Thai
The Thai is the traditional or old-style Siamese, preserved as a separate breed after the show Siamese was bred towards an increasingly extreme wedge head and slender body through the twentieth century.
In Thailand the cat is called the Wichienmaat and it is documented in the Tamra Maew.
It weighs 3.5 to 5.5 kilograms, with a rounded, moderate head, an apple-shaped skull, a sturdier body and the same colourpoint coat and blue eyes as the modern Siamese. It is not a crossbreed or a throwback but a deliberate conservation of the older type. Temperament is Siamese — vocal, intelligent, sociable — though many owners find the Thai somewhat less extreme in that too.
- Origin
- Thailand; the traditional Siamese type
- Size
- 3.5–5.5 kg
- Lifespan
- 12–16 years
- Head
- Moderate and rounded — not the modern wedge
- Coat
- Short colourpoint with deep blue eyes
- Health
- Fewer type-related problems than the modern Siamese
Related: Siamese
2 thai photos, newest first
Living with a thai
The moderate head is a health advantage. The extreme wedge of the modern show Siamese crowds the jaw and narrows the nasal passages; the Thai's rounder skull avoids much of that, and dental and respiratory problems are correspondingly less pressing — though dental care still matters.
Ask about progressive retinal atrophy testing and about amyloidosis, both of which occur in Siamese-derived lines.
They are vocal and social and want company. A companion cat suits them.
The point colour darkens with age and in cold rooms, because the pigment is temperature-dependent. That is normal.
Grooming is minimal — a weekly stroke with a rubber brush handles the short close coat.
General guidance, not veterinary advice. Individual cats vary, and anything about a specific animal is a question for a vet who has seen it.
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