This treatise is intended to enlighten the novice breeder, both adolescent and adult, in how to select, breed and train their Siamese for the show ring.

        Because of our visits to catteries over these United States and be cause of our many contacts made at shows, we are constantly being sought out by breeders asking what to look for in their cats and how to select proper coatings to produce a show type.

        We believe this little booklet will fill a long-felt need for the novice breeder, and if the following explanations and cuts will help the breeder in some small way, we will have fulfilled our greatest desire.

An Amiable Cat Makes A Good Impression On A Judge.

        Few properly trained Siamese are bad tempered or hard to handle in the show ring. However, some pampered pets, when taken from the home environment, become so nervous as to be almost unmanageable.

        This condition may be remedied by taking your cat with you wherever you go. Let it become accustomed to being handled by different people as much as possible. When visiting friends or going to the market or park, take your cat along with you.

        Keep this training up until the animal is at home and unafraid wherever it may be. This is very important because- an unruly cat can be disqualified.

Don't Let Your Trip To The Show Be Your Cat's First Car Ride.

        On the opposite page are actual photographs of Madam Butterfly, a winner in a Boston show (Jan. 1937). Note her reaction to her early judgings (upper photo). The lower picture shows the same cat after she became "show wise." This difference in temperament was brought about by placing her constantly in strange surroundings until she becomes contented wherever she happened to be.

 How can a judge get a favorable impression from the above cat?

EARS

        The ears should be rather large and well pricked, with about the space of an ear between ears. They should stand straight up on the head with no tendency to flare outward, but can lean slightly forward as if listening.

HEAD

        The head should be long and well-proportioned, narrowing in straight lines to a fine muzzle, giving a "V" or wedge-shaped appearance from the base of the ear to the tip of the nose. There should be no noticeable break in the bone structure at the whisker line. The profile should show a nearly straight line from the top of the head to the tip of the nose. There should be no noticeable break at the bridge of the nose. The eyes should be almond-shaped and set on a downward slant toward the nose.

        The head should be longer than the entire width.

IN MEMORY OF TSU ZARA
Best Siamese, C. F. A. Hollywood Show 1935-1936

Note the extremely short, sleek, close-lying coat and nearly straight line from top of head to tip of nose.

BODY SHAPE AND TAIL

        The body should be small to medium in size but long, svelt and muscular. The neck should be long and slender and legs slim in proportion to the body. The hind legs should be slightly higher than the front and the feet small and oval in shape. The tail should be long and tapering, giving a whip-like effect. When extended alongside the body, the tip of the tail should touch the shoulder blade (any additional length a credit).

The slender legs and small oval paws are characteristic of the Siamese cat and we want to impress the breeder with their importance. Many of the Siamese appearing in the shows today have lost the small oval paw that is so desirable in the Siamese cat.

The Siamese should be long, slender and panther-like in appearance. The weight of the female is usually seven to eight pounds, the male eight to nine or slightly heavier.

Note the body length and conformation of the cat pictured on the
preceding page.

BODY COLORING

        The body coloring of Seal Point Siamese should be an even pale fawn or cream, shading gradually to a lighter color on belly and chest, becoming slightly darker as the cat grows older. The same shading holds true for the Blue Point Siamese except that the coloring should be bluish without hint of cream.

        Some breeders have the mistaken idea that the body coloring should be nearly white and are so obsessed with this idea that they will show only young stock. However many of our great champions started their quest after they were getting along in years. We want light bodies, to be sure, but we want them to be slightly tinged with that gorgeous coloring apparently stolen from the darker points and carrying with it, in subdued form, the same general hue, thus giving a depth of color.

A senior kitten, six to eight months old, is changing from the kitten
gray tone to the seal point cream and its points are taking on the brown tone. At this stage there are often flecks, white hairs and even bars on the tail. This is a normal condition, often occurring with the change of coat, but we do not recommend showing the kitten at this particular time.

The Siamese cat at eighteen months is generally in her best coat.

SIAMESE KITTENS 10 WEEKS OLD, owned by Mrs. G. W. Bean. The mother of these seven kittens, Etherton Chen-Noi of Say-Yam was also a kitten from a litter of seven kittens.

EYES

Eyes should be clear and of a deep china blue color, oriental in shape
and on a slant from the outside base of the ear to the middle of the nose.
If you will notice kittens No. 2, 5 and 7 (reading from left to right),
you will get some idea of what to look for in picking eye slant and shape.

CHEN-RESI (C.F.A. 20 S. B. 648 )
Note length and density of gloves.

POINTS

        The mask, ears, legs, feet and tail should be a dense, clearly defined deep seal brown color. The mask should be complete and, except in kittens, connected by tracings with the ears.

Gloves should extend well up the front legs toward the body with
no diminishing of coloring from the feet to the top of the gloves. Many breeders are under the impression that the front legs are never as dark as the other points.

The mask, ears, legs, feet and tail should be the same shade. The above applying to Blue Points, except that the points are to be deep blue.

It is quite unfair to your cat to be brought into the show with a matted, sticky coat, when a good cleaning will correct this condition. Warmed wheat bran rubbed briskly and thoroughly into the coat, then carefully combed out, followed by a week of daily brushings will cleanse the coat and bring out its natural luster.

The ears should be given attention. Wiping the ears with damp cotton will usually clean them. If dirty residue remains it may mean a deep and more serious condition. In this case consult your local veterinarian.

We have prepared the scoring chart on the facing page as an aid to breeders in choosing the best cat from your cattery for the show ring and in focusing your attention upon the many complex details that must be taken into consideration in judging a cat. If you will use this chart according to your club's scale of points, you can do a fairly accurate job of

Judging
Your Own
Siamese

All Cats Photographed for this Book 
are from the Etherton Cattery
reg. C. F. A. 1329

Helen W. Etherton  

California