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.
