" The main thing history can teach us is that human actions have consequences and that certain choices, once made, cannot be undone. They foreclose the possibility of making other choices and thus they determine future events."    Gerda Lerner

Billy Dean - We Just Disagree song

The music used on this page is We Just Disagree by Billy Dean 

Thai Cats

 For breeders and Siamese lovers who's countries lost all their old time Siamese to the progression of show breeding, Thai cats is an option for registering cats who have no registered pedigree. They can be examined and registered as foundation stock and the rebuilding of the breed can move forward. As an example, in the Netherlands a Traditional Siamese lover turned breeder returned from a trip to Ecuador with old-fashioned type Siamese, one male and two females. Most of their Thai cat lines are now based with these Ecuadorian Siamese of unknown parents. They, like Siamese breeders with years of experience, have learned that Siamese of the old type with registered pedigrees that go back more then 50 years are very rare. Breeders in the workgroup are adding lines from other countries including old time Siamese from America to build and produce a genetically healthy cat with the characteristics of the old style Siamese. A breeder of the WTSN selected one of our kittens to be their foundation stud. When taken to a NEOCAT show he was not allowed to compete as a Thai Cat. They would not allow a full blooded Siamese with a registered pedigree to be shown as a Thai Cat. NEOCAT is the equivalent of our CFA.

If you are interested in Showing a Thai Cat in the TICA I recommend contacting one of the breeders of the WTSN in the Netherlands about importing a Thai Cat. The fly time from the Netherlands to New England is about the same as a flight from California or Florida.

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Years ago a group of Traditional /Classic style Siamese breeders attempted to have the Traditional  and Classic Siamese accepted as breed groups by some top North American cat clubs. Most of the major cat associations have a rule that every breed must have a name unique from the other breeds.  For example when the Snowshoe was accepted it could not be called  Snowshoe Siamese. CFA has accepted the European Burmese as a breed separate from the American Burmese. 

During the discussion with the North American cat clubs old style Siamese breeders were told they would have to have all their Siamese re-registered with a new breed name and their Siamese registrations would be surrendered. The breed would be accepted as an experimental breed. If the new breed was never fully accepted those breeders would not be able to register their kittens as Siamese ever again. A new breed name was never approved as an agreement could not be reached. 

In 1990, German breeders petitioned the World Cat Federation to have (old style) moderate Siamese recognized, the WCF allowed the breeders to call their cats Thaikatzen, but they would not allow them to use anything with Siamese in it. Soon the European Group Cat Association (EGCA) and World Felidae United (WFU) followed. Now their are many clubs that recognize the Thai cat as a unique hybrid breed. They cannot be bred to Siamese because they are now known as Thai cats, not Siamese.

On July 24th, 2004 an American old style Siamese preservation club published their opinion that the Thai Cat is out-crossed by some breeders to non-Siamese breeds. It was their position that these hybridized cats do not meet the definition of a Siamese. Seen here, second sentence from the bottom of the first paragraph. Cached internet records show this published opinion remained on the website from 2004 to Feb 27, 2007. The  Old-Style Siamese Club UK states " Nearly all of the European-bred old-style Siamese, called 'Thai Siamese' are not actually pure Siamese. Few of them can provide more than a 3-generation pedigree without coming to 'parents unknown' . This is because most of the first European breeders to try to breed old-style Siamese outcrossed to non-oriental breeds to obtain the cobbier look."

The opposition to a new breed name was explained to us in this way. When the Traditional, Classic, Old Style, Old Fashioned, or Original Siamese are renamed (not as Siamese) people soon believe it. This happened to the Snowshoe breeders and Tonkinese breeders. Today it's difficult to convince people that Snowshoes and Tonkinese are basically Siamese cats. I was told the Snowshoes pedigree history shows that they are 99 percent Siamese. Articles are now written that say they are hybrids between Siamese and mongrel or mixed-breed cats. The lecturing expert also cited that people believe the Tonkinese are Siamese/Burmese hybrids, but their pedigrees show that they come from Siamese stock on one side and that the Burmese side is 99 percent Siamese. American cat history shows the Burmese breed was founded on one cat Wong Mao. Wong Mao belonged to Commander Joseph Cheesman Thompson M.D. His Mau Tein Cattery worked with Siamese breeders including Virginia Cobb to develop the Burmese breed. 

Thai Cats as a group are an evolving political group. The TICA  was petitioned by a German breeder in 2006 to accept the Thai breed. The TICA Thai Cat standard can be read on page 22 of the TICA 2006 Annual Board Meeting Public Minutes pdf. 

April 2006 TICA Annual Board Meeting Public Minutes - Hannover, Germany,  page 15 "“we can work on approving them to PNB pending their standard and out crossing."

 Acceptance of the THAI breed was voted on at the TICA 2007 Semi-Annual Board Meeting - Harlingen, TX

The only mention of THAI is on page 3 line 47.

[quote]

47. Motion was made by Fisher and seconded by Parkinson that we advance the Thai to Preliminary New Breed in Category II. Motion carried unanimously. 

48. Motion was made by Parkinson and seconded by Christian to appoint Dr.Cristy Byrd (Cristy Bird PhD in Epidemiology) as the Working Breed Group Chair. Motion carried unanimously

[end quote]

TICA 2008 Semi-Annual Board Meeting Minutes

Standing Rule 306.8.3.1 was approved to assign registration prefixes used to indicate crosses between members of the THAI breed group and a breed outside the breed group.  Prefix chart on page 5 of the 2008 Annual Meeting Minutes, Arlington, TX. and here http://tica.org/members/forms/breeds/breed_charts.pdf?zoom_highlight=thai#search="thai"

In Europe the GCCF is the equilent of the CFA here in the US. The GCCF registration policy for Thai Cats allows kittens to be registered as Thai if they are born to Korat parents, Thai parents or to one of each. It also requires genetic testing for gangliosidosis. There are two distinct genetic causes of this disease. Both are autosomal recessive and affect males and females equally. 

http://www.gccfcats.org/regpols/koratregpol.pdf

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