The Siamese cat breed was originally bred from eleven cats that were imported to Britain from Siam or Thailand. These cats varied in size from the heavier set, rounded face cat to a thinner lithe cat with a wedge shaped head and many variations in between. What made them all similar were the darker markings on the face, paws and tail.
Current standards around the world include the heavier, rounded traditional or applehead Siamese, the modern wedgie with the wedge shaped head and tubular body and the hybrid style of cat that is a moderate build with a slightly elongated head.
Coloring of Siamese points ranges from the dark brown points of the Seal point Siamese, to the lighter brown pointed chocolate point Siamese. Also there is the Blue point, which is a dilute version of the Seal point Siamese and the lilac point which is a dilute version of the Chocolate point Siamese.
Modern coloring includes tortie points of various color ranges, lynx point and flame point coloring. Many of these latter are show as “color point Oriental Shorthairs” rather than a true Siamese Cat. They are, however, related.
Other related breeds include the Oriental Shorthair which can be colorpointed, as stated above, and solid color. The Balinsese is basically a longhaired Siamese Cat and is bred from Siamese Cats who have a gene for long hair rather than the sleeker short fur.
The Snowshoe is a mating between the Siamese and the bicolor American Shorthair, giving a robust cat with Siamese point markings.
The Burmese was from a brown Oriental type female from Burma who was mated with the Siamese. Points are often not so pronounced in this breed. The Tonkinese is a hybrid of Siamese and Burmese cats.
Finally there is the Ocicat was first bred in 1964 in an experiment to product an Abyssinian pointed Siamese. Tonga, as the cat was named was spotted and resembled an ocelot. News traveled and repeated matings continued to produce spotted cats and the breed has maintained a large spotted cat.