What’s the Difference Between a Siamese Cat and a Siamese Cat? It's Complicated

Hi, I'm Dr. Karyn! Read my introduction to learn more about me and meet my five hilarious cats: Clutch, Cyril, Alex, Zelda, and Zazzles.

Just the other day I was helping a colleague decipher different Siamese cat colors, which is difficult enough, and NOT something you want to screw up in front of the wrong person. But then we were faced with the confusing realization that there are two forms of Siamese cats.

I was arguing that I had worked with a breeder of Oriental and Siamese cats and was very familiar with their long, lanky bodies and wedge-shaped heads. They had grown up with Siamese cats and knew them to be more compact and rounder of head. It turns out that we were both right, which is just infuriating!

This perplexing scenario also drew me to another conclusion, which is that the cat fanciers of the world really need to come together and get organized. Unlike the canine side of things, which has the American Kennel Club, a single governing body that holds dominion over the rules, regulations, registrations, and standards of dog breeds in the US, America’s cat lovers have a selection to choose from.

• TICA - The International Cat Association: “the world’s most progressive registry”

• CFA - Cat Fanciers’ Association: “the largest registry of pedigree cats”

• ACFA - America’s Cat Fanciers Association: “the best service-oriented association”

• CFF - Cat Fanciers Federation: “the friendliest organization & registry”

To further compound my cat breed-induced headache, each of these organizations has a different idea about what constitutes a cat breed and what doesn’t.

CFA recognizes 45 distinct cat breeds, while TICA lists 73, but their list includes longhaired and shorthaired varieties separately. The ACFA almost agrees with TICA, listing 69 cat breeds, and the CFF recognizes “at least 32 different breeds”. So that’s nice and straightforward. You might wonder why there are so many different cat breed associations, and why there is a lack of consensus between them. Well, let’s just say that it’s not just the cats that get their claws out – meow!

Back to My Siamese Conundrum

Getting back to my confusing Siamese cat problem.

I consulted all four of the major US cat associations, as well as checking out the Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe) and UK’s Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF), and one thing they could all agree on (amazing!) was that the Siamese breed was our friend with the wedge-shaped head. But what of these round or ‘apple’ head Siamese? This is where the plot doth thicken.

The applehead Siamese is considered to be a throwback to the original, more traditional form of the Siamese, which, through selective breeding over the last century or so, evolved into the more angular cat we see today. So what about the applehead? Well, if you ask TICA and FIFe, these cats are now classified as a separate breed, the Thai cat. Meanwhile, CFA, CFF, and the ACFA appear to be pretending they don’t exist. To make matters even more confusing, the GCCF recognizes the Thai cat, but a different version to that of the TICA and FIFe. The GCCF Thai cat has the coding TAI, and is essentially a colorpoint version of the blue Korat, whereas the other version of the Thai cat, allocated the code THI, has come from the Siamese breed.

Why does it need to be so confusing??

Why Does This Bother Me?

Look, at the end of the day, for a moggy-lover like myself, I’m not all that worried if they have apple heads or wedge heads, just as long as they have the right number of heads. I just find it frustrating that, in a world where the internet has eradicated the obstacle of distance, and DNA testing can help identify shared genetic traits, when I or anyone else plugs ‘Siamese cat’ into the search box, we are given conflicting results on what should be a very simple question.

I’m not asking for world peace, I’m just asking that the cat fanciers of the world get together and agree on this Thai vs. Siamese cat breed situation without too much fur flying.

Then again, perhaps I’ll have better luck with world peace.