page_title: Thai cat
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Thai cat / History
caption_attribution_description: "TIAM-O'-SHIAN IV. is another Siamese of high repute, the property of Mrs. Vyvyan, who bred him&#160;; but Tiam resides with Mrs. Parker Brough whilst his owner is abroad. He is a magnificent type of Siamese, even in colour, with deep seal] points. He comes from Miss Forestier-Walker's celebrated strain&#160;; and amongst his progeny may be mentioned Champion Eve, Suzanne, and Kitya Hara ."
context_page_description: The Thai or Wichien Maat is a newly renamed but old cat breed, related to but distinct from the Western, modern-style Siamese cat. This natural breed is descended from the cats of Thailand, and, among various groups of breeders in different times and places has also been called the Old-Style Siamese, Traditional Siamese, Classic Siamese; Wichien Maat; and the Applehead, a nickname that originated in the 1950s. According to The International Cat Association: "The Thai is the breed dedicated to preserving the native pointed cat of Thailand in as close to its original form as possible."
  Compared to the modern-style, more extreme-featured Siamese, the traditional Thai breed have a much more moderate appearance.
context_section_description: Cats that were imported from Siam (today, Thailand) to Western countries in the 19th and early 20th century were more moderate in conformation than the modern Western Siamese. While the Thai has common ancestry with the Western Siamese, separate breeding, beginning after World War II, led to the development of two distinct breeds, with more extreme features dominating the cat show circuit and becoming the dominant variety of Siamese in the West.  Starting in the 1980s, various breed clubs in both North America and Europe appeared that were dedicated to preserving the type that represents the early 20th-century Siamese and still found in Thailand. The World Cat Federation (WCF) recognized the original style as a separate breed, Thai, with full championship competitive status, in 1990.   
  In the United Kingdom and in 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, formed in the UK and adopted the same name for the original type of Siamese.
  Native pointed cats were imported directly from Thailand, beginning in 2001, to refresh the gene pool of the Western, pedigreed Thai breeding programs and ensure that the traits of the indigenous Southeast Asian cats are preserved and distinct in these bloodlines.
  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 in order 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.  Although by this time, the Thai had been recognized by WCF for 20 years, one major European registry still had not recognized the breed. At last, in 2015, Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe) accepted the Thai in its "Preliminary Recognized Breeds" class.
  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.
caption: Siamese from the early 1900s
exif: {}