What is a purebred Siamese?

In CFA, our Breed Council rules stipulate that a purebred Siamese cat eligible for registration in CFA must present an 8-generation pedigree that consists ONLY of registered Siamese. This means that on an 8-generation pedigree, each cat has only purebred, registered Siamese for its direct ancestors. In some other registering organizations, cats that show Colorpoint Shorthairs (tabby/lynx points, red/cream points, or tortie-points) or Oriental Shorthairs on their pedigrees are still registered as Siamese. This is called a phenotypical registry, or one where the cat is registered according to what it looks like, not according to the cats on its pedigree. In CFA, which is a pedigree-based registry, in addition to presenting a pure, 8-generation pedigree, a Siamese may only be seal point, blue point, chocolate point, or lilac point. These are the four classic colors of Siamese.

Why do CFA Siamese only come in four colors?

In addition to the above rules, for many decades, CFA has only accepted the four traditional, or classic, colors of seal point, blue point, chocolate point, and lilac point. These four colors are considered to be the only naturally occurring colors in the purebred Siamese. Patterns such as lynx or tortie, or solids such as red or cinnamon, are evidence of hybridization, and are thus not accepted. Cats exhibiting these colors are considered part of one of the hybrid breeds developed by using the Siamese initially.

What are some of these hybrid breeds?

The most common and popular hybrid breed of the Siamese is the Oriental. This breed, originally only in a shorthair version, was developed to imitate the Siamese in type and personality but to come in a myriad of colors and patterns. At the present time, there are well over 350 different color/pattern combinations possible in this breed. The longhaired version of this cat is called the Oriental Longhair and presents all the same color variations as does the Oriental Shorthair.

Another popular hybrid of the Siamese is the Colorpoint Shorthair. These cats also have the Siamese type and personality, but only come in lynx point, tortie point, and red/cream point (and in only the 4 classic Siamese colors, plus the red factor).

The Javanese is a longhaired version of the Colorpoint Shorthair, presenting the same colors and type, but it is a separate breed.

The Balinese is often mistakenly called a longhaired Siamese. It is a separate hybrid breed. It, too, imitates the Siamese type and personality, and comes only in the four classic Siamese colors.

The Tonkinese, which is a result of a cross between Siamese and Burmese, is a hybrid breed which bears little resemblance to the Siamese. It is a moderate cat midway between the two original breeds.

A truly distinguished breed

Our CFA Siamese have a long and valued history in the Cat Fancy. Ours is one of the oldest naturally occurring breeds and has historically been one of the most beloved. Our breed has contributed to the establishment of at least seven other breeds (the Ocicat and Havana Brown, while not true hybrid breeds, were developed by using Siamese, among others) and the Siamese has provided outcross support to others. This distinguished standing of the Siamese is what motivates CFA breeders to work to continue to maintain the sanctity of the breed's purity by insisting on the continuation of the 8-generation pedigree registration and being ever-vigilant in our efforts to protect our breed from the encroachment of those who don't respect or understand its contributions to the purebred cat world.