Expert: Norman Auspitz - 7/25/2009

Question
Hi Norman,

Quick question... my husband and I just adopted a beautiful 14 year old male from a local shelter.
His family (owners) were killed in a Dallas fire and he was rescued by a shelter.  He looks Siamese, and that is what we were told he was.. but I am not 100% sure.  He has the distinctive markings of the "Classic Siamese" but not the extreme wedge shaped head -- more of a round head.  His color points are his ears, face, legs/feet, and tail which are almost black but the rest of his fur is not a solid cream color... it is mostly creamy beige but has some light tan throughout.  Could he still be a pure siamese or is he likely a mix?  He is also very talkative which I understand to be a Siamese trait, but he is old so he is LAZY.

He came declawed and neutered, with vet records dating back to 1997, he is also leukemia and aids negative, with all his shots including rabies.  The vet gave him a clean bill of health and said he could live about 5 more years....

I bought him food, litter, litter box & liner, food & water trays, and a brush.  He LOVES to be rubbed.  He gets along great with our dog and we have named him Phoenix since he "rose up out of the ashes" of his families house fire..

SOOO.... I have only owned a cat once, many years ago for 2 years... my questions can be summed up:

Is he truly Siamese?  Do I need to purchase anything else for him?

If you want my personal email so I can send you photos of him to better help you determine his breeding I would be glad to, just let me know.  THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Answer
Jolean,

The odds are that he is a feral with a Siamese pattern, but there are people out there who breed cats with Siamese pattern without the extreme wedge,  These are often called traditional Siamese (even though they are not the traditional Siamese structure, which is wedge headed and very slinky looking).  You can also get a pointed Tonkinese which is more moderate in structure but with the Siamese pattern.

Your 14 year old is a seal point Siamese, he should have nearly black points (ears, face, paws, tail) and the body should shade to a fawn color.  The older the cat, the darker the shading usually is.  Of course, he should have brilliant blue eyes.

I would make sure he has a sturdy exercise post tall enough that he can stretch on the tippy toes of his hind legs and stretch his forelegs out in front of him.  Even though he is declawed, he may like to use the exercise post for a good stretch straight up.  If the exercise post has shelves and/or cubby holes all the better.  I find a basic 4 X 4 wrapped in closed loop carpet or sisal on a very solid base seems to be a favorite.  Of course, even 14 year olds like to play with toys.

Yes, you can send me a private response with your e-mail address as I would love to see pictures.

Best regards... Norm.