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Siamese cat Cattery
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Siamese cattery in Florence
*All the features we describe below are also identical in the Oriental (except, of course, for the colours). Read more HERE.
The Siamese cat as a purebred cat is recognised by all the feline associations worldwide and in all of them the standard is almost identical: we speak of a long, slender, tubular cat with almond-shaped eyes, large ears that continue the edges of the snout positioned to form the famous Siamese triangle and a long tail, as well as, of course, the typical point colouring, i.e. a light body and dark extremities (snout, ears, paws and tail).
However, there are essentially two different interpretations of the Siamese cat that have developed over the years.
On the one hand we have the Siamese CFA type (American association active worldwide) and on the other the Siamese FIFé (European association also active worldwide).
The basic idea of the cat is identical, simply the position of the ears changes.
In the Siamese CFA the ears are positioned higher than in the Siamese FIFé and the pictures below explain the comparison much better than words.
Sacred Souls Sakura Audrey, Siamese blue tortie
Yeswecat Knock3Penny, Siamese seal bicolore
As can be clearly seen in the CFA cat (Audrey) the ears follow the edge of the muzzle which being smaller and narrower will give the classical isosceles triangle shape, where the sides of the triangle following the muzzle are longer and the imaginary line connecting the outer tip of the ears shorter.
In the FIFé Siamese, on the other hand (Andarna), the muzzle is still long but wider (because the head is wider) and therefore the ears are lowered. In this way drawing an imaginary line connecting the outer tip of the ears we will have the third side of the triangle of equal length to the one that runs along the muzzle, creating the typical extreme expression of the Siamese FIFé.
The second difference, which is more or less pronounced, is in size: the CFA Siamese tends to be more slender (classical ballerina style) while the FIFé Siamese is more solid, although it maintains a long, slender body.
All other characteristics are absolutely identical, such as the almond-shaped eyes, the straight profile and all the breed characteristics mentioned at the beginning of the article.
Note well that in writing the standards are almost identical: there is no mention at all (fortunately) of an isosceles or equilateral triangle: it is terminology that I have used to make it clearer in words what the Siamese look like in the two associations. Breeders have a standard to abide by that gives indications on the breed's salient characteristics so as not to lose its essence, but it is then up to the breeder to interpret it and propose the idea of a Siamese that he has in mind and feels most akin to him.
A breeder is in fact not a factory that mass-produces cats: he has a standard to start from and in compliance with that standard he works to arrive at his ideal Siamese. Obviously these are the general tendencies of the two associations, but this does not mean that there are no breeders in FIFé who breed a cat with higher ears or vice versa. They are simply the types that have become established in the two circuits over a century of selection.
There are many other feline associations (the main ones are WCF and TICA after FIFé and CFA) and usually the type of Siamese present in their expos is closer to the CFA type (this does not mean that things cannot change in the future, one way or the other).
However, I have mentioned and explained the cat in these two associations because they are the ones that propose a more antipodal type of Siamese with regard to the position of the ears.
I am in love with both types of Siamese, so much so that my first two breeders are worthy representatives of both types: on the one hand Drusilla (FIFé cat) and on the other hand Audrey (CFA cat) precisely because I am in love with both types. By breeding them, however, although I am really an advocate of both types, I have decided to select the CFA type. I am indeed in love with these slender bodies that give an ethereal area to the Siamese, making them look like cats made of lines and air.
I would like to reiterate, however, that the expressions used so far by me (‘types’, ‘typologies’ and the even more abused ones of ‘extreme’ and ‘hypertypical’) only serve to describe the Siamese breeding choices in the various feline associations with regard to the position of the ears, but are without technical foundation because not only is the breed and its standard identical everywhere, but the very characteristics of the cat are identical everywhere.
It is right, however, to be aware of what happens with the breed we love in order to make informed choices that bring us closer to the idea of the Siamese we love, both as breeders and as owners of a pet Siamese.
I would like to point out that it is indeed important to know what is going on in the breeding world as far as one's breed is concerned, but that every serious breeder beyond the Siamese he breeds knows very well that he does not have an ear factory at home, that the Siamese is infinitely more than his ears: it is a beautiful almond-shaped eye with an intense colour set sideways in harmony with the ears, triangular ears resting in turn on a triangular muzzle, a muzzle with a nice straight profile possibly slightly convex, a nice long neck attached to a long body with high legs and a very long tail. A geometric cat made of lines like no other breed. A universe more than just ears...