially when its skin is broadly covered by the fur that Siamese cats are so well-known for. Thankfully, there are some areas of your cat’s fur that are much thinner than others, allowing you to get a good sense of your cat’s overall skin health.
Siamese Cat Skin Appearance
Typically, the appearance of your cat’s skin and fur will go hand-in-hand. As your cat’s health deteriorates, it will be less interested in grooming itself, leading to matted and dull fur. These are the first signs that something is wrong.
Other signs of skin disease in Siamese cats include scabs, scaly skin, dandruff in a cat that doesn’t normally have dandruff, excessive itchiness, redness in areas where you can see the skin more, visible sores and ulcers, hair loss, a greasier coat, dull coats, and more shedding than you would expect.
All of these problems are symptoms and do not normally indicate specifically what is wrong with your cat. That will be up to the vet to decide, as they have the tools to be able to see into your Siamese cat’s skin to determine what is going on.
Itchiness
Some of these symptoms can be harder to spot than others, such as excessive itchiness. All cats will itch at some point and will want to scratch that itch, so it can be hard to determine when this is indicative of a problem and not just a simple passing itch.
Scabs
Usually, a symptom that is denoted as being excessive will mean that your cat is engaging in that behavior to the point of otherwise harming itself, such as scratching so much that you can see scabs forming on the skin.
This is a good indicator of when a symptom such as an itch has crossed into the threshold of being problematic compared to just being a transient itch we all experience.
Hair Loss
Other symptoms can be indicative of multiple problems, such as hair loss. Siamese cats are prone to anxious conditions, such as licking out their fur to the point of bald patches when there is no physical reason to, which can present in a way very similar to when cats might experience hair loss from a skin condition. This is another reason why it is important for you to let a vet determine what is going on with your cat’s fur, as they will have a better sense of whether your Siamese’s hair loss is caused by a nervous condition or if there is another underlying problem, or if the distress of diseased skin is causing your cat to stress out so much that it tears out its own fur.
When to See a Veterinarian
Knowing these symptoms is the first step in making sure that you keep your Siamese cat as healthy as possible, as then you will have a good sense of when you should be going to the vet to ask about the cat’s condition. Now that you know what to look for, you should also learn about what factors can contribute to your Siamese cat developing skin problems.
What Causes Skin Disease in Siamese Cats?
There are four main categories of skin-related problems in all cats, not just Siamese cats specifically. These conditions include parasitic skin diseases, allergic skin diseases, skin infections, and skin cancers. Keep in mind that skin cancers are rare and that there’s a good chance it could be an infection or something far more easily treatable. Some of these categories also overlap.
For instance, skin diseases that are parasitic in origin will usually also have traits of an allergic skin disease, as just about all cats have an allergic reaction to the presence of a parasite, but parasitic infections still require a different course of treatment to fully eliminate the parasite. This is, again, why you should always leave the details of the diagnosis to the vet, as they can make the most informed decision about how to handle your Siamese cat’s skin.
Parasitic Skin Diseases
Parasitic skin diseases are exactly what they sound like. They are skin diseases that originate from a parasite irritating your cat’s skin and often triggering an immune reaction of some sort. Cats will sometimes inadvertently worsen their condition by trying to scratch at an itch to the point where they bleed, risking even more infection.
Parasitic skin diseases will usually come from common parasites including fleas, lice, mites, and so on.
More often than not, the course of treatment is to rid the pests and the symptoms clear up on their own, though if it is severe enough, there may also be some treatment for the symptoms as well.
Allergic Skin Conditions
Allergic skin conditions occur when your cat has encountered something that it is allergic to. This can be anything from pollen to their food, and it can be a case of trial and error to try and figure out the allergen that your Siamese cat is affected by. Siamese cats have a tendency to be affected by food more often than other breeds are because of their predisposition to having a sensitive stomach. Common allergies that can cause skin conditions in cats include pollen, dust, certain fragrances, and foods.
The way that these conditions are treated is usually with a combination of eliminating the allergen as much as possible from the cat’s environment and also medicine to keep the cat from experiencing the allergic symptoms as much, though the latter tends to be for severe cases or cases where the allergen cannot be avoided (such as pollen).
Skin Infections
Skin infections often happen from prior irritation from parasitic or allergic skin conditions, though it can happen without them as well. Infections can only occur when there is an opening in the outer layers of skin that allow for the bacteria to infiltrate your Siamese cat’s body, causing widespread issues. Naturally, if your cat has been excessively scratching because of one of the other conditions, then this puts your cat at greater risk for developing an infection, though even otherwise healthy cats can develop an infection as well.
Infections will have symptoms relating to the skin, but will often include more systemic symptoms as well since the whole body is working to fight off the bacteria. Treatment typically involves special medicine (often antifungals or antibiotics, depending on the infection), which can either be in the form of a shampoo or a medicine your cat has to ingest.
Skin Cancer
Skin cancer is slightly more prevalent in Siamese cats because of their albinism. This makes their skin much more sensitive to damage from sunlight, which is why it is important that Siamese cats be kept inside. Skin cancer, while rare, tends to be aggressive in cats and is often seen as ulceration at first. Treatment can range from chemotherapy to surgical removal of precancerous tissue, and preventative measures include monitoring your Siamese’s time in the sun and applying sunscreen to the cat if it is allowed outside on a sunny day.
What Can You Do for Your Cat’s Skin?
Your first step should be to seek treatment from a qualified veterinarian so that they can determine the origin of the cat’s distress and offer guidance toward altering your lifestyle to accommodate your cat, especially if the skin problems are allergic in nature. There are a few ways that you can help your cat out at home as well, including feeding it a special Siamese-focused diet, knowing what ointments are safe to apply to your cat’s skin, and so on.
Improve Their Diet
To make sure that your Siamese cat’s diet isn’t part of its skin problems, you will want to make sure to purchase a low-allergen food to minimize the chances that your cat has an allergic reaction. Because of how sensitive their stomachs tend to be, you should be even more focused on making sure your Siamese cat’s diet is predominantly meat.
All cats are obligate carnivores, which means that they do not have the digestive enzymes to tackle carbs and most plant matter. A low-allergen, meat-focused meal should be your starting point for your Siamese’s health, although you should always confirm with the vet before making major changes to your cat’s diet.
Antibiotic Ointments
You should only use antibiotic ointments that are meant for cats. Antibiotic ointments that are made for people are made with the general consensus that they should not be ingested. Cats, on the other hand, don’t understand this concept. If you try to apply a human antibiotic ointment to your cat’s skin, there’s a significant chance it could go into anaphylactic shock because of one of the ingredients.
It is a cat’s natural thought not only to groom itself regularly and to groom areas that are irritated even more often, but also to remove “contaminants” from its fur, and your cat is not going to understand that the ointment is for its own benefit.
In addition to this, cats that are sensitive will be even more irritated by some of the ingredients in human antibiotic ointments and may even have an allergic reaction from it just being on its skin, which is not what you want when you are trying to treat an irritation.
There are antibiotic ointments that are designed for pets and their tendency to try and lick strange substances off their skin. These ointments are made with ingredients that are meant to soothe the irritation, while not irritating it further. They are also made so that if your cat does try to lick it, which it inevitably will, it will not be nearly as toxic for it, although you should be mindful to only apply a little bit at a time for this reason.
Are Siamese Cats Hypoallergenic?
When it comes to allergies, some people are relatively fortunate to either have mild allergies or allergies that can be easily avoided (such as not having certain plants in the backyard). Other people are not as lucky and may have severe and life-threatening allergies, or even allergies to their favorite furry friends. When dealing with pet allergies, it is important to weigh the balance between how uncomfortable you will be and how much you really want an animal. Thankfully, there are some forms of hypoallergenic animals that you can adopt, but what about Siamese cats?
Siamese Cats and Allergies
Where do Siamese cats fit into all of this? Siamese cats qualify as hypoallergenic cats because they produce smaller amounts of the Fel D1 protein, meaning that some people who are allergic to this protein will find that the Siamese cat doesn’t aggravate their allergies quite as much as other cats do.
Siamese cats, much like other cats, still produce other proteins (Fel D2 and Fel D4) that can cause allergies to act up, so if you are allergic to either of these, no cat will be suitable for you, including the Siamese cat. Siamese cats also shed far less than other cats do, which means that there is less of a chance for the allergen to spread around the house and irritate you. For that reason, Siamese cats are often considered fairly good cats for being hypoallergenic and they can become a lovely addition to your family if you find that you can tolerate the proteins that they have.
For being a hypoallergenic cat, the Siamese is a perfectly viable option to someone who can handle other similar breeds that produce less Fel D1 than other breeds, and it may even be a good choice because of how little this cat sheds. As long as you take care to wash clothes more often and groom the cat frequently, you will find that you can easily live with a Siamese cat, even if you have a cat allergy.
About Hypoallergenic Cat Breeds
Hypoallergenic breeds are animals that do not carry the same allergens that other animals do, or if they have it, they produce considerably less of it. This means that there is less or none of that allergen in the air for the person who is allergic to be bothered by.
Common Cat Allergens
The problem with cat allergies is that there are two primary allergens that cats carry.
Pet Dander
There is an allergen (scientifically known as Fel D1) that is commonly found in pet dander, which means that it is in the cat’s fur and anywhere the fur goes. This allergen is the primary cause of cat allergies and is the most common one you will find.
This is typically what hypoallergenic cats are focused on, meaning that the cat does not produce the allergen found in the cat’s dander and the cats do not shed their coats out nearly as much.
Pet Secretions
There is also a second allergen that is found in cat saliva, urine, and skin. More specifically, there are several other proteins similar to the first that can cause these problems and they are known as secondary allergens. There are two that are the most common and are found in cat saliva, urine, and skin. (The scientific names for the most prominent secondary proteins are Fel D2 and Fel D4.)
This is another cause of cat allergies, though it tends to be less common, but it is also more problematic.
Cats lick themselves to groom, so it means that even if the cat’s dander is fine, the cat will put its saliva into its fur, causing problems for those who are allergic to the cat’s saliva. It also means that your cat affectionately licking you can be a problem, as can cat bites. There really isn’t a way around this allergen aside from not adopting a cat.
Searching for a Hypoallergenic Cat
Because of this duality in cat allergies, before you begin the search for a hypoallergenic cat, you first need to determine if you can own a cat as long as it has a hypoallergenic coat or if the cat’s saliva is what is causing problems for you. Most doctors will be able to perform this allergen test and will be able to let you know if it is cat dander or cat saliva that is causing problems for you.
Unfortunately, there is no commercial test for Fel D4, or the less common cat allergens. Chances are that if you spend time with a hypoallergenic cat and are still having a reaction, then you are allergic to an allergen other than Fel D1.
What Is a Hypoallergenic Cat?
Now that you have a bit more understanding of allergens that cats produce and what they mean for those who are allergic, it is time to look back at hypoallergenic cats.
The truth is that all cats can cause allergies, and that hypoallergenic cats are simply cats that produce far less of the Fel D1 protein compared to other breeds. This means that people who are especially sensitive to it or people who are allergic to other proteins a cat produces may still have a reaction to the cat. This also means that no cat can be fully hypoallergenic, though some people may find that the reaction is minimal enough that it might as well not be there.
Even cats that produce low amounts of Fel D1 are not suitable for people who have the potential to have a severe reaction. Some people are dangerously sensitive to Fel D1, and those people should not own any cat for that reason as even hypoallergenic cats produce small amounts of this protein.
If you are testing to see if you can handle being around hypoallergenic cats, you should spend some time with them in a relatively controlled environment first to gauge your reaction. From there, you can determine whether the effects you feel are still severe enough to mean you shouldn’t own a cat or if they are manageable enough for you to comfortably care for a cat.
Why Are Some Siamese Cats Cross-Eyed?
Strabismus (being cross-eyed) is a problem that seems to mostly affect Siamese cats, although other cat breeds can be cross-eyed as well. To be able to understand why many Siamese cats are born with crossed eyes, you first have to understand a bit more about Siamese genetics.
These cats are often purebred cats, so there is a lot going on in their genetics that can affect the Siamese cat eyes, leaving them cross-eyed or not entirely aligned. This is a problem that disproportionately affects Siamese cats, although if you do some searching, you should be able to find a fair few Siamese cats that aren’t cross-eyed.
Purebred Cats and Siamese Cats
To get purebred Siamese cats is a delicate and painstaking process that involves a lot of history and checking to make sure that your cats are healthy and are the sparkling definition of their breed. Cat breeds often have strict regulations, from the color of their fur to the patterns underneath that fur, which means that it can be hard to get a cat that falls perfectly within a breed’s guidelines. Once a cat has been bred and turns out to be the perfect cat for its breed, it is then bred many times over to try and get those preferable genes into more of those cats.
Naturally, an aspect of purebred animals is that this process will involve some degree of inbreeding, though this has become far less commonplace in today’s society. The problem with inbreeding is that there are a lot of genetic mutations that can develop because of this. A fair few offshoots of the Siamese cat breed have likely stemmed from a mutation that came from inbreeding. This is also one of the major reasons why people don’t support purebred animals and purchase them for their looks alone, as an animal’s appearance will often come at the price of its health.
Of the Siamese cats that are cross-eyed, they are doing it intentionally. When a Siamese cat develops with the genetic condition that leads to cross-eyedness, it means that the center of their retina is partially shifted, which means that they cannot naturally see straight. To see straight and clearly, these affected cats need to cross their eyes, leading to the well-known appearance of a cross eyed Siamese cat. The main cause of cross-eyed Siamese cats is the fact that their appearance relies on a gene that is associated with being albino, or a lack of coloration in the cat’s fur and eyes.
How Albino Genotypes Impact Cross-Eyed Siamese Cats
All Siamese cats are born at least partially albino, being born white and eventually developing the characteristic patches of color on their feet, nose, and tail that they are known for as they grow older. An animal with the albino gene does not necessarily have to have no coloration to their coat, and there are several genotypes that involve albinism.
The Siamese cat breed does rely on that albinism to get their trademark appearance, so this might mean that some genotypes may mutate into other forms of the albino gene that are known for having visual complications. Because of this process, Siamese cats are disproportionately affected by cross-eyedness, and it is something that you may have to expect when you choose to look at Siamese kittens. You can try and decrease the chances of this happening by looking into a breeder’s history, focus, and other kittens to see if they have these problems or if the breeder places a higher focus on the Siamese cat’s health rather than its appearance and price tag.
There are some specific subtypes of the Siamese cat that are afflicted with cross-eyedness more than others. Typically, the Traditional Siamese and the Thai Siamese cats will be more affected by this condition than the Modern Siamese, as people have focused more on preventing this trait in Modern Siamese breeds.
Can You Help a Cross-Eyed Siamese Cat?
It may hurt your heart to see your Siamese cat with crossed eyes, or you might feel sorry for it. One might even begin to wonder if these cats would develop the same kinds of headaches and eyestrain that people get when they cross their eyes for long periods of time.
Thankfully, you can do some things to help your Siamese cat out if it does have crossed eyes, and the best news is that to Siamese cats who have to naturally cross their eyes to see, it doesn’t bother them at all and simply feels as if it is how it would normally see.
Treat Your Cat the Same
First things first, you will want to treat your cat the same way you would otherwise. Having a cat with crossed eyes could be thought of as having a cat that might need glasses, as it is a problem that only affects the finer details of your cat’s life. In fact, most cats (even the healthiest ones) have poor eyesight.
They rely primarily on scent, sound, and their whiskers to get around, with their eyesight being surprisingly bad at the human equivalent of 20/100 (meaning that at 20 feet away from an object, cats see it with the same clarity as if they were 100 feet away). This means that while it might be sad to look at, cats already have poor eyesight, so your cat may not be as impaired as it may appear.
Regardless, you should still do what you can to help your cat out a little bit more, as crossed eyes can often mean that cats will have poorer depth perception and limited peripheral vision, just like for humans that are cross-eyed. Cross-eyed Siamese cats will still be just as playful and agile as they otherwise would be, though, they just might need a little help in some areas.
Reduce Clutter
The best thing that you can do is try and make sure that there are fewer cramped areas where your cat could hit a wall or fall down because it didn’t realize how much space it had. These cats tend to have poor depth perception and peripheral vision, so they may try and turn around only to hit a wall or knock something over that they couldn’t see.
By allowing for there to be more wide-open spaces for your cat to maneuver in and by making sure you don’t have too many fragile objects near ledges, you can ensure that your cat will be able to move around easily. You may also want to place blankets or pillows in areas that look like your cat may fall from. After all, when you take in a cat, you will quickly learn what it is capable of and where it might have problems, so you may come to realize that your house has certain problem areas where your Siamese cat struggles.
In these cases, while you can’t always help your cat navigate, you can place items that will provide a soft landing if your cat accidentally falls down. This is also all the more reason why, if you have a cross-eyed Siamese cat, you will want to make an extra effort not to have fragile items near any ledges.
Cross-Eyed Siamese Cats Throughout History
Interestingly enough, Siamese cats who had crossed eyes were not always seen as being imperfect or flawed.
The Siamese cat is one of the oldest breeds of cat around, so there is a lot of history surrounding Siamese cats that have been cross-eyed. For instance, Thai royalty would see a Siamese cat’s crossed eyes as something that should be cherished, which is one reason why the Thai Siamese cat is often cross-eyed, as breeders of this cat saw no reason to eliminate that feature from the breed.
However, as breeding pets became more focused on appearances rather than the capabilities of the animal, people began wanting their cats to be “perfect” in every way, including how they looked. Crossed eyes aren’t always the most beautiful and are often seen as a flaw in people, so large groups of people came to think the same way about Siamese cats and their crossed eyes. No matter if you are looking to adopt a Siamese cat and you want to learn more about potential characteristics that you could encounter, or you want to learn more about a particular problem with Siamese cats, or if you are simply interested in adopting one of these animals because they are often rejected for their appearance, you will quickly find that the cross-eyed Siamese cat will make just as perfect of an addition to your family as any other cat would.s
Cost of Siamese Cat
History | Types | Behavior | Training | Biting | Purr | Life | Health | Cost | Names
The Siamese is a popular cat breed both for its personality and appearance. While some people adopt this cat for its personality and for the ability to say that they own a Siamese cat, other people adopt these cats for show business, which is where the circumstances of price can become complicated.
As a whole, the Siamese cat price can vary a fair bit depending on its age, appearance, and history. The standard range for a pedigree Siamese kitten will be anywhere between $400 to $1,000 USD.
Younger, “perfect” cats will be on the higher end of that scale, sometimes even breaching the thousand-dollar barrier. Older, “imperfect” cats will be less expensive, sometimes falling below the half-thousand mark depending on the cat’s circumstances. With a range like this, you may be wondering what all goes into the price of a cat. Much of the price is reflected in the cat’s pedigree and history.
A breeder who has spent countless days trying to breed the perfect show cat is going to charge considerably more than someone whose Siamese cat just happened to have a litter of kittens. For cats that are common show cats, such as the Siamese, the appearance of the cat holds a major sway over how much it will cost.
In show business, there are strict standards as to what constitutes the perfect appearance. These standards are so strict that it comes down to the posture of the cat, the size and location of its markings (down to the fraction of an inch), and other qualities like this. Naturally, this means that it takes a lot of effort to produce a cat that can meet these strict standards.
As with business in general, when a product takes a lot of time and effort to produce, it is going to be far more expensive. This applies heavily to Siamese cats.
Another aspect that goes into this is going to be the cat’s history. When breeding show cats, the ancestral history plays a fair role in it. Breeders and buyers are going to want to have the best candidates for the cat’s parents, so it must be documented heavily throughout the cat’s life.
More reliable and honest breeders will also include information about the cat’s genetic health and its risk for hereditary disorders, which is another thing you will need to factor in when considering the total price of a cat.
Finally, there is the age of the Siamese cat. When it comes to show business, buyers are always going to want to adopt cats as young as they can safely be adopted out.
This is because it is far easier to train young kittens who have not yet learned the “rights” and “wrongs,” for being a show cat. Trying to train an older cat who has already learned its behaviors and what is considered acceptable is more difficult.
Additionally, when adopting a younger kitten, owners can alter the diet so that the cat’s appearance meets show-quality standards. With older cats who have already had their nutrients while growing up, their appearance cannot be adjusted as much. All of this culminates into the fact that younger Siamese cats are going to be more expensive than their adult counterparts.
The younger a cat is, with a richer history, and a stronger genetic background, the more in-demand it will be and the higher its price will be. The older and more stubborn a cat is, with an unknown history, and a weaker genetic background is going to be far, far less expensive for you to adopt if you simply want the personality and general appearance of a Siamese cat in your house.
These are most of the aspects that you will need to pay attention to when you are considering what your budget is for adopting a Siamese cat specifically.
If you are not looking for a show-quality cat, you can often get away with a cat who is only a few hundred dollars, and you can go even less expensive if you are okay with a partially mixed breed or a cat with a bad temperament.
Price of a Purebreed vs Mixed Breed
If you find yourself wanting to adopt a particular breed of cat, there are going to be many aspects that you have to consider and plan for. For one, purebred cats come with their own caveats with their appearance and personality. These can include hereditary problems, shortened lifespans, and a drastically increased price.
Despite these problems, many people all around the world want to adopt purebred cats. There are plenty of reasons for this. Some people may want to put their cat into a show business, where they can show off the perfect appearance of the cat. Other people may simply want the personality that comes with a particular cat breed. Think of the ragdoll cat and the way it enjoys being carried. Some people adopt specific breeds for that reason.
Similarly, people will search for purebred hypoallergenic cats for the sake of getting around allergies to have a feline companion. These are just a few of the plethora of reasons why people may want to adopt a certain breed of cat.
When you are searching for a specific cat breed, there are some other things that you will need to think about.
One of the biggest hurdles to cross is always going to be the price of a purebred cat. Due to the nature of breeding cats, their pedigrees, and the rigorous attempts to reach the “perfect” cat, a purebred cat breed is going to be multitudes more expensive than a cat that you can adopt at a shelter.
For example, mixed-breed shelter cats can range anywhere from $20 to $200 USD, depending on where you adopt the cat, its health, and its circumstances. On the other hand, purebred cats can easily cross the threshold into thousands of dollars for a single cat.
Top 3 Siamese Cat Names
History | Types | Behavior | Training | Biting | Purr | Life | Health | Cost | Names
LUNA
NEKO
SUKI