Thai Cat Breed: Understanding Their Ancient Roots

The Thai cat is the ancestor of the modern Siamese, which over time, with the selections made by breeders, has become much longer. Some breeders, however, continue to breed the Thai, which, unlike the Siamese, is much more muscular, with a rounded muzzle and chubby cheeks. Also the character is different, the Thai is very affectionate, intelligent, active and is called by many the dog-cat, in fact it has many behaviours common to dogs both for its sociable character and its attachment to humans.

It is native to Thailand as its name already suggests, and when one speaks of Thai one also speaks of Siamese, because the origins of these two breeds are exactly the same. Around the end of the 19th century a few Siamese cats were imported from Thailand, which is ancient Siam, to Great Britain, and they were quite successful both for their appearance and their character.

It was only towards the end of the 1970's that some breeders began a more specific selection that wanted to accentuate the exotic traits of the breed and after careful cross-breeding and selection they arrived at the current Siamese cat with its slender and slender appearance. Others, however, as already mentioned, continued to breed the ancient Siamese cat which was then called Thai to differentiate it from the other.

Character of the Thai Cat

The Thai cat is very sociable, expansive and also very talkative. It often seeks physical contact, and likes to sit on its owner's lap and be as close to him as possible. In fact, it tends to attach itself to a member of the family with whom it becomes inseparable and suffers if it is neglected by its chosen one. However, it is also very affectionate with other family members.

It adapts very well to both the environment and the family unit, and has no problem living alone in a flat, and also with a large family unit or with a single owner. The important thing is not to leave him alone for long periods because he suffers a lot from loneliness. He loves to play and therefore gets along well with children and also with other animals with whom he shares his environment.

He can be taught little games, such as looking for his toys and bringing them back, and with a little patience he can also be taught to go out on a leash. He loves the heat and in winter he is always near fireplaces or radiators. He absolutely does not care to go out in rainy or cold weather, but if he has the possibility of a terrace or a garden in summer, he loves lying in the sun.

As we have already said, it meows a lot, and in this way it knows how to make itself understood and also to ask for attention, with strangers, being a very curious cat, it will approach immediately, but it depends on whether or not it accepts the person.

Appearance of the Thai cat

The Thai is a medium-sized cat, the male weighing a maximum of around 5 kilograms. The body is muscular, but also slender and elegant. The paws are of medium length, rounded at the ends. The tail is of medium length, slightly tapered and ends pointed.

The head is wedge-shaped with rounded contours, slightly longer than wide. The ears are of medium size, wide at the base, well spaced and with rounded tips. The eyes are slightly almond-shaped, fairly far apart and a beautiful, bright, blue colour.

The coat is short, almost without undercoat. It is thick and silky and is characterised by the colour shade called colourpoint, so it must have a sharp contrast between the point colour and the body colour. The point includes ears, mask, paws and tail. The coat colours can be various, the most common being the seal point, the body cream and the body brown the point, i.e. the extremities. The other colours always strictly colourpoint are: red, blue, cream, chocolate, fuzzy, lilac.

Care and health of the Thai cat

The Thai cat belongs to an ancient natural breed and is strong, healthy and long-lived.

With regard to coat care, brushing it once a day would be appropriate during the moulting period, while normally a couple of times a week is enough and smoothing it with a soft cloth or buckskin to keep it shiny.

As far as feeding is concerned, there are no special precautions as it is a cat that does not tend to put on weight.