The Siamese as it used to be: pointed and blue-eyed, but with a rounder head and a sturdier body.
The Thai is the Siamese of the past, the old type from Thailand. It has the same pale coat with dark points and the same blue eyes. But where the modern Siamese was bred long and angular, the Thai stayed round: a softer head, ears that are not so big and a sturdy, muscular body. It is clever, playful and loves to chat with you. Being alone is not its thing.
Bonds closely with its people and follows you from room to room.
Likes to be close and often cuddles up, but is busier than a true lap cat.
Very playful, and it stays that way as an adult.
Lively: it wants to run, climb and play every day.
A talker that chats with you all day, but usually less loud than a modern Siamese.
Clever and quick to learn tricks, fetch and walking on a harness.
Usually friendly and curious when visitors come.
Gets on well with children, as long as there is time to play together.
Usually gets on well with a dog that is used to cats.
Enjoys another cat's company, especially to play with.
Really does not like being alone. Not a cat for a house that is empty all day.
Lives happily indoors if it has plenty to climb. It feels the cold, so a warm spot is welcome.
A Thai is just a Siamese with another name.
They share the same ancestors and the same colour gene. But after the 1950s the Siamese was bred ever longer and more angular, while the Thai stayed round and sturdy. So FIFe, WCF and TICA treat them as two breeds.
These cats only lived in the palace, as the 'Royal Cat of Siam'.
In 1901 the Siamese legation in London wrote that there is no Royal Cat of Siam. Cats did play a part in ceremonies at court.
The first of these cats came from a monkey and a lioness on Noah's ark.
An old legend, meant to explain its speed and courage. The real traces are old Thai cat poems and the pointed cats shown in London from the late nineteenth century.
Old Thai cat poems already describe a pale cat with dark points. Such cats came to England and America in the late nineteenth century, where they were called Siamese. From the 1950s fanciers bred the Siamese ever longer and slimmer, and the old, rounder type almost vanished from the shows. Fanciers brought it back, and now it is called the Thai.
Thai cat poems, traditionally dated to this time, describe a pale lucky cat with dark points: the Wichien Maat.
A cat called Siam, the first known one from Siam in America, goes to President Hayes.
King Chulalongkorn gives the British consul general a pair of cats, Pho and Mia. Their kittens are shown at London's Crystal Palace.
Breeders split up: some breed a long, slim Siamese, others keep the old, round type. It gets the nickname 'applehead'.
Clubs form in North America and Europe to bring back the old-type Siamese, which had almost vanished from the shows.
The World Cat Federation (WCF) recognises the old type as a separate breed, under the name Thai.
Breeders bring pointed cats straight from Thailand, for fresh blood in their lines.
The American registry TICA gives the Thai championship status, three years after the application.
The European federation FIFe gives the Thai preliminary recognition.
FIFe fully recognises the Thai as a breed of its own.
Medium-sized, athletic and muscular, and heavier than it looks. Next to a modern Siamese you see the difference at once: the Thai has a rounder head, smaller ears and a sturdier body.
Cat registries write colours as an EMS code. The letter is the colour (n black, a blue, d red, f tortie), s means silver or smoke, y golden, and the numbers tell you about white (01–09), shading (11, 12), the tabby pattern (22–25) or colourpoint (33).
Seal point(n 33)
Blue point(a 33)
Chocolate point(b 33)
Lilac point(c 33)
Red point(d 33)
Seal tabby point(n 21 33)Cinnamon and fawn are in the WCF and TICA lists, but not in FIFe's colour list for the Thai.
Almost always females. FIFe does not have cinnamon and fawn tortie in the Thai; WCF and TICA do.
Also called lynx point: stripes on the cheeks, a mark on the back of the ears and rings on the tail.
A Thai is always pointed and has no white, not even white toes or spots. FIFe and WCF have no silver or smoke; TICA accepts every pointed colour, so a silver Thai can turn up there.
The old Thai name for these cats is Wichien Maat. It means 'moon diamond', after the pale coat.
In the old Thai poems the cat has eight dark spots: its mouth, tail, four paws and two ears.
Pointed kittens are born white or cream. The dark points only come in the first weeks, on the coolest parts of the body.
The blue eyes and the dark points have the same cause: one colour gene that only works in cool places.
In England a GCCF 'Thai' is a very different cat: a relative of the Korat.
Often 12 to 17 years. No study has looked at how long a Thai lives, but the breed is seen as robust.
The heart muscle grows thicker, so the heart works less well. A German breed club knows of a few cases in the Thai; how often it happens is not known.
How it is found: A heart scan of the parents. There is no DNA test for the Thai.
An inherited disease in which fats build up in the nerves, so a kitten moves badly. Affected kittens usually do not reach one year. A kitten only gets it when both parents are carriers; carriers themselves are healthy. How often it occurs in the Thai is not known.
How it is found: DNA test of the parents. Two carriers are not mated together.
Little cysts grow in the kidneys and slowly damage them. It may be a little more common in the Thai through its Siamese family ties, but there are no figures.
How it is found: A kidney scan of both parents. The usual PKD DNA test does not apply to the Thai.
Some pointed cats have a slight squint or gently trembling eyes. It comes from the same colour gene as the points and usually limits their sight only a little.
How it is found: No test is needed; you can see it in the cat. Ask whether the parents have it.
Little work. Once a week with a brush or rubber glove is enough, twice a week when it moults.
Play together every day: running, jumping and hunting. A tall cat tree and puzzle games help, and it can learn to walk on a harness.
Meat-rich food in measured meals. A puzzle feeder suits this clever cat well. If it moves too little, it soon gets too heavy.
A Thai is not hypoallergenic. Nobody has studied it in this breed, so expect an ordinary cat.
The Thai grows no thick winter coat and feels the cold quickly. Give it a warm place to sleep and keep it in when it is cold.
Checked on 21 October 2026
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