By: Author Amanda OBrien
Are you curious about the colors of Siamese cats? Sapphire blue eyes, dark-colored paws, and creamy bodies covered in soft velvety fur dotted with points – these are the sure signs of our beloved and sassy Siamese kitties.
Best known for their distinctive, sleek appearance, these beautiful cats make for the perfect masterpiece of living art. That, combined with the inquisitive Siamese cat personality, a loving nature, and intelligence, you'll have the essence of the Siamese cat.
There's a mystifying range of Siamese cat colors and shades, from the almost ghostly frost point and lavender lilac to the darkly attractive seal point. Every one of these color point patterns comes from the same piece of feline genetics – let's take a deeper look at how it works, then walk through the 13 most popular colors.
Old style Siamese cat
You might enjoy my articles on Flame Point Siamese Cats, Lynx Point Siamese Cats, Lilac Point Siamese Cats, Chocolate Point Siamese Cats, Cinnamon Siamese Cats, Tortoiseshell Siamese Cats, Silver Point Siamese Cats, and Striped Siamese Cats.
Where Siamese Cat Colors Come From
The Siamese is one of the oldest recognized cat breeds in the world, tracing back to Thailand – formerly the kingdom of Siam. The breed appears in the Tamra Maew, a collection of Thai manuscripts thought to have been written between the 14th and 18th centuries, which describe pale-bodied, dark-pointed cats remarkably similar to the Siamese we know today.
They're characterized by their blue almond-shaped eyes, large ears, slender body, triangular-shaped head, and, of course, their point coloration.
Wedge grey Siamese cat
How the Color Point Pattern Actually Works
Siamese coloring comes down to a single gene: tyrosinase, which produces the enzyme responsible for pigment. In Siamese cats, a mutation makes this enzyme temperature-sensitive – it works in cooler areas of the body but switches off at normal body temperature. That's why pigment only develops on the cooler extremities: the ears, face, tail, and paws, while the rest of the body stays pale.
This also explains two things every Siamese owner notices. First, kittens are born almost pure white, because their first coat grows in the warmth of the womb. As they cool down over the following weeks, the points gradually darken. Second, older Siamese cats tend to darken further all over as circulation slows and body temperature drops slightly with age – so don't be surprised if your cat's coat deepens as the years go by.
Classic Siamese cat
As a general rule, Siamese cats have striking blue eyes and pale, creamy coats with darker ears, face masks, tails, noses, and paw pads. Now let's look at the 13 most popular color points on these kitties.
1. Seal Point Siamese
The classic seal point is the original Siamese color and the one most people picture first. Seal point cats have rich, dark brown points on their nose, ears, tail, and paws, set against a pale creamy body. It's the darkest of all the Siamese color points.
2. Chocolate Point Siamese
Siamese cats with chocolate points have ivory, cream-colored bodies with warm milk-chocolate markings. Because there's less shading across the body, there's a lovely contrast between the points, body, and those piercing blue eyes.
Genetically, chocolate point is a lighter variant of seal point. The paw pads and nose are a sweet pinkish-cinnamon color, and it's considered one of the brown Siamese colors.
Chocolate point Siamese cat
3. Blue Point Siamese
Blue point Siamese have exquisite silvery, slate-blue shading on their face, ears, tail, and other extremities, with hints of the same blue on their backside and underbelly.
These felines have a beautiful bluish-white coat – a lovely contrast to their dark grey-blue nose, paw pads, and points. If you're after a grey Siamese cat, this is the one to look for. Blue point is a dilute version of seal point, and it was recognized by CFA in 1934, making it the second color added to the breed standard.
Blue point and lilac point Siamese cats
4. Lilac or Frost Point Siamese
Lilac point is the palest of the four traditional Siamese colors – a frosty, pinkish-grey tone that's also nicknamed "frost point." Genetically, it's a dilute of chocolate point, which is why it took cat fanciers a while to recognize it: early lilac points were often mistaken for poorly marked blue points. CFA officially recognized lilac point as its own color in 1955, with the UK's GCCF following in 1960.
The coat is a glacial white with pink undertones, and the paw pads and nose are a soft pink – giving lilac points an extra touch of delicacy.
5. Red, Orange, or Flame Point Siamese
Red point Siamese – also called "flame point" or "orange point" – have warm reddish-orange points on their face, ears, tail, legs, and paws, with pink paw pads and nose leather.
This color didn't occur naturally in Siamese bloodlines. In the 1940s, breeders in the US and UK crossed a seal point Siamese with a red tabby American Shorthair to introduce the red gene, then bred the offspring back to Siamese over several generations to restore the Siamese type. CFA gave red and cream points championship status in 1964, but classified them under a separate breed name, Colorpoint Shorthair, rather than folding them into Siamese. TICA and several other registries, by contrast, count red point as a Siamese color. Don't miss my complete post on Flame Point Siamese Cats.
Red point Siamese cat
6. Cinnamon Point Siamese
These Siamese have warm, dusty-brown points on their ears, tail, face mask, and legs, set against an ivory body. Their legs are sometimes a touch paler than the rest of their points.
Cinnamon point is a lighter variant of chocolate point. The rims around their eyes are light brown, and their paw pads and nose leather are pinkish-brown.
7. Lynx Point Siamese
Lynx point Siamese – sometimes called tabby point – are easy to spot thanks to the tabby-style striping on their points, rather than a solid color. This pattern can appear over any of the underlying point colors: seal, blue, lilac, chocolate, red, cream, and more.
Lynx points came from crosses that introduced tabby markings into the colorpoint gene pool, alongside the same breeding program that produced red and cream points. CFA advanced lynx point to championship status in 1969. Don't miss my complete post on Lynx Point Siamese Cats.
Tabby wedge Siamese cat
You might enjoy reading more of my articles on Siamese Cats: Siamese Cat Personality, Types of Siamese Cats, Why do Siamese Cats meow so much?, When do Siamese cats stop growing?, Are Siamese Cats mean?, Do Siamese Cats shed?, Do Siamese Cats' fur change color?, How big do Siamese Cats get?, Why does my Siamese Cat attack me?, and Siamese Cats in Heat.
8. Cream Point Siamese
Cream point emerged from the same breeding program that produced red point, as a naturally diluted version of that color. Their bodies are a soft white, and the nose leather and paw pads are a pale pink – a cool, understated contrast to the warmer red and flame points.
Cream point Siamese cat
9. Caramel Point Siamese
Caramel point Siamese feature warm grey-brown tones across their points, centered on the muzzle, ears, tail, legs, and nose. The paw pads, nose leather, and eye rims are a soft grey with pinkish undertones. It's one of the rarer color points, since it takes a specific combination of dilution genes to produce.
Tip: Find out how long you can leave your cat alone.
10. Apricot Point Siamese
Apricot-pointed Siamese have warm creamy-white points with a subtle metallic sheen, and the feet and legs are often paler than the rest of the points. These points tend to deepen as the cat grows older, and it's common for the ears, nose, paw pads, and lips to develop small freckles over time. The paw pads, eye rims, and nose are pink.
11. Fawn Point Siamese
Fawn-pointed Siamese have creamy-white bodies and soft, mushroom-colored points – one of the subtlest color points, with less contrast than seal, chocolate, or blue. Their nose leather and paw pads are pinkish-grey.
12. Tortoiseshell (Tortie) Point Siamese
Tortie points come in a mottled mix of shades, the result of introducing tortoiseshell coloring into the colorpoint gene pool. Because tortoiseshell coloring is linked to the X chromosome, tortie point Siamese are almost always female. CFA advanced tortie point to championship status in 1969, alongside lynx point.
Tortie points can be blotched with red, cream, and apricot, over either a red-based or black-based body color. The points show a mottled break of darker color, while the body stays in lighter shades.
Applehead Siamese cat
The most common tortie point variations are:
Cinnamon Tortie Point
Classic tortoiseshell colors in black, deep orange, and cinnamon brown, with some shades of red, over a creamy ivory body.
Fawn Tortie Point
Warm, rosy mushroom-toned points over an off-white body.
Caramel Tortie Point
An off-white body with dark brownish-blue points, sometimes with shades of apricot mixed in.
13. Tabby Points
Tabby points come in an array of patterns and colors. The face – especially around the nose, eyes, and forehead – has clearly defined striped markings, including the distinctive tabby "M" on the forehead and a thumbprint pattern on the ears. You'll also see rings around the cat's tail. The body should be solid and fit one of the underlying Siamese point colors.
Common Siamese tabby (and tortie tabby) combinations include:
- Blue and blue tortie tabby
- Lilac and lilac tortie tabby
- Chocolate and chocolate tortie tabby
- Seal and seal tortie tabby
- Fawn and fawn tortie tabby
- Red and red tortie tabby
- Cinnamon and cinnamon tortie tabby
- Apricot and apricot tortie tabby
- Caramel and caramel tortie tabby
⇒ Getting a new kitty? Check out my guide to How to Look after a Kitten, 6 Best Kitten Wet Food Options, and 8 Best Kitten Dry Food Options.
Siamese cat
How Many Siamese Colors Are There, Really?
This is one of the most common points of confusion, and it comes down to which registry you ask. CFA only recognizes four colors as "Siamese": seal, chocolate, blue, and lilac point. Everything else on this list – red, cream, cinnamon, fawn, caramel, apricot, lynx, and tortie points – is registered by CFA under a separate breed name, Colorpoint Shorthair, even though these cats share the same Siamese body type and personality.
TICA and several other registries take a simpler approach and count all of these colors as Siamese. So depending on where you look, you'll see very different answers to "how many Siamese colors are there" – there's no single official number that everyone agrees on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Siamese cat colors change as they get older? Yes. Because the color point gene is temperature-sensitive, points tend to darken gradually with age as a cat's circulation slows and body temperature drops slightly. This is most noticeable in seal and blue points.
Does a Siamese cat's color affect its personality or health? No reliable evidence links specific Siamese colors to particular personality traits or health conditions. Siamese cats as a breed have some known health considerations worth discussing with your vet, but these aren't tied to coat color.
Can you predict what color a Siamese kitten will be? To some extent. Breeders can predict likely outcomes by knowing the color genes both parents carry, but a kitten's exact shade isn't fully visible until the points develop over its first few weeks.
Is one Siamese color rarer or more expensive than the others? Colors like caramel, cinnamon, and apricot point are less commonly bred because they require a more specific combination of dilution genes, which can make kittens harder to find. Exact pricing varies a lot by breeder and region, so it's worth asking any breeder directly rather than relying on a general figure.
A Footnote: Siamese Cat Colors
Siamese cats are one of the most striking breeds around, with unusual coat colors and lucid almond-shaped eyes. Slender and graceful, these felines are the epitome of elegance.
If you're keen on a surprise, choose a Siamese kitten while they're still young, with their points hidden by their soft white fur, and watch as the colors gradually appear. Imagine the excitement!
Now that we've covered the stunning color points on Siamese cats, let us know – which is your favorite?
Amanda created and owns The Discerning Cat. A lifelong cat lover she is the proud parent of two Siberian cats, Alexei and Vladimir. She is passionate about understanding cats and different cat breeds.
