Medium-sized, elegant cat with distinctive colorpoint pattern, blue eyes, and wedge-shaped head. One of the most recognizable breeds.
One of the oldest recognized breeds, originating in Thailand (Siam). Favored by Thai royalty. First came to the West in the 1880s. Modern show Siamese has more extreme features than traditional type.
Typically 3.6-6.8 kg and 25-36 cm at the shoulder — published as one range rather than separately for males and females.
Generally described as active, agile, clever, sociable, loving, energetic and affectionate.
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.
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; "Generalized AA-amyloidosis in Siamese and Oriental cats", 1997 (PubMed). 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.
FIFe standard · Siamese
As the FIFe standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged permissible.
Very short, fine, glossy, silky and lying close to the body.
Almost no undercoat.
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FIFe’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Base colour
mask in the face, points on ears, legs and tail
Shortened from FIFe standard SIA — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
Breed-level information from The Cat API. It describes the Siamese in general; any individual animal can differ.
Known hereditary risks for the Siamese breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
3 conditions documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)This inherited retinal disease causes slow, progressive vision loss and eventual blindness. It was first identified in Abyssinians and is often sold as an 'Abyssinian test', but a large-scale genetic survey of over 11,000 cats found the same mutation at high frequency — roughly a third of the Siamese tested — making it a genuine concern for this breed as well.
What to ask for
PRA-rdAc (CEP290) DNA test result for both parents (UC Davis VGL or an equivalent laboratory)
Mucopolysaccharidosis VI is an inherited enzyme deficiency. Its severe form causes stunted growth, joint disease and hind-limb weakness or paralysis by around eight months old; a milder form can leave a cat looking outwardly healthy. UC Davis's genetics laboratory specifically lists Siamese among the breeds it recommends testing for this condition.
What to ask for
Mucopolysaccharidosis VI (MPS VI) DNA test result for both parents (UC Davis VGL or an equivalent laboratory)
Amyloidosis is a build-up of abnormal protein deposits, mainly in the liver, that is generally fatal once advanced; it has been studied for decades in Siamese and Oriental lines and tends to appear between one and seven years old. Its inheritance is complex — pedigree analysis points to a mix of one or a few major genes plus smaller background effects — and while researchers have found DNA markers associated with it, there is not yet a commercial diagnostic test.
What to ask for
No commercial DNA screening test currently exists. Ask the breeder about any history of sudden liver or kidney failure, or unexplained early deaths, among related cats.
Median age at death 13,1 years
Middle half of deaths between 7,7 and 15,7 years, from 88 recorded deaths. 6,8% of them were before age two.
Computed from United Kingdom veterinary records covering 7936 deaths. This is an age at death, not a life expectancy: half the cats of this breed in the records died younger.
Dataset: O'Neill, D. & Teng, K.T. (2024), Figshare, doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.25006802, CC BY 4.0. Teng, K.T., Brodbelt, D.C., Church, D.B. & O'Neill, D.G. (2024) Life tables of annual life expectancy and risk factors for mortality in cats in the United Kingdom. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery 26(5).
This is where Siamese 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.
That is not the same as none existing. Publishing a litter is part of a breeder's subscription here, so a Siamese breeder can have a litter and no listing — ask them directly.
See Siamese breeders