About the Thai
Origin: Thailand
- Typical life span
- 12-16 years
- Size
- Medium — from its typical weight
- Weight
- 3.6-6.8 kg
- Height
- 25-30 cm
- Registry status
- Recognised by TICA
- Breed group
- Short-haired
- Origin
- Thailand
- Known hereditary risks
- None well documented
About
What is a Thai?
Medium-sized pointed cat representing the traditional Siamese type. Less extreme features than modern Siamese.
Thai history and origins
Represents the traditional or 'old-style' Siamese that existed before selective breeding created the modern extreme type. Sometimes called Wichian Mat. TICA recognized as separate breed.
Thai appearance and size
Typically 3.6-6.8 kg and 25-30 cm at the shoulder — published as one range rather than separately for males and females.
Thai temperament and personality
Generally described as active, social, intelligent, affectionate, playful and vocal.
That is the breed in general, not a promise about one animal. Ask the breeder what their own line is like, and meet the parents before you decide.
Breed reference from The Cat API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Medium
- Exercise needs
- —
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 3 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 2 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Nothing hereditary documented
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Thai
What you get with the Thai
- Low grooming needs, fitting for a busy owner — the coat is “Short. Fine, glossy and smooth. Slight undercoat.”
- Commonly described as: “Active, Social, Intelligent, Affectionate”
What you are taking on
Nobody has written this side yet. It is a judgement rather than data, so it waits for a person — not for a missing source.
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FIFe breed standard; The Cat API. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FIFe standard · Thai
Coat
As the FIFe standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
Short.
Fine, glossy and smooth.
Slight undercoat.
Shortened from FIFe standard THA — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
Temperament
Breed-level information from The Cat API. It describes the Thai in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
Health & screening guide for the Thai
Nothing hereditary is documented for the Thai breed, but there is still specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
Thai (old-style Siamese) is a separate TICA breed from the modern Siamese, and the hereditary disease documented at meaningful frequency in modern Siamese — chiefly progressive retinal atrophy (PRA-rdAc/CEP290, found at roughly 33% carrier frequency in Siamese) — is not documented in Thai. A 2021 peer-reviewed population-genetics study found the Thai population 'essentially free' of the hereditary diseases seen in the contemporary Siamese breed, despite the two sharing common ancestry.
What to ask for anyway
- Cardiologist echocardiogram on both parents (HCM screening)
- PKD1 DNA test or renal ultrasound
- FeLV/FIV status of the breeding cats
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Thai owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Kittens
No kittens listed right now
That is not the same as none existing. Publishing a litter is part of a breeder's subscription here, so a Thai breeder can have a litter and no listing — ask them directly.
See Thai breeders