Siamese Breed Group Standard, 05/01/2004

The Siamese (SI) is a medium-sized shorthair, pointed cat, oriental in type.

The Oriental Shorthair (OS) is a medium-sized shorthair, non-pointed cat, oriental in type.

HEAD:

Shape: Wedge, created by straight lines extending from the nose to the tips of the ears forming a triangle; fine muzzle with no muzzle break.

Profile: Long straight line from forehead to nose OR slight change of angle midway over eyes (i.e. two planed).

Forehead: Flat.

Ears: Wide at base, strikingly large. Set to continue the line of the wedge; neither too high nor too flared.

Eyes: Almond-shaped, medium-large, set with an Oriental slant toward the nose such that a line from inner corner through outer corner is in line with center of base of ear. No less than the width of an eye between the eyes. Deeper more vivid color preferred.  SI -Blue; OS -Green is preferred in all coat colors, with gold acceptable, except in solid white and/or parti-colors where eye color may be green (gold), blue or odd eyed.

Chin: Tip of nose in line with tip of chin.

Neck: Long and slender

Miscellaneous: Allow for jowls in males.

BODY:

Torso: Long and tubular with equal width at shoulders and hips. Medium sized, and fine boned.

Musculature: Very firm, lithe, well-muscled.

Legs: Long with hind legs higher than front legs; finely boned but proportioned to carry the body length and weight; firm muscles.

Feet: Small and oval.

Tail: Long, in proportion to overall cat. Narrow at base, tapering to fine point; whippy.

Miscellaneous: Allow for proportionately larger size in males.

COAT/COLOUR/PATTERN:

Coat: Very short, tight, close lying; fine textured.

Colour/Pattern: It is understood that there is a range of colours within each colour class. Emphasis is to be on soundness and clarity of color, not on individual hue.

(SI): Even color on the body with any shading to be in the color of the points. Allowance for darker body shading in older cats; however, definite contrast between body and points must exist. Parti-colour points will have various markings of color and white throughout the body and at no time should color patches or patches of shading on the body be considered a fault. Lack of leg and tail barring is desirable, except in lynx points. Lack of body barring is desirable in all patterns.

(OS): Even solid color for solid colored coats. Pattern should be well-defined with definite contrast between pattern and ground color.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The ideal cat of this breed group is a svelte, graceful, refined cat of medium size with long tapering lines. It is in excellent physical condition, very strong, lithe and muscular giving the sensation of solid weight without excess bulk. While the breed is considered "medium" in size, balance and proportion are to be considered of greater consequence. The cat should "fit together". If it is extreme in one part, all parts should be extreme to retain balance.