The breed gallery
Siamese
The Siamese is the most talkative cat among the breeds, and she knows it. For centuries the breed lived in the courts and temples of old Siam — present-day Thailand — before it conquered Europe at the close of the nineteenth century.
For a portraitist the Siamese is line and expression in pure form: a dark mask, deep-blue almond eyes and a bearing that is never accidental.
- Origin
- Thailand (formerly Siam) — age-old; reached Europe in the late 19th century
- Coat
- very short and fine, with points: a dark mask, ears, legs and tail
- Eyes
- almond-shaped, deep blue
- Weight
- roughly 3 to 5 kilos
- Life expectancy
- roughly 15 to 20 years — often very long-lived
Character
A Siamese talks. Not now and then — continually, with a raw, carrying voice and a register that ranges from questions to reproaches. The breed attaches itself strongly to its people and tolerates loneliness poorly; two Siamese are often happier than one.
It is, besides, an acrobat with a playful, sometimes insistent intelligence: closed doors are an insult and empty laps a mistake that must be corrected.
Appearance and coat
The points — the dark mask, the ears, legs and tail — are literally temperature maps: the colour pigment develops only on the cooler parts of the body. Kittens are born white; the markings come with the weeks.
With a Siamese, nature draws with temperature.
The classic colours are seal, blue, chocolate and lilac point. The modern show type is refined and oriental of line; the older, rounder type lives on as the Thai.
Care
The coat all but maintains itself; a weekly gentle brush or even a damp hand will do. The need lies elsewhere: company, play and conversation. A bored Siamese makes that heard.
History
In old Thai manuscripts the temple cat with the dark mask is already described. In 1884 a pair reached England as a diplomatic gift, and within a single generation the Siamese was the most talked-about cat in Europe — at shows and in salons alike.
The portrait
Your Siamese as an art portrait
The Siamese calls for styles with line and theatre: art deco, evening light, a touch of the stage. The mask and the blue eyes carry the portrait; one photograph in which the cat looks at you is all the atelier needs.
art-deco lines for the most marked face among the breeds
a voice like that deserves a stage with evening light