Lextris Siamese
The Siamese
Siamese cats are believed to have originated in Thailand over 1400 years ago, once known as Siam. In old texts The name Siamese roughly translating to “the royal cats of Siam”. The Siamese is one of the oldest oriental/Asian breeds of cats in the world, Believed to have originated purely on its own with out human intervention.
The Siamese originally had a heavier body, and a face that was more round than triangular. However, mid-20th century cat fanciers favored an exaggerated silhouette, and gradually bred the Siamese into the lean, fine-boned feline it is today.
A Thai manuscript called the “Tamra Maew”, or 'The Cat Book Poems,' provides an early depiction of the country's dark-pointed cats. The work was produced sometime between the 14th and 18th centuries and is one of the first documents mentioning the Siamese.
Siamese cats have a life span between 15-25 years although many Siamese cats have Surpassed this time frame.
The first Siamese was introduced to the United Kingdom in 1884 and was shown at a cat show in the Crystal palace.
The Ring Stand
Once upon a time in the ancient kingdom of Siam …
… there was a Princess of the Royal Household who loved to swim.
Each day, she would make her way to her favorite bathing pool accompanied by her faithful feline companion (a Siamese). Each day, she would take off her rings, and, for safekeeping, place them over her cat's tail.
The cat would bend its tail to stop the rings from falling off, and gradually, over many years, the tail developed a permanent kink.
Legend says this is how the Siamese got its tail
The Tale of Buddha’s Goblet
A Legend on how the Siamese developed their Crossed eyes and Kinked tails
A legend for why some of the Siamese have a Kink in their tail and crossed eyes:
A long time ago, a terrible war was fought by Siam to defend its kingdom. Since all Siam's men were sent to battle, Buddha's golden goblet was left unprotected. Two Siamese were chosen to preserve the goblet in the sacred temple. The male cat was named Tein, and the female Chula. All went well until Tein became uneasy and left (after mating with Chula) to find a new priest capable of caring for the goblet. Poor Chula, now expecting kittens, never took her eyes off the sacred goblet. As a safeguard against sleep, Chula nervously wrapped her long tail around the goblet's stem to foil thieves. When the kittens were born, they amazingly received Chula's physical quirks she developed as a watchcat. They had crossed eyes and tail kinks. So if you possess a Siamese with crossed eyes, or a kinked tail, remember Chula and her brave protection of Buddha's sacred goblet.
Siamese and the Afterlife...
When a member of royal family died, one of the Siamese cats of the family was chosen. The cat was placed inside the tomb which was then closed. It was believed this cat would receive the soul of the deceased and give it a home. If the cat managed to escape the tomb, it was considered a sign that the sould had been able to move to the afterlife. (Now this may sound cruel, but a hole had been made into the tomb to help the cat escape.
Of course in the case of kings, in the cat's body the old king could supervise the coronation of the new king.
These soul-cats were then taken very good care of in the temples, and the deceased's family paid for their upkeep. If this is true, it may be that because these cats lived in temples, it was easier to keep the breed pure.
This may be the reason why it is said the Siamese cats were not given away easily - what if the soul of your dear family member was in the cat?
Royal Guards
There are cat legends about how the Siamese cats protected the king of Siam. They sat on tall columns around the throne. If anyone threatened the king (or if the cats thought someone was a threat to the monarch), they jumped down from their pillars and attacked this person, knocking him down on the floor and scratching their faces.