An exquisitely beautiful cat, the Siamese is very affectionate and requires dedication from her parent. Siamese At a glance The Siamese is the legendary temple cat of the King of Siam. Male: medium: 8-12 lbs. Female: small: <8 lbs. Longevity Range: 8-12 yrs. Social/Attention Needs: Moderate, High Tendency to Shed: Low Length: Short Characteristics: Smooth Colors: Chocolate, Seal, Lilac, Blue, Red, Cream, Fawn, Cinnamon Pattern: Points Less Allergenic: No Overall Grooming Needs: Low Cat Association Recognition: CFA, ACFA , FIFe, TICA Prevalence: Common The Siamese is a long, elegant cat. The body is long, the neck is long, the legs and tail are long. The breed is medium sized but nicely muscled. The Siamese is a cat of extremes. The head is a long triangle. The tall ears are set on the head to be a continuation of this triangle. The nose is long and straight. The legs are long and slender. The tail is long and tapers to a point. The eyes are almond shape and bright blue.

The Siamese coat is short, glossy and lies close to the body. The beauty of the Siamese cat is the look of the slender body, the blue eyes and the contrast between the color on the body and the darker color of the extremities. This contrast is called color restriction, or, more commonly, pointing. The color of the fur on the ears, tail and feet are a different color than that of the body, and this darker color gradually blends into the lighter color of the body. Discount Tire Tempe HoursThe face also shows a mask of the same deeper point color. Best Laptop For Serato VideoThe mask covers the face, surrounds the eyes and covers the whisker pads. Miele Vacuum Cleaner S512The mask is smaller in a kitten and gradually increases as she grows.

The Siamese cat is not only beautiful, but also she is highly intelligent. She can be trained to walk on a lead. This intelligence does not mean, however, that she can be trained to do everything you might wish. Like most other highly intelligent breeds, the Siamese has her own desires. The Siamese is an affectionate cat and requires her parent to be as dedicated to her as she is to her parent. Her parent must be affectionate to the Siamese and make time to play with her. With her long, muscular body, weight gain will show quickly in the Siamese. Siamese show a pot belly after indulging in one day of over-eating. The nutrition must be carefully controlled. The long, slim legs are not made to hold a fat body. Siamese are great jumpers and love heights, so perches and cat trees should be provided. Siamese love to play and appreciate toys around the house for their pleasure. While the coat needs little care, Siamese tend to associate brushing with affection and will enjoy spending time being groomed.

The Siamese, as elegant as she looks, can be quite a lap cat. She is extremely affectionate and will sleep next to her parent. The beautiful Siamese is the legendary temple cat of the King of Siam. The cats were not only valued by the king for their exquisite beauty, but also they were used as guard cats. Siamese would be perched on tall columns around the throne of the king. If anyone threatened the king, the cats would jump down from the pillars onto the individual. Between the size of the Siamese, their strength and their ability to jump down from a height, they would knock the person to the floor. If need be, they would scratch at the face of the person who thought he could harm the King of Siam. No one knows if this legend is true, but the cat seen by the German naturalist and explorer Peter Simon Pallas may have been a Siamese. This cat was noted in Pallas' reports on explorations of the Caspian Sea in the 1700s. Pallas described her as having "ears, paws and tail … quite black.

It is of a middle size, has somewhat smaller legs than the common cat and the head is longer toward the nose." The first Siamese cats in Europe were a gift from the King of Siam to the English consulate general in Bangkok in the late 1800s. The first Siamese cats in western cat fancy were named Pho and Mia. They were a breeding pair brought into England in 1884 by Owen Gould. The kittens from Pho and Mia were exhibited by Mr. Gould's sister at the London show held in the Crystal Palace in 1885. The first Siamese cat in the United States was also a gift from the King of Siam to a friend. In the late 1890s and early 1900s, Siamese cats were imported into North America from Britain, France, Japan, and Siam. The Siamese remained somewhat rare until after World War II, when they quickly became number one in terms of registrations.The Turkish Angora is a naturally occurring breed from the "old country," with traces of its line going back several millennia. Medium in size with a long, svelte, well-balanced body, it is the very picture of grace.

Long is the adjective that best typifies this cat breed. The Angora has a long body, long, slim legs, long tail, long coat, large ears and wide eyes. It is a dainty cat, with fine bones, a slim chest, and a super soft coat that belies its hardiness. It is renowned most for its gorgeous, long, silky coat which seems to shimmer when it moves. The coat is single layered only, which makes the Angora a breeze to groom. The length of the coat is dictated by season. The hair thins out in the warm months, when the Angora takes on more of a shorthair appearance, and in the cold months the coat grows in thicker and longer, the britches and mane fluff up fully, and the tail becomes more posh. But, because it has only one coat, there is no need for worrying about matting, as happens with longhaired double coated cats. A good example of this comparison is the Persian, which the Angora was tied to for a long time in the cat society; the tie was based primarily on coat length. The Persian is longhaired as well, but with a top coat, and a woolly undercoat that is prone to matting, it must be vigilantly groomed.

That is not the only difference in the two breeds. One would need only to look at the cats to see the defining differences. The first and clearly obvious difference is the face. The Persian has a short, flat face, and the Angora has a longer nose and delicately boned face. The Angora has also been linked with the Turkish Van cat. One reason is because of its tendency to have odd colored eyes. Like the Van, some Angora's have one blue eye and one amber eye. The other similarity is the seasonal shedding of the single layer coat, becoming shorthair in the warm months, and fuller in the cold months. The two breeds have adapted similar traits to survive the disparate seasonal climates of Turkey. Otherwise, the differences between the two breeds are enough to classify them separately. Since they do come from the same region of the world, it might merely be assumed that the cats took on their own unique characteristics needed to survive the harsh winters and hot summers in Turkey. Traditionally, pure white has been the favored color, and for a long time the cat associations accepted only white for competition.

But, Angora's are naturally a varied breed, and recently, breeders have been emphasizing the variety of colors they are born with, which can be upwards of twenty colors, in addition to tabby patterns and smoke varieties. This is a smart and intelligent cat which bonds well with humans. With its affectionate and playful personality the Angora is a top choice for families. It gets along well with everyone -- children, seniors, visitors. It is devoted to its human family and does not do well to be left alone. The Angora has a desire to participate in all of your activities, and is extremely persistent in getting your attention; it is a true alpha cat. This same trait plays out in relationship to other animals. The Angora gets along great with other pets in the home, but it will make clear who is in charge, and who the house belongs to. It likes to resolve its own problem and be independent at times, and is not the best cat for someone who wants a lap cat -- it does not like to be held for more than a few minutes at a time.

But, it does prefer to stay close, remaining in the room with you and occupying itself on the floor where it can supervise the action and stay up on all of the events. This is one of the breeds of cat that loves to talk (the Tonkinese is another breed that loves to chat). The Angora can be very vocal and can carry out an animated conversation for a long time. Listen carefully, your Angora might be asking you for a dance. This one loves to dance, and is especially captivating when it does. There are many theories as to the origin of the Turkish Angora. According to one theory, the long-haired Pallas, an Asian wildcat which is about the size of the domestic cat, is the Angora's ancestor. However, this is often refuted because the Pallas is wild and aggressive, while the Angora is affectionate. Another theory (and a more likely scenario) suggests the Angora, like other domestic cats, originated from the African wildcat. These cats probably acquired the long-haired characteristic from mutations many centuries ago, thriving in the mountainous areas of Turkey.

Many stories are associated with this breed. One such legend tells of Mohammed (570 to 632 A.D.), founder of the Islamic faith, and his decision to cut off his sleeve rather than disturb an Angora Muezza which was sleeping in his arms. These cats, once referred to as Ankara cats after the Turkish capital, were sent to Britain and France from Turkey, Persia, Russia, and Afghanistan during the late 1500s. The Angoras were then introduced to America in the late 1700's, and gathered quick fanfare. Unfortunately, they began to lose popularity after the arrival of the Persian cat. The Angora was crossed with the Persian to increase the length and silkiness of its coat. Over time the crossings allowed the genes for white fur from the Angora to become a stable part of the Persian line, changing the coloring of the Persian from a static gray. The reverse benefit was not true for the Angora. It was gradually losing its unique traits and the offspring from the pairings came to resemble the Persian more, until it was the Persian that became the dominant breed.

As the Angora lost its breed purity due to the cross breeding, its popularity plummeted to an all time low in the 1900s, forcing the Turkish government to take action. The Turkish people placed a high value on their white-coated, blue-eyed and odd-eyed cats, so the government, along with the Ankara Zoo, began a careful breeding program to protect and preserve the pure white Angora cats with blue and amber eyes; a program which has continued. The peculiarly colored odd eyes inherent in some Angoras are treasured by the people of Turkey, and are encouraged at the zoo, as they are believed to have been Allah’s favorites (Muezza, Mohammed’s beloved cat was an Angora with unusual eyes). To this day, it it near impossible to acquire a white Angora from Turkey. They can only be found at the zoo or in the homes of breeders. Even in Turkey, ownership of a white Angora is rare. But, in 1962, Liesa F. Grant, wife of Army Colonel Walter Grant, who was posted in Turkey, was successful in importing a pair of Turkish Angoras to the U.S., along with their certificates of ancestry.

Other Americans who were traveling through or had been stationed in Turkey were also taking Angoras back to the U.S., and it was this small but hardy population that provided the bedrock for a U.S. line of Angoras. With diligent work from this community of Angora fanciers, the breed grew to be numerous enough to be granted registration status with the Cat Fanciers Association (CFA) in 1968, and for provisional competition status in 1970. In 1973 the CFA gave full recognition to the Turkish Angora, but until 1978, registration was limited to white Angoras only. Since 1978, the breed has been accepted in all of its natural colors, and is now a full participating class in all of the cat associations in North America. Registration numbers show that the white Angora is still the most sought after, but breeders have been focusing more energy on the other colors, with the realization that the white coat is no more beautiful than many of the other natural colors. In addition to that, in terms of possible health concerns the white coat is also not always best for the vitality of the breed (see care, below).