Siamese Color Point Description

Your elegant Siamese cat defies description. Sure, she's a cat and, being Siamese, she has distinct markings, but if asked you might be at a loss to give a color point description. And if you think you've seen other animals sporting the characteristic Siamese look, your eyes weren't playing tricks. Siamese color points appear on more than just cats.

  1. What Are the Points?

    • The "points" on a Siamese cat are her extremities: her tail tip, feet, ears and nose. When you describe the color points, you'll look at the color of those body parts. In a purebred Siamese cat, the color will be the same on all points, with her body being a different, lighter color, typically white, pale fawn or a shade somewhere in between.

    Traditional Point Colors

    • "Classic" Siamese points come in four colors. The two most common are seal and chocolate, with seal being a darker brown, nearly black, and chocolate a softer brown. A blue point Siamese will have bluish-gray points and a lilac point Siamese displays an even lighter gray on her points, a shade that is described as pinkish-gray.

    Out-Crossed Point Colors

    • The American Cat Fancier's Association also recognizes the alternative point colors that have been developed by crossing with other breeds. Red is a dark orange color, and cream is very pale. Other out-crossed color points can appear striped, as on the lynx point, or even multicolored, as on the tortie point. Additionally, according to ACFA all-breed judge Lonnie Alitz, a Siamese can even display combinations of the different points: you might have a lilac tortie point or a blue tortie lynx point.

    Other Siamese-Marked Animals

    • Rats and rabbits sometimes display Siamese color points. The American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association lists the blue point Siamese as a recognized color pattern for rats. Their little bodies are a dark ivory color that gradually darkens to a warm blue-gray on the nose, ears, feet and base of the tail. Siamese-patterned rabbits, however, aren't called "Siamese." In Janice Biniok's 2009 book "Rabbits," she describes a breed of rabbit with markings that closely resemble those of Siamese cats, their bodies being white and their points being black. The Siamese-looking breed of rabbit is called the Californian.