The Red Point Siamese cat family merits a page of its own, and includes Red, Cream, and Apricot Points. The red and tortoiseshell colors were introduced into the breed in the 1930s by crossing purebred Siamese with red tabby or tortoiseshell British Shorthair cats carrying orange (O) genes. However, other American cat registries, as well as the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) in the UK, do recognize these as Siamese colors. This is because to get these colors you have to do some rather complicated breeding, crossing pure breed Siamese cats with other varieties like the British and American Shorthair, and then crossing the resulting kittens back into the Siamese line. The CFA classifies the other colors - red (flame), cream, apricot, cinnamon, fawn and caramel, as well as all the tortie and tabby (lynx) varieties - as Colorpoint Shorthair or Colorpoint Oriental - hybrid cats. They're also the most widely available and popular colors for both show cats and pets.

The four colors above are those carried in the pure breeding line, colors that are officially recognised by all the cat registries including the Siamese Breed Council of the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) in the United States. Of a Seal, and a Lilac is a dilute version of a Chocolate - the 'dilute' gene lightens the color and gives it a bluish tone. Genetically, a Blue Point is a paler ('dilute', in breed-speak) version Lilac Points are the palest of all – a pink-toned, pale 'frosty' grey (Lilacs are sometimes referred to as 'Frost' Points).

Blue Points have slate-grey-blue points.

Chocolate Points have lighter, milk-chocolate points.

Seal Points have very dark, seal-brown points.

The different kinds of Siamese cats are named for the color of their points. These darker areas on the body are known as the points.

The UK and US cat registries (and even different registries within the same country!) have different classifications, and sometimes whether you have a 'real' Siamese or not depends on where you live.Īs a general rule, all Siamese have vivid blue eyes and pale, creamy coats, with darker facial masks, ears, tails, nose leather, paws and paw pads. It gets even more confusing, though, as not all the colors mentioned above are recognized everywhere as 'official' Siamese cat colors. Siamese Cat Colors Can Be Extremely Complicated! There's a bewildering range of Siamese cat colors and shades, from the darkly beautiful Seal Point to the pale, almost ghostly Lilac or Frost Point.īut how do you tell a Seal from a Chocolate Point, or a Blue from a Lilac? And what about Red (Flame), Cream, Apricot, Cinnamon, Fawn and Caramel?Īnd then there are all the different Tortie (tortoiseshell or parti-color), Tabby (also known as Lynx) and even Tortie-Tabby varieties of these colors, too.

White light grey tabby point siamese