Fit For Royalty

With its piercing blue eyes that can stare into any soul it lays its gaze upon, the Siamese cat is one of the most distinct feline breeds known to man.

For centuries, Siamese cats were renowned companions for many royal families due to their elegant look and attractiveness. While they may not be strictly reserved for the blue-bloods of today, the Siamese cat still remains one of the most popular breeds on the market.

One of the oldest breeds to date, the birthplace of the Siamese cat began in the kingdom of Siam, or modern-day Thailand. This breed was considered to be sacred and respected and were used to guard Buddhist temples. Due to the Royal Court’s high regard for these felines, kittens were highly sought after. Thus, whoever was able to give a Siamese kitten would be honoured for their sacred gift. In fact, the Siamese cat was so was sacred that if stolen from the Royal Court, the crime was punishable by death.

Although this breed had already been around for centuries, the Siamese cat only made its way to the Western Hemisphere in the 1880s. Of course, breeders were instantly captivated by the cat’s features, which then led them to developing further variations of the feline.

Not too long after, this breed landed in the United States in 1878, where President Rutherford B. Hayes and his wife Lucy were amongst the first to own this breed as a token gift from David Sickels, a US diplomat stationed in Thailand.