national siamese cat day
Cat Behavior 101,  Cats,  Feline Fine Art,  Holidays

National Siamese Cat Day Fun Facts

If you love cats, sharing makes us purrrr :-)

National Siamese Cat Day Fun Facts by Layla Morgan Wilde. Blog post published exclusively at Cat Wisdom101.com

National Siamese cat day (cute video collage I made)

There are special days to celebrate just about every breed of cat and April 6 is National Siamese Cat Day. Enjoy this love letter to Siamese cats everywhere. It’s a breed close to my heart. My first cat as an adult was an applehead Siamese named Murgatroyd

mergatroyde-siamese cat

and this blog would never have existed if it wasn’t for Siamese siblings Coco and Merlin. There must be hundreds of blog posts about them but Merlin outlived Coco by several years. He shared his weekly wit and wisdom at Mondays With Merlin for many years. Merlin, as regular readers know lived to 21 and was my soul cat. I dedicate this post to him.

If you’re in a rush, scroll down the Top 10 Siamese Cat Fun Facts.

national siamese cat day

 

Merlin, the Siamese so smart,

Knew how to play every part,

He’d charm and he’d purr,

With the most silky fur,

A feline work of art, who stole every heart.

Merlin light quote cat

What can I say about Siamese cats? I will say that those who love meezers are a special breed. Not everyone likes their chattiness. Vocal and demanding, with a distinctive yowling meow that’s impossible to ignore but music to my ears. Siamese are so distinctive you can spot one a mile a away: Striking, sometime cross-eyed blue eyes, sleek and slinky bodies with dark ear tips, paws and tail short and the finest, softest short hair that requires little grooming.

Layla morgan wilde-cat behaviorist-siamese

The popular Siamese breed originated in Thailand (originally Siam) where they were once considered sacred and kept exclusively by royalty. Today, Siamese cats are beloved by cat lovers worldwide for their unique personalities, striking appearance and affectionate nature.

siamese-kitten-merlin-cat wisdom 101

Siamese cats are a very intelligent breed, and they love attention from their owners. Every cat is of course different but Siamese in my experience are whip smart. Merlin was by far the smartest cat I’ve had the good fortune to know. Siamese cats are also known for their loyalty, and they will often follow their owners around the house and even sleep in their beds. In my case, under the covers like a human.

Mondays with Merlin cat

cat lover siamese cat quote

According to Dr. Bruce Fogle, a veterinarian and author of “The Encyclopedia of the Cat,” Siamese cats are “intensely loyal” to their owners. He notes that Siamese cats are often described as very active and “dog-like” in their behavior, following their owners from room to room and even playing fetch. They are generally one person cats but again there are exceptions.

Siamese cats are also known for their playful nature. They enjoy interactive toys and games, and they will often play with their owners for hours on end. Because of their high intelligence, they will get bored and I recommend changing toys often and creating a multi-sensory, catified environment.

siamese-cat-collage
Curious Coco

One of the most distinctive features of Siamese cats is their beautiful coat. According to the Cat Fanciers’ Association, Siamese cats have a “short, fine, glossy coat” that comes in four main colors: seal point, blue point, chocolate point, and lilac point. The color of their coat is determined by their genetics, and each color has its own unique characteristics.

In his book “The Complete Cat Breed Book,” Dr. David Taylor notes that the Siamese cat’s distinctive coat is due to a genetic mutation that affects the production of melanin in the fur. This mutation results in the characteristic “points” on the cat’s face, ears, feet, and tail.

Siamese cats are also known for their intelligence and trainability. They are quick learners and can be trained to perform a variety of tricks and behaviors. I’d call them “eager to please” and respond well to positive reinforcement training.

 

The Siamese, so sleek and lean,

Was the fastest cat ever seen,

He’d run and he’d jump,

In one big graceful thump,

A sight to behold, quite serene!

 

I think Siamese cats are a work of art. I created these portraits with pairs sitting on a blue chair theme in four differents styles with a little help from AI.

ai siamese cat art styles

Siamese cats are one of the most popular breeds of cat for good reason – they are intelligent, loving, and incredibly entertaining.

10 Fun facts about Siamese cats:

  1. Siamese cats are one of the oldest and most recognizable cat breeds in the world, with a history dating back to ancient Siam (now Thailand).
  2. Siamese cats are known for their distinctive blue eyes, which are a result of a genetic mutation.
  3. Siamese cats are also known for their distinctive vocalizations, which are often described as a raspy cross between a meow and a howl. They are known for being very talkative, loud while demanding attention from their owners.
  4. Siamese cats are incredibly intelligent and have been known to learn how to turn on faucets, open doors, and even operate light switches. Considered mischievous, their owners sometimes call them names like smart-aleck, smarty-pants and too smart for their own good.
  5. Siamese cats have a unique coat pattern called “pointing,” which means that their extremities (face, ears, legs, and tail) are a darker color than the rest of their bodyThey come in a range of colors, including seal point (dark brown), blue point (gray-blue), chocolate point (light brown), and lilac point (pale gray).
  6. Siamese cats are very social and crave attention from their owners. They are often referred to as “velcro cats” and some call “dog-like” because they like to stick close to their humans. They make good family pets for adults and kids.
  7. Siamese cats have a higher body temperature than most other cats, typically around 101.5°F (38.6°C).
  8. Siamese cats have been known to suffer from a condition called “crossed eyes,” which is a result of the breed’s elongated skull shape.
  9. Siamese cats are considered good luck in their native Thailand and are often given as gifts to newlyweds.
  10. Siamese cats are one of the few cat breeds that have been featured in movies, TV shows, and books, including Disney’s “Lady and the Tramp” and the novel “The Cat Who” series by Lilian Jackson Braun.

Siamese cat portrait

And to end, a haiku.

Graceful Siamese,

Eyes blue like the summer sky,

Purring in my lap.

I’d love to hear about your experience with any Siamese cats.

15 Comments

  • meowmeowmans

    We loved your post, and certainly enjoyed learning more about Siamese cats! My late Auntie Kathy had two Siamese cats (Hippy and Mikan) when I was a child. I was severely allergic to cats as a kid, but I loved those cats so. 🙂

  • Skeeter and Izzy

    Cheers to all the talkie,blue eyed magical cats out there!
    We too miss Merlin and agree with Easy about it being Merlin’s and Nellie’s day.
    I think that my Ziggy may have some Siamese kin folk out there. He is black with green eyes but has that Meezer look and behavior about him.
    Happy Meezer Day to All!!!!
    Luvs
    Skeeter and Izzy and the Feral Gang and the Angels >^..^^..^<~

  • Andrea

    Don’t forget “That Darn Cat!” I loved that movie. And as for the traditional Siamese their coats are a little thicker than the show Siamese today are. And their faces aren’t so pointed.

    I loved their voice but I don’t think there’s a way to describe it. You just know it when you hear it. Again, the show cats today don’t really have that same voice. They are still very talkative just not with THAT voice.

    Great post Layla, thanks for telling us about the holiday!

  • Meezer'sMews&TerrieristicalWoofs

    I used to call my cat only blog, (When I started blogging), WeBeesSiamese…at that tiime I was owned by Pipo & Minko; and before that when I was on Catster theiir combined page had that name as well. (Borrowed from the musical, The King and I.)

    I never had any cats of my own, till the year we got marriied, and we rescued an adult
    Meezer. (He had to be rehomed due to medical issues in his famiily who loved him so much, they just gave him to me.)
    Then over the years we had 5 more, all whoo came in a kittens and Groucho, the fiirst one, mentored three of them! And outlived some of them as well.
    Yes, they easily learned tricks, and two of them loved to play fetch. Groucho was a high jump master, and he did open cupboard doors…we had to install child locks in the kitchen and bathroom…long before we had our sons, LOL!
    Toki and Minko enjoyed the dog, MJF…and he missed them when they left him…esp Toki, they would snuggle together.
    So in order of their Gotcha days:
    Groucho, Simba, Suki, Toki, Pipo, Minko.

    Pipo was the last one to be part of our family, he left us in 2020…he ‘ruled’ over our current hooligans, Benji & Dalton.
    I MISS all of them so much.

  • Amy Harlib

    I was blessed to be the caregiver of a lilac-point Snowshoe Siamese I adopted when she was barely a year old from the ASPCA in NYC and I named her ‘Sawat’ which means blessed in Thai. Her behavior was feral at first and it took 3 months of positive reinforcement loving to get her to become a normal affectionate cat and she lived to be almost 19, the longest lived of all my cats. She was gorgeous and had all the endearing characteristic of the breed.

    I cherish Sawat in my memories forever.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

error: Content is copyright protected !!