Siamese cats have been around for hundreds of years. It is believed they were first seen during the Ayutthaya Kingdom, which was between 1351 and 1767. At that time the country was known as Siam. In 1939 the leadership of Siam was changed from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy, and along with this formation, the name of the country was changed from Siam to Thailand, which is what it is known as today.
Legend tells the story of Siamese cats being collected as treasures of war by the king of Burma, who brought them home to live in his palace, believing them to bring luck and power to those that kept them. At that time, royals were the only ones allowed to keep these cats and they had the run of the palace and grounds.
This is all conjecture, of course, the exact origin of Siamese cats is not known for sure, only that they have been kept by humans for a very long time!
Or do the Siamese keep us? That is a question for another time....
The first Siamese cat arrived in America in 1879 as a gift to President Rutherford B. Hayes from from the American consul in Bangkok. The female cat, named Siam, was the first Siamese to live in the White House, but not the last as the daughters of both Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter had these beautiful cats as pets and they roamed the White House as their ancestors did the King's palace.
Why Many People Think Siamese Cats are Mean
Many people think Siamese cats are mean and they would never want one as a pet. Much of this misconception comes from the 1955 cartoon movie Lady and the Tramp, that almost every youngster watches multiple times during childhood. The portrayal of Siamese cats in this movie makes them look not only mean and destructive but also cruel to other animals.
See the movie clip below from Lady and the Tramp.
I am sure it was not a deliberate act on the part of the screenwriters, they probably had no idea at the time that this movie would make many kids (that later grew up into adults) think that Siamese cats were mean and would not make good pets. Even today, in 2023, when I have repairmen or painters come in my house most of them always say "Your Siamese cats are so friendly, I always thought they were mean!"
Siamese Cats Are Not Mean!
I grew up loving Siamese cats. I never had one as a kid, but I loved the look of them! So beautiful and regal. I knew they were the cat for me! I got my first Siamese in the mid 90's and I have had 5 others since. I have three of them now! Affectionately called "Meezers" I have adored all my Siamese cats. They are lovable pets, just ask anyone that has one. They are pretty much like any other cat, the only major difference being they are very chatty. They like to talk to you and will hold a conversation with you, if you give them the chance. The bad thing is, only they understand the entire conversation, since they understand human language and we have no clue how to speak cat!
Don't ever doubt they understand what we say!
Siamese Cats as Pets
I have had both male and female Siamese and found them to be equally loving. Some are more cuddly lap cats and others want to be around you all the time, but not touching you. Some are more a one person cat and others are attention hounds to everyone that will pet them. Each has their own personality, just like all cats. One great thing about Siamese cats is that they are long lived, and if cared for properly easily live 15 to 20 years!
One Thing I Have Noticed From Experience
The cats we got as small kittens have turned out to be more loving, calm and trusting of us than the ones we have adopted as adults. I would bet that this is probably true of most cats, but it seems especially true of Siamese. Two of the Siamese that we have now were adopted as adults. It took a very long time for them to warm up to us, and I am still not sure that they trust us completely. Not knowing their history before coming to us, it is impossible to know what happened in their past to make them how they are, but we still love them unconditionally.
Here are the cuties we adopted from a rescue:
Here is the cutie that raised from a kitten:
And last but never least is my two boys that have already passed.
I LOVE cats, and particularly Siamese. My hubby's mother had a Siamese and later we had a half-Siamese (mother cat was Siamese and father cat was black) who was all black (Spooky) but had the Siamese Yowl when she talked to us. We later bred her with a friend's full blooded Siamese and half the kittens turned out black and the other half looked just like your Bitty. :) I really enjoyed reading your descriptions here of Siamese cats in general and seeing pictures of your Siamese cats. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteOh Tracey, your babies are all beautiful! I have never had the pleasure to be around a Siamese cat so I found this very enlightening. I love all of my grandkitties and would no doubt love to have a Siamese cat added to the grandkitty menagerie of beauties in my daughters home. As for the ones you bring home as kitties, I think they are always more well adjusted and loving, but my daughter takes in the homeless. She has only had one that she got as a kitten. They don't like strangers, but they seem to love her and her husband, most likely because they doat on them.
ReplyDeleteI have never had a feline family member (our family favored Great Danes), but one of our best friends has had several. I really enjoyed reading about the history of Siamese cats and seeing and learning a bit about each of your Siamese beauties. It’s good that they are so long lived, since we give a big chunk of our hearts to our beloved pets!
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the truth. I still miss my boys, though it has been years since they passed. Their urns sit on my entertainment center so they can still be with us. Siamese cats are a huge part of our life, I hope my article will convince others to adopt and enjoy their own!
DeleteTracey, I enjoyed reading about your Siamese cats. And am glad you are dispelling the myth that they are mean. I've only known one Siamese cat. It belonged to a family that I babysat for when I was a young teenager. And that cat was mean. Thank you for correcting my assumption that all of them are mean.
ReplyDeleteA good friend of mine was breeding Siamese cats and she had quite the following for all her "babies". Personally, at this stage in my life I have given up on all four legged creatures, but do enjoy other people's babies. Yours are lovely!
ReplyDeleteI love siamese cats! We had one when I was a young girl. That cat was smart! This is the cat that taught itself to use the toilet by watching us!! People didn't believe us, until they saw it! That story is one of the most infamous stories in our family. I've since read you can train cats to use the toilet - ha, our cat trained himself!
ReplyDeleteYour Siamese cats are very beautiful! I love that you said they are chatty and dispelled the myth that they are mean. I have never had a cat but I do like them and may consider a cat in future. Thank you for your interesting review about these gorgeous cats.
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