The first Siamese that showed up in England 1884 was a gift from Siam (present Thailand) to an ambassador who brought them home. Almost right away they were shown on the English cat shows. Later Tiam-o-Shian was imported and became ancestor for many Siamese cats. On American shows they started to show up in the beginning of the twentieth century

Siamese enters Sweden

The Siamese cats came to Sweden in the beginning of the twentieth century as well, when the king and the queen of Siam gave them to Prince Wilhelm. The cats were placed at Skansen (a Swedish zoo) and short after they died, probably because of the climate. Later more Siamese cats were imported and their number increased.

The first Siamese

The first Siamese cats that showed up were seal point. They were sensational with their seal point colour and their athletic bodies. While the chocolate point Siamese was seen sometimes, the blue point was approved 1934. Later was the chocolate point approved and 1955 also the lilac point that completed the breed.
The point colour comes from a rudiment called Himalaya and is visible through the cold body parts (colour of the muzzle, ears, paws and tail) that have darker colours, so called point.
In Siam it was characteristic for the Siamese to have crossed eyes and a kink on the tail but that is not allowed in the breed today.

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Legends

The Siamese cat originated from Thailand, formerly known as Siam. These cats were held in such high esteem in their native country that no one except the King and members of the royal family were permitted to own them. They were originally known as Royal points.

Written records reveal that Siamese cats, in their country of origin, were venerated as guardians of the temples. When a person of high rank died, it was usual to select one of these cats to receive the dead person's soul. The cat was then removed from the royal household and sent to one of the temples to spend the rest of its days living a ceremonial life of great luxury, with monks and priests as its servants.

These cats were reputed to eat the finest foods from gold plate and to recline on cushions made of the most opulent materials, which had been provided by the departed one's relatives in an attempt to receive good fortune and blessings. Once they became temple cats, they were supposed to have special powers and could intercede for the soul of the dead person.

Years ago features such as crossed eyes and kinked tail were looked on as characteristics of the breed and many legends exist as to their origin.

It was said that a Princess of the Royal House of Siam used her cat's tail as a ring-stand while she was bathing. The kink in the tail prevented the rings from falling off and being lost.

Another legend accounts for both the cross-eyed feature as well as the development of the kink. Once, when all the men of Siam left their homes to defend their kingdom, just two cats - one male Siamese, Tien, and one female Siamese, Chula - remained in order to guard Buddha's golden goblet in the sacred temple.

The male cat became pretty restless and, after mating the female Siamese, left her in order to find another priest to look after the temple. The female, apparently, was so overwhelmed by the responsibility of guarding the Buddha's treasure that she never once glanced away from the goblet, wrapping her long tail around its stem to prevent theft in case she should fall asleep.

As time passed waiting for Tien to return with a new master, she could no longer forstall the birth of her kittens, who all arrived with the physical characteristics that she herself had acquired during her period as watchguard - a kinked tail and crossed eyes. Just occasionally, even today, kittens are born with these features - so the legends are kept alive

.::Fairy Dust Cattery::.