17 Types of Siamese Cats (2022) – Which is Best for You?

Hailing from Thailand, Siamese cats have become famous for their peculiar looks and distinct personalities, which has made them one of the most expensive cat breeds. Over the years, cat breeders have introduced new types of Siamese cats that are sought after worldwide.

There are ten types of Siamese cats, with variations in colors and patterns. When deciding if you want to get a Siamese kitty, it may feel overwhelming due to the number of options available to you.

That’s why I’m going to explain the history, defining features, and differences of each type of Siamese cat, so you’re perfectly prepared to choose the finicky feline that is best for you!

Types of Siamese Cats

While the types of Siamese cats can be classified depending on the size of their head, tails, and pointed patterns, there are two broad types of Siamese: traditional and modern.

Traditional Siamese cats can be subdivided into three types: Applehead, Classic, and Old-style. On the other hand, modern Siamese cats can be subdivided into Wedge and Light-colored variations. Each is unique and wonderful in its own way. Let’s look at how they vary and how to tell which is which.

Traditional Siamese Cats

Traditional Siamese cats are indigenous to the nation of Siam, now known as Thailand. Noticeable features of Traditional Siamese cats are their crooked tail and crossed eyes.

Becoming popular in Siam during the 14th century, there are plenty of ancient hieroglyphics at Old Thai temples that show us how admired these felines were even back then.

An old tale explains why their tails are crooked, but whether you believe this myth is up to you. The myth explains that Siamese cats were given the responsibility of protecting royal goblets within the Siam kingdom. To do so, they wrapped their tails around the precious objects, which gave them the crooked tail they now have today.

The myth also states that Siamese cats got their cross-eyed look because they would stare incessantly at the goblets, giving them their crossed eye look.

The traditional types of Siamese cats only have light-colored coats that are covered by dark areas on their paws, face, ears, and tail. The color contrast of traditional Siamese cats is referred to as a seal point.

Due to selective breeding, modern Siamese cat varieties come in many different colors, including blue, chocolate, and lilac points.

Below you’ll find more information regarding the defining features of each traditional Siamese variant and what sets them apart from each other.

1. Classic Siamese Cats

Famous for their athleticism, Classic Siamese cats have long bodies and tails, which is a key differentiating factor. Unlike the other types, Classic Siamese Cats don’t have a noticeable dip in the nose.

Genetically, this type of Siamese cat is very similar to the other traditional types, but their physical attributes make them visually different.

First appearing in Siam during the fifteenth century, Classic Siamese cats were introduced by the Cat Fanciers’ Association into the Advanced New Breed category in 2009. They have a smooth body with a rounded head, piercing blue eyes, and the classic dark points that stand out against their cream-colored body.

Their more energetic and agile nature yearns to be active. If you’re a pet parent to this action-loving feline, I recommend you get lots of interactive toys for it to chase around, nibble on, and of course, catch (well, at least try to catch).

2. Applehead Siamese Cats

Known as the quieter version of the traditional Siamese cat types, their face is rounded like an apple which acts as their most distinguishing feature. In terms of coloring, Applehead Siamese cats have the original dark brown-black points, like the other traditional types. They have bigger bones and a muscular body that can weigh up to 18 pounds.

Like the Classic Siamese cat, Appleheads are athletic, but their tail is relatively shorter than the other traditional variants. The most noticeable behavioral difference is their quiet nature. They are less chatty, making this type of Siamese variety a perfect choice for someone who wants a cat that is less vocal.

These cats are more inclined to jump on your lap or scoot up next to you on the sofa to get their much-needed cuddle time. And with their fluffier and longer fur — I don’t think you’ll mind.

3. Old-style Siamese cats

Old-style Siamese cats have a medium-sized body and gained popularity during the 1950s and 1960s. Their facial structure is a mixture between the Applehead and the modern, Wedge Siamese cat.

They have ears that are broad and a nose that is shaped like an almond. The cross-eyed trait is very apparent in this type of Siamese cat. When comparing this type to other traditional types, you’ll notice that Old-style Siamese cats have longer faces.

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Their body is longer and less bulky than the Applehead, but still not as thin as the modern Wedge Siamese. Their balanced look makes them an incredibly beautiful feline specimen, which explains why they became so popular in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

These frisky felines are also quite athletic and talkative. They get highly attached to their owners, so they don’t mind following you around all day trying to get your attention. Although you don’t have to give your cat attention 24-7, if you ignore them for too long, you’ll start hearing the insistent Siamese cat meow.

Modern breeders are starting to make an effort at returning this look, so visit the Old Style Siamese Cat Club you’re in the UK and PREOSSIA if you’re in the USA.

Modern Siamese Cats

When Siamese cats were introduced to Western societies, they quickly became fashionable pets. Since then, modern variants have been created that differ to the traditional types in terms of their physical appearances.

The bodies of modern Siamese cats are longer and thinner than the traditional types. Modern Siamese varieties love to talk. If you bring home one of these cuties, you should expect to hear their loud and distinct meows throughout the day as it follows you everywhere around the house. 

Years of selective breeding between the 1960s and 1980s have created the Wedge and light-colored types of Siamese cats. The physical appearance of these cats differs significantly from the traditional types, as breeders chased a specific aesthetic.

While their appearances are different, modern Siamese cats have the personality traits that all Siamese cats are known for: intelligent, affectionate, needy behavior, gentle and talkative.

4. Wedge Siamese Cats

Getting their name from the wedge-like shape of their head, these cats are the most extreme type of Siamese cat you’ll find. Their physical appearance is very different to the traditional types of Siamese cats. They have a lean and muscular body with long legs, thin tail and wide ears that sit on top of a sharp, long face with slightly slanted eyes. 

They are also the loudest type of Siamese cat, just ask any owner of a Wedge Siamese and they’ll tell you all about their cat’s chit-chat! So it’s normal to hear them meow a lot throughout the day.

Due to selective breeding practices, Wedge Siamese cats are more susceptible to health problems, like kidney disease. Due to this, owners should always ensure they feed their Wedge Siamese cat healthy, high protein cat food.

Owners should also make sure to have plenty of cat toys like fluffy mice, scratching posts, and climbing trees. This makes for a home environment that keeps them occupied and stimulated while getting plenty of exercise.

Light-colored Siamese Cats

Breeders have not only managed to change the physical appearance of Siamese cats through selective breeding. These can be broken down into subcategories:

5. Cream Points

Belonging to the light-colored Siamese club, the Cream Points are almost absent of dark patches. The breed boasts a cream-colored or light orange base with remarkably soft fur and traditional blue eyes. The Cream Points tend to have pale pink paws, noses, ears, and eye rims — these cats are born entirely white, with their extremities darkening over time.

The Cream Point is a cross-breed between the Red Point Siamese, the domestic shorthair cat, and Abyssinian felines. Hence it’s not uncommon to find Cream Points with some stripes on the faces, legs, and tails — resembling the color coat of domestic shorthairs.

Fleeing from the typical Siamese persona, the Cream Point is not bred with genes known to link personality traits. That said, the behavior and temperament of each Cream Point will differ depending on their specific breed, their socialization, and how you handle them as kittens.

6. Lilac Points

Another member of the light-colored Siamese family is the Lilac Point. Boasting a traditional white body with lilac hues or gray-tinted extremities. This breed also possesses classic blue eyes, accompanied by a pinkish nose and paws.

Also known as the Frost Point Siamese, this breed has the lightest coat color of them all. Their glacial white coat is free of shading and remains white throughout their lifetime. The Lilac Point is thought to be a diluted blend of the Chocolate and Blue Points.

Unique in exciting ways, the Lilac Point is also known to have the most powerful singing voice. Their meows have often been described as “yodel-like,” making for a theatrical performance when they vocalize their complaints or sing along to the chirping bored outside. 

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7. Chocolate Points

Often confused or misidentified as Seal Points, Chocolate Point Siamese cats possess a cream-colored base with chocolate brown extremities. Their ivory-colored bodies have no shading, causing a distinct striking contrast against the warm chocolate points.

Authentically Siamese, the Chocolate Point is highly playful, curious, and friendly. They make excellent house cats that can respectfully interact with all household members, including other pets.

However, due to their throbbing energy levels, if you leave them to their devices, they will surely rack up some mischief from their innate curiosity.

8. Apricot Point

Apricot Points are light-colored Siamese felines boasting glossy white or hot cream-colored fur bases with pinkish points, particularly on their tails, noses, and beneath their paws. You may also spot some freckles surrounding those extremities, including on their lips and ears.

Their peculiar fur coat develops due to the breed’s existent dilute modifier gene, which changes the more common Cream Points to apricot. This breed also has a slightly paler or dull blue eye color.

However, Apricot Points only differ from traditional Siamese in color points. They also tend to have the same naughty but nice personality. Apricots are incredibly loving, witty, and very affectionate.

They can quickly get bored and are likely to stir up some chaos — so save yourself the headache and get them a furry friend or active cat toy sets.

9. Cinnamon Point

A newer breed of Siamese cats is Cinnamon Point. Similar in color coating to the Chocolate Points, this breed has slightly less intensive brown spots on its extremities. The Cinnamon Point tends to have warmer, reddish, and rusty-brown points.

Like their chocolate counterparts, Cinnamon Points boast an ivory base with pale pink pads on their noses and under their paws. However, this pink usually underlines the cinnamon coating and is not easily visible. Their legs also tend to be paler than their other extremities.

These friendly felines are true to nature and love receiving love and undivided attention.

10. Fawn Point

Fawn Points are considered the dilute version of the Cinnamon Point. They tend to have paler and bluer fur coastings, similar to the Lilac Point.

Their coat is dotted by warm tones or rose-pink and mushroom points, boasting an off-white, almost magnolia-colored base. The color around their eye rims, nose pads, and paws tend to have a pink tint, with their legs either matching or slightly paler.

Fawn Points are sensitive and occasionally experience a bad streak of separation anxiety. They love human presence; in fact, they like any company. So don’t hesitate to get your Fawn Point a feline buddy.

11. Caramel Point

The Caramel Point Siamese is the newest breed in the group. Thanks to their dilute modifier gene, these cats uniquely boast blue, lilac, and fawn color coatings. Because Caramel Points develop their fur coatings slowly, their extremities may first appear as lilac, then blue, before their brown tone becomes apparent.

All Caramel Points have an off-white coat base, slowly darkening with age. These kitties have pink paws, eye rims, and noses with a gray undertone. On the other hand, their legs boast a brown tint with gray undertones.

Caramel Points have similar personalities to their blue and lilac counterparts. They are pretty clever and have strong opinions. If you do something they disapprove of – you’ll definitely hear the meows to prove it.

Dark-colored Siamese Cats

12. Seal Points

Classified as dark-colored Siamese cats, Seal Points are generally darker than the traditional breeds. Seal Points are dotted with dark brown markings throughout their bodies. They also have darker (almost black) patches on their faces, tails, and paws that continuously darken as they age.

Nonetheless, this breed is not entirely dark; much of the body has a white or cream-colored base. Seal Points are known to have albino origins thanks to their temperature-sensitive pigmentation genes found in all Siamese cats.

This gene mutation is primarily what causes their colored points. At higher temperatures, their points become lighter and vice-versa. This explains why newly born kittens are born almost entirely white, and their tips darken as the Siamese cat keeps growing.

Seal Point Siamese cats are seemingly aristocratic felines. Their dignified and independent persona makes them great house cats with a controlled temperament. But, they are still Siamese after all — they like their affection, cuddles, and playtime just as much.

13. Blue Points

Blue Point Siamese cats are characterized by their unique bluish-white bases and light gray points (faces, ears, paws, and tails) with blue undertones. This breed is quite peculiar as it also tends to have deep aquamarine almond-shaped and slanted eyes.

These cats can have a triangular or slightly rounded face depending on their age, gender, and eating habits. Although less prominent, their ears point upwards like the rest of the Siamese clan. Their bodies and feet are slender and elongated; they also have a lengthy slim tail, matching the traditional breeds.

Blue Points are loving, loyal, and exceptionally social like the rest of their Siamese family. They also have an inclined intellect and tend to vocalize their grievances. The Blue Point loves attention and is clever enough to get you to notice them.

To prevent it from emptying your cupboards or pushing furniture items from high shelves, get some chewy cat toys or anything that’ll keep it occupied.

14. Red Point

Unlike most of its Siamese counterparts, Red Points don’t have the typical black and white dalmatian fur color. Instead, this breed is characterized by white or cream fur with red, orange, or amber extremities and sparkling blue eyes.

Known as Flame Point Siamese in places like the United Kingdom, Red Points are very rare and not always accepted at every cat association. These unusual specimens also tend to have pink and sometimes freckled eye rims, noses, ears, and paws.

Red Points also possess the agouti gene (commonly found in Tabby Siamese cats) that may lead to the development of stripes on their legs and tail in the breeding process.

Although this breed is genetically different from its Siamese peers, it still shares the witty, tender, attention-loving nature. If left for too long, Red Points may suffer from separation anxiety. Their playful and people-loving nature usually requires some presence.

Luckily, this breed is quite friendly and can calmly interact with strangers, young children, and other pets, especially dogs.

15. Tortoiseshell or Tortie Point

The Tortoiseshell or Tortie Point Siamese is a variant of the Red Point. Thus it boasts a creamy white-based body with reddish-orange points and intensely blue eyes. The Tortie has definitively flecked rather than solid points (similar to the shell of a tortoise – thus the name). This results from a gene defect regularly carried by female Tortie Points.

Tortie Points Siamese cats are certainly one-of-a-kind; you can spot their mask (face) with combinations of seal, white and red points. You can also find this unusual color mix on the cat’s ears, paws, legs, and tails.

The Tortie has the same Siamese personality despite its visibly incongruent color points. This breed is intelligent, outgoing, and enjoys hanging around loved ones. However, its very vocal nature can sometimes be perceived as demanding or even aggressive.

16. Lynx Point

The Lynx Point Siamese cat results from cross-breeding between the Seal Point and the Tabby Point. They’re characterized by their stripped extremities and fur coatings that may be blue, red, seal, and sometimes chocolate or cream.

Lynx Points have a slender, medium-sized frame and tall build (much like the traditional Siamese). They have spotted whisker pads and stripes surrounding their eyes, cheeks, and ears. This breed also has striped legs and circular rings marking its tails.

Much like the rest of the Siamese family, the Lynx Point loves being in a crowd, adores affection, and has the wits of a fox. Highly vocal, they will meow, tug, and scratch until they get what they want.

When they’re not throwing attention-seeking tantrums, Lynx Points are pretty laid-back. They enjoy sitting on laps and cuddling. If you’re not up for cuddles, get them a snuggly toy to wrap their paws around.

17. Tabby Point

Tabby Points are distinctive from other Siamese breeds due to their tabby (brownish-gray dotted marks and stripes) spots. These felines feature defined strippings around their faces, eyes, and noses. Their leg strippings tend to be paler, and you’ll find ring markings under their tails.

Tabby Points also have a clear M-marking on their foreheads, while their ears boast a  thumbprint pattern. This breed’s color coating is unusually odd as it can depict that of all the other Siamese cats on this list, excluding the traditional Thai cats.

However, they’re not that different when it comes to personality. Affection-loving, intelligent and social are all character traits of the Tabby Point.

For more information on the various colors amongst modern types of Siamese cats, check out my other post about Siamese cat colors.

Frequently Asked Questions about Siamese Cats

1. How Long Do Siamese Cats Live?

Siamese cats have one of the longest lifespans of all cat breeds. Some live as long as 25 years. The average life span for a Siamese cat is between 12 and 20 years.

2. Why do Siamese Cats Bite so Much?

Siamese cats can get very worked up during play time. When Siamese cats get over stimulated they may try to bite your arm or hand.

3. At what age do Siamese cats calm down?

Siamese cats are somewhat hyperactive by nature. However, once they reach two years of age they tend to mellow out a bit and calm down.

4. Do Siamese Cats like water?

Siamese cats actually do like water. They may not want to be fully submerged in water but they enjoy playing with water and being around water.

5. Do Siamese Cats shed a lot?

Siamese cats do shed and tend to molt twice a year in the spring and fall. However, Siamese cats tend to shed a lot less than other breeds, particularly long-haired breeds like Maine Coons and Siberian cats.

6. Do Siamese Cats like to walk?

Siamese cats tend to love the outdoors. Roaming and hunting are in their natural instincts. It is definitely worth getting your Siamese cat an escape-proof harness and embark on trying some cat walking. They are a highly intelligent breed and can be trained to walk – if they want to.

7. Why do some Siamese Cats have cross eyes?

For many years, most Siamese cats had cross eyes. Whilst this is most likely due to their genes, I prefer the more interesting explanation. Legend has it that Siamese cats were required to guard a golden goblet. Apparently, their eyes focussed so strongly on the golden goblet that it led to them having cross-eyes.

Today, fewer Siamese cats have cross eyes as breeders have chosen to try to rid the breed of this characteristic.

Summary of Types of Siamese Cats

So now that I’ve explained the different types of Siamese cats, you should understand the key differences between the physical attributes of each type, especially the differences between the modern and traditional variants.

While the physical appearance of each type varies, the personalities of Siamese cats are largely the same. So keep this in mind when deciding whether a Siamese cat is the best choice for your lifestyle and home.

With all things considered, if you adore cats and you’re looking for a cat that will love you dearly, then you can’t go wrong choosing any type of Siamese kitty.

Please Note: This types of Siamese Cats post contains affiliate links. That means if you click through on most of the links and end up making a purchase I will receive a small commission. This will not affect the price that you pay. I wanted to make sure that you were aware of this.

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