Thai cat

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Thai
Blue point Thai
Other names	Standardised breed: Old-Style Siamese Wichien Maat
Common nicknames	Applehead, Traditional Siamese, Classic Siamese
Origin	backcrossed with indigenous wichienmaat
Breed standards
FIFe	standard
TICA	standard
WCF	standard
FFE	standard
Domestic cat (Felis catus)

The Thai or Wichien Maat (

Cats that were imported from Siam (today, Thailand) to Western countries in the 19th and early 20th centuries were more moderate in conformation than the modern Western

In the United Kingdom and North America, the cats continued to be registered as Siamese. In 1999, in North America, the independent club PREOSSIA coined the name Old-Style Siamese to refer specifically to the moderate, original type of registered Siamese. In 2000, the Old-style Siamese Club, or OSSC, was formed in the UK. It was originally called The Classic Siamese Club but changed the name after someone in the USA claimed to have copyright over the name.[2]

Native pointed cats were imported directly from Thailand, beginning in 2001, to refresh the gene pool of the Western, pedigreed Thai breeding programmes and ensure that the traits of the indigenous Southeast Asian cats are preserved and distinct in these bloodlines.^[1]

Beginning in 2007, members of PREOSSIA began the new breed application process in The International Cat Association (TICA). It was necessary to request separate breed status from the Siamese to permit the Old-Style Siamese to be bred and shown using different registration rules and a different breed standard. However, TICA refused to allow the name Old-Style Siamese for the "new" breed, and breeders decided to follow the example of the Europeans and use the name Thai. In January 2010, the Thai was granted Championship status in TICA, enabling it to compete for top honours along with the other breeds of pedigreed cats.^[3] Although by this time, the Thai had been recognized by WCF for 20 years, one major European registry still had not recognised the breed. At last, in 2015, Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe) accepted the Thai in its "Preliminary Recognized Breeds" class.^[4]

Long before its re-branding as the Thai, the old type of Siamese was part of the foundation stock of a variety of new 20th-century breeds, such as the Himalayan, Ocicat, and Havana Brown. Near the end of the 20th century, modern Siamese were used more frequently for this purpose, as in the case of the Cornish Rex and Peterbald.

Description

As breeds, the Thai and the modern Siamese share common ancestry, the

The primary features of the Thai are that it is a "pointed" cat (blue eyes, dark extremities, pale body) of foreign body type (more elongated than the average Western domestic cat, but noticeably less so than the modern Siamese or Oriental); has a modified wedge-shaped head; a long flat forehead; a nose with no more than a slight concave curve at eye level; has a short, flat-lying single coat; does not carry the longhair gene; and it usually has a registered pedigree dating back to the late 19th century Siamese, with no Western domestic shorthair ancestors. In TICA, unregistered cats with import documentation proving origin in Thailand are also permitted to register as Thais—and Thailand imports have all the same breeding and show privileges that Western-bred Thais have. To permit British Thai breeders (isolated by still restrictive British rabies quarantine laws) to work with GCCF Old-Style Siamese, TICA also allows outcrossing to registered Siamese of moderate type. In WCF and FIFe, natural, unregistered cats born in Thailand are not allowed to register as Thais or be used as outcrosses. Outcrossing to the Siamese is also prohibited. However, when the Thai breed was new to WCF, there was a temporary period during which unregistered pointed European cats were allowed to register as Thais and outcrossing to other Western breeds was allowed.^{[citation needed]}

While the foundation and concept of the Thai vary somewhat from one country's registry to the next, all define the Thai as a breed that preserves the characteristics of early Western Siamese. TICA uniquely defines the Thai as preserving the native, natural pointed cats of Thailand as well as the earliest Western Siamese. The goal of Thai breeders is always to preserve the old look, provide plenty of genetic diversity for a healthy future, and guarantee the authenticity and personality of the old type of Siamese.^{[citation needed]}

• Traditional-style Thai cats vs. modern-style Siamese cats
• 
  Traditional "applehead" Thai cat
• 
  Traditional seal point Thai cat
• 
  Traditional seal point Thai cat with a round applehead and a bulky-build body
• 
  Modern seal point Siamese cat (side view) with a slim "wedgehead" and a slender-build body
• 
  Modern "wedgehead" seal point Siamese cat
• 
  Modern seal point Siamese cat (front view) with extremely large, wide-set ears

Background

• Birman cat
• Siamese cat
• Korat cat
• Burmese cat
• Tonkinese cat
• Khao Manee cat
• Suphalak cat
• Thai Lilac cat

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thai cats.

• TICA Thai breed introduction
• Old-style Siamese Club (UK, established 2000). The club is affiliated to the GCCF.
• PREOSSIA (United States, established January, 1999). PREOSSIA is an unaffiliated, international breed preservation club.