The Thai or Wichien Maat is a newly renamed but old cat breed, related to but different from the Western, modern-style Siamese cat. This natural breed is descended from the cats of Thailand, and, among various groups of breeders in different times and places has also been called the Old-Style Siamese, Traditional Siamese, Classic Siamese; Wichien Maat ; and the Applehead, a nickname that originated in the 1950s. According to The International Cat Association: "The Thai is the breed dedicated to preserving the native pointed cat of Thailand in as close to its original form as possible."
Blue point Thai
Siamese from the early 1900s
Seal point Thai cat
Traditional "applehead" Thai cat
The Siamese cat is one of the first distinctly recognised breeds of Asian cat. Derived from the Wichianmat landrace, one of several varieties of cats native to Thailand, the original Siamese became one of the most popular breeds in Europe and North America in the 19th century. Siamese cats have a distinctive colourpoint coat, resulting from a temperature-sensitive type of albinism.
Lilac-point Siamese (Oriental)
Suphalak cat, Siamese cat, Korat cat and Ninlachak cat in Tamra Maew (The Cat-Book Poems) are thought to originate from the Ayutthaya Kingdom (1351 to 1767 AD). Over a dozen are now kept in the National Library of Thailand.
While this show quality specimen from 1960 still exhibits relatively moderate characteristics, the breed standard was setting the stage for the modern Siamese, with its call for a "dainty, long and svelte" body, a long head that "taper[s] in straight lines from the ears to a narrow muzzle", "ears large and pricked, wide at the base" and tail "long and tapering".
A classic seal point Siamese prize winner. Note the darker colours at the extremes, e.g. face/ears, tail and legs.
