The Siamese Standard

The Siamese Standard in history

Below are word for word copies of the Siamese Show Standard as published in various club, show, and Siamese fanciers publications.

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The Siamese Standard - 1930

United Cat Clubs of America, Inc.

BODY COLOR: Pure cream or light fawn, without bars, blotches or markings.

        POINTS: Mask, ears, legs, feet and tail, pure seal brown.
        MASK: Complete seal brown, connected by brown tracings with the ears. Not
to be separated by a pale ring (as in Kittens) nor blurred or indistinct, the ideal
being to preserve the "Marten face."
        EYES: Bright, clear blue, somewhat slanting toward the nose.
        COAT: Soft, sleek, short, glossy and close lying.
        SHAPE: Body rather long and svelte, with legs proportionately slim, feet small
and oval.
        TAIL: Long and tapering, slight kink permissible.
        HEAD: Long and wedge-shaped, ears to be rather large and pricked.

CONDITION: Not too fat, inclined more to muscle.
Note: Siamese C ts with brown or white spots on stomach or throat, grey or greenish tinge in eyes, odd eyes. blotched colored coats, tabby or tickled markings, extra or white toes, or long hairs appearing in the brown points are seriously handicapped from winning awards.

SCALE OF POINTS
Applicable to all breeds.
Color ....................................................................25
Coat and condition................................................ 25
Head, including size and shape of eyes....................20

Body type..............................................................20
Eye color...............................................................10
______

Total......................................................................100

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The Siamese Standard - 1936

by Virginia Cobb

Here is what the perfect Siamese cat would look like according to the standard of the Siamese Cat Society of America. This Standard, approved by the Cat Fanciers’ Association, is the basis for judging Siamese cats in the Siamese Specialty show and in all C.F.A. all-breed shows.

BODY COLOR - Even, pale, fawn, or cream shading gradually into cream on the belly and chest. Kittens paler in color. 15 points

POINTS – Mask, ears, legs and tail clearly defined and deep seal brown. Mask complete and (excepting kittens) connected by tracings with the ears. 15 points

SHAPE – Medium in size, body long and svelte, legs proportionately slim, hind legs slightly higher then front legs, feet small and oval. 15 points

EYES – Clear, bright and deep blue in color, oriental in shape and slanting towards the nose. No tendency to squint. 15 points

HEAD – Long and well proportioned with width between the eyes, narrowing in straight lines to a fine muzzle, giving the impression of a martin face. Ears, rather large and pricked, wide at base. 15 points

CONDITION – Not fat, inclined to muscle. 10 points

COAT – Very short and fine in texture, glossy and close lying. 10 points

OBJECTIONS – Pale eye color; odd eyes; gray or yellowish tinge in the eyes; blotchy or mixed coats; tabby or ticked markings or shading; white toes; light hairs appearing in the seal brown points; disqualify for extra deformities or scars.

Blue Point Siamese – The value of points and standard of points for the Blue Point Siamese is the same as for the Seal Point Siamese with the exception of body color, which should read, “Pale even blue or cream color” and Points should read, “Dark blue instead of seal brown.”

Championship classes are now granted for Chocolate Siamese, the same value of points to apply, the standard of points to be changed as follows:

SHAPE – Larger in size then the Seal Point Siamese.

HEAD – Not so wedged shaped as the Seal Point Siamese.

BODY COLOR – Chocolate, shaded on neck and abdomen.

COAT – Coarser then that of a Seal Point, approximating somewhat to the domestic short hair.

The same objections would apply in both the Chocolate and the Blue Point Siamese.

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January 1938 - BY MRS. VIRGINIA R. COBB - Secretary, Siamese Cat Society of America

So many people have written asking questions about the revised standard of the Siamese Cat Society of America in regard to tails that this seems a good opportunity to go into details. There is really little change in the standard from the one that has been used for years. The members felt that too little was allowed in the scoring for tails. Therefore this was changed from five points to ten. This permits the judge to allow 10 points for the perfect tail, that is, a long, straight tapering tail (slight kink in end permitted), or to grade, according to the types of tails encountered, that might be long, but have varying kinks through them; thick instead of tapering, etc.
As this long tapering tail is the type chosen by vote it was decided to withhold "winners" from those cats having a bobbed, screwed up or just a porn porn of hair. It was felt that a cat that is long and slender like the Siamese is naturally "finished" by the same type of tail. To say just the exact length that is meant by "bobbed" is difficult. Naturally a tail that is only one, two or three inches long is NOT a long tail. The writer feels that any cat having a tail four inches or under would come under the classification of "bobbed", and such a tail has in all I have seen had a thick blunt end.

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STANDARD FOR SIAMESE
Issued by the Cat Fanciers' Association, Inc. — August, 1944

Seal Point Scale
BODY COLOR__________ 15

Even pale fawn or cream, shading gradually into a lighter color on belly and chest.

Slightly Kittens lighter in color.
darker allowed for older cats.
POINTS________________ 15

Mask, ears, legs, feet and tail, dense and clearly defined, deep seal brown.

Mask complete and, except in kittens, connected by tracings with the ears.
SHAPE (Body and Tail)_____ 20
The body should be medium in size, long and svelte.

Neck long and slender, legs proportionately slim, hind legs slightly higher than front, feet small and oval.

Tail long and tapering. A slight kink at or near the end is allowed.
HEAD AND EARS________ 15

Head long and well proportioned with width between the eyes, narrowing in straight lines to a fine muzzle, giving the impression of a marten face.

Allowance to be made for jowls in the Stud cat.

Ears rather large and pricked, wide at base.
EYES (Color, 10; Shape, 10)_ 20

Eyes clear and of a deep blue color. Oriental in shape and slanting towards the nose.

COAT__________________ 10

Short, fine in texture, glossy and lying close to body.
CONDITION _____________5

Good physical condition. Not fat, inclined to muscle.

Blue Point
The above standard to apply to the Blue Point Siamese except the coat is to be a bluish white.

Points to be a deep gray blue.
UNDESIRABLE
Round heads; round eyes; cross-eyes; rough or shaggy coats; tabby or ticked markings; light hairs appearing in points; dark spots on belly; receding chin.

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FANCY CATS A Guide To Their Standard - 1964

by Irene Powell - Chatami Cattery

SIAMESE
Siamese, prolific, gregarious little creatures, are the clowns of the cat species and the most numerous and popular of the pedigreed cats. Volumes have been written on this breed, and a great deal must be learned if one is to be a judge. Of necessity, the information here is condensed, but the most pertinent aspects are discussed.

If a square box represents the Persian, then the oval tube represents the Siamese. The body is long and slim. The abdominal muscles must be taut and firm so that there is no belly sag. There should be even a suggestion a ''tuck-up''. The shoulders and chest are narrow, but not shallow. The neck is long, slender, and graceful, and clearly separates the head from the body. The hips, too, are slim. The legs are long, slender, and shapely. They must not look like sticks. The hind legs are longer than the front so that there is an incline from the rump to the shoulders. The feet are oval and dainty. In keeping with the body lines, the tail is long, slender at the base, and tapers to a fine point. The tail must be straight. A slight kink or irregularity is allowable, if it is not visible and is in the last several vertebrae only.

The head should be long and as near to a true wedge with flat planes as possible. Although the wedge must be fairly narrow, there must be enough room for brains and width between the eyes. The greatest width should be above the eyes at the base of the ears. The wedge then narrows down with out a pinch, either under the eyes or at the whiskers, to a fine, pointed muzzle. The forehead is flat. Viewed from the side, the head presents a straight line from just above the eyes to the tip of the nose. The jaws should be in a straight line, neither over or undershot. The back of the skull should show behind the ears, but the occiput (the hind-most point of the skull) should not protrude so much that it creates a hammerhead.

The eyes should have an oriental appearance, that is, they should be oval with both corners pointed. The inner corners should slant toward the nose so that, as nearly as possible, lines drawn from the outer corners of the eyes would bisect the ear openings. A length of an eye between the eyes is ideal. For eye color a deep shade of sapphire blue is desirable, but the color in the dilutes may be a little paler. The eyes should be brilliant as though a light were shining behind them.

The ears should be large, open, pricked forward, and somewhat pointed, and they should flare enough to continue the line of the wedge. There should be no more than the length of an eye between the ears.

The Siamese coat lies very close; it must be short, sleek, and glossy. Although the hairs are fine, a good coat feels hard. A rough, harsh coat is very undesirable.

The over-all picture of this breed is of a medium to small, svelt cat which is dainty in structure and shows capabilities of great activity.

There are five recognized colors.
First, the Seal with sable (blackish) brown points. The body color is fawn, a warm shade without hint of greyness. There may be darker shading about the shoulders and rump - older cats may darken considerably all over, but there must be good contrast between point and body color at all times. The chest and under sides will be much paler than the back. The points on all colors should be well developed and sharply defined. The chin must be dark also, but the shading must not run down the throat. There must be delicate tracings of mask color to the ears, but there must be no sign of a complete hood. Nose and pad leather must be the same color as the points. Seal Point kittens are paler, but they should be creamy rather than white.

Second, the Chocolate which is the dilute of the seal. The body shading on the dilutes is not appreciable. The Chocolate should be ivory all over with no sign of dinginess. Points should be a warm cinnamon milk-chocolate. The mask must be developed enough so that the cat doesn't look like Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer. All points should show the same density. Nose leather is burnt-rose; pads are cinnamon pink.

Third, the Blue Points. Because the Blue Points have been crossed with the Seals, the body color too often is not the cool bluish-platinum the standard specifies. The color maybe too warm in tone. The undersides and chest should be an icy or oyster white. The points should be a rich, grey-blue, and no one point should be more intense than another. The tail must be free from "rings". Nose and pad leather is a deep smokey-blue.

Fourth, the Frost, or Lilac, which is the dilute of the Blue Points. Body color is very pale-milk-white without shading. The points are a pale silvery-blue with warmth from the pink flesh tones which show through. The tail must not show "rings", and it must have the same tone as the mask, ears, and legs. Nose leather has a translucent, old lilac hue; the foot pads are coral-pink.

[note: today 2007 we know blue is the dilute of seal and lilac is the dilute of choclate]

HEAD: 1. Nose and nostrils, 2. Stop of nose, 3. Lips and chin, 4. Forehead, 5. Seta (whiskers), 6. Ears, 7. Occiput, 8. Cheeks, Teeth - 30 (12 incisors, 4 canines, 14 molars), NECK: 9. Throat, 10. Nape or crest, TRUNK: 11. Withers, 12. Back, 13. Loins, 14. Flank, 15. Chest, 16. Chest Front, 17. Rib Cage, 18. Belly, FORELEGS: 19. Shoulder, 20. Point of shoulder, 21. Upper arm, 22. Elbow, 23. Forearm, 24. Ankle or carpus, 25. Metacarpus, 26. Paws, HINDLEGS: 27. Upper thigh, 28. Knee joint or stifle, 29. Lower thigh, 30. Heel, 31. Hock, HINDQUARTERS: 32. Croups or rump, 33. Hip, 34. Root of tail, 35. Tail (The caudal vertebrae vary greatly in number according to the length of the tail. The last few vertebrae are about the size of a match stick. )

DIRECTORY OF CAT REGISTRY ASSOCIATIONS (to which this standard applies)
AMERICAN CAT ASSOCIATION, Inc.

AMERICAN CAT FANCIERS ASSOCIATION, Inc.
CANADIAN CAT ASSOCIATION

CAT FANCIERS ASSOCIATION, Inc.

CAT FANCIERS FEDERATION, Inc.
NATIONAL CAT FANCIERS ASSOCIATION, Inc.
UNITED CAT FEDERATION, Inc.

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