This article was published in TICA Trend in autumn 2007
Thai: Ancient New Breed from Thailand ( by Jenni Toivoniemi )
Here is a cat you might remember from the films of the early 1950s. Where was it all this time? It never went away: the Thai is a breed that harks back to the indigenous pointed cat of Thailand and the "marten-faced" Siamese of the early twentieth century.
1. What is the nature of the proposed TICA Thai breed in TICA?
The short and simple answer is that the TICA Thai is the breed for what people commonly think of as the "applehead" type of Siamese. The more accurate answer is that the TICA Thai is a breed that preserves the look and gene pool of the indigenous pointed cat of Thailand. Many people believe that the "marten-faced" Siamese of the early twentieth century and today's indigenous pointed cat of Thailand are the same cat. The TICA Thai breed is descended from both. Some of the members of the breed were recently imported to the West from Thailand. Other members of the breed come from lineages of Siamese that never entirely lost the early twentieth-century look.
Conclusion: The Thai breed consists of imports from Thailand and the few remaining lineages of authentic, purebred "applehead" Old-Style Siamese in the West.
2. Where did the name come from?
In continental Europe, a breed intended to preserve the indigenous pointed cat of Thailand has existed since 1990 and today is a widely popular breed seen throughout the European show halls. The Europeans called the breed "Thai." The name is appropriate because it is the name the people of Thailand gave to their country when it became a democracy in the early twentieth century. Thai is also the name the Thai people have called themselves for centuries. They called themselves Thai even when their country was a monarchy named Siam.
Conclusion: Thai is a name that tells the origin of the breed.
3. Who pioneered the Thai in TICA?
A group of European breeders initiated the proposal, but they were soon joined by PREOSSIA,1 the "Old-Style Siamese" club with members from North America and several countries in Europe. PREOSSIA helped to refine the Thai standard submitted to TICA to represent the Wichien-maat as seen in Thailand today and the look of the early twentieth-century Siamese. Additionally, the proposal was expanded with a view to welcoming breeders all over the world: American, British, and continental European breeders still registering their old-style cats as Siamese, including breeders importing cats from Thailand. These breeders had for years been exchanging breeding cats with each other to help preserve and maintain authenticity, unfortunately without a primary standard. If the Thai is recognized by TICA, for the first time the breed will have a great potential to unite breeders from many countries
Conclusion: There is a wide group of breeders from many different countries worldwide behind the TICA Thai proposal.
4. But isn't the Tonkinese the breed for the indigenous pointed cat of Thailand?
Although the Tonkinese in the West has often been called a "hybrid" of the Burmese and the Siamese, it also has a legitimate claim to being a naturally evolved breed of Thailand. However, in Thailand, there have long been two breeds for albino series cats. Wichien-maat is the native name of the pointed breed of Thailand. Suphalak, or "Copper," is the ancient name of a Thai breed that probably combined mainly mink and sepia cats. Even today, the breeders in Thailand have mink as well as sepia cats in their Suphalak breeding programs. The breeders do not distinguish between the two patterns because they are breeding for phenotype rather than genotype. They traditionally valued a copper-toned body color that can often be achieved better in mink cats than in sepias. Currently the Suphalak standard used by Bangkok's largest cat club allows either sable-bodied or copper-bodied cats.2
Conclusion: It is reasonable to have a Western breed for the indigenous, strictly pointed cat of Thailand in addition to the Tonkinese.
5. How is the Thai different from the pointed Tonkinese?
Here are just a few of the salient differences. The standard approved for the TICA Thai to date describes a cat of foreign body type, with a distinctly wedge-shaped muzzle, long flat forehead, and laterally rounded upper head. The head is longer than wide, and the ears are set slightly closer to the top of the head than to the sides of the head. The coat is very short to short, flat, close-lying, with very little undercoat, and the body and tail are slightly to moderately long.3 The TICA Tonkinese standard describes a cat of semiforeign body type.4 The head and ears together give the impression of an equilateral triangle, with ears as much on the side of the head as on the top. The head nearly everywhere has gently curved contours, including a slightly convex forehead, gently curving muzzle break, and firmly curved chin. The body is neither compact nor elongated. Though close-lying, the coat is medium short, and the density is luxuriant. The Thai is a cat that is rangier than the Tonkinese. The Thai has a shorter, flatter coat than the Tonkinese. The head is a little longer, and the ears are set a little higher than those of the Tonkinese. The Thai ears do not follow the lines of the wedge. The forehead and muzzle of the Thai have straight lines, whereas the Tonkinese is slightly rounded everywhere.
Conclusion: Thai and Tonkinese are two distinct breeds.
6. How is the Thai different from the Siamese?
The Thai is not an extreme cat. It is foreign in type, whereas the Siamese is oriental in type. The Thai is medium in boning, frame, and head width. It is not fine-boned. The Thai muzzle is wedge-shaped, and the forehead is flat, but the upper head is nicely rounded on the sides and noticeably broader than the upper head of the Siamese. The muzzle is not pointy and fine. Pointiness is penalized, as is a whippy tail. The coat of the Thai is short and close-lying, but it is not extremely so. It is not the painted-on coat of the Siamese.
Conclusion: Thai and Siamese are two distinct breeds that share early ancestors.
7. What is to prevent Thai breeders from showing cats in both the Thai breed and the Siamese breed, depending on the type of the offspring?
The transfer of a Siamese cat to the Thai breed will be a one-way transfer. The type of the Thai is quite distinct from that of the show-style Siamese. Examination of kittens in litters of both breeds shows that even the pet-quality kittens seldom overlap in traits across the breeds. Thai cats virtually always have heavier boning, shorter heads, broader frames, and larger size than Siamese. A typical Thai queen is 8 to 9 pounds. A typical Siamese queen is around 5 pounds. A typical Thai male is 9 to 12 pounds. A typical Siamese male is around 6 pounds. Thai breeders have been able for many years to breed to show-style Siamese in their breeding programs, but all over the world they have developed a distinct type to their cats. This is an indication that Thai breeders are serious about their breed.
Conclusion: Transfers are one-way only, and Thai lines do not produce show-quality Siamese.
8. What is to prevent the Thai from becoming too much like the Tonkinese or the Siamese?
For starters, the Thai breeders have developed a standard in consultation with directors, committee members, and judges in TICA that is distinctly different from that of the Tonkinese and Siamese. They have been quite proactive in doing this, as you will find if you talk to people who have worked closely with them in TICA. The whole purpose of seeking breed recognition in TICA is to unify the Thai standard to reduce the regional variation in type that is the current result of not having an internationally accepted, sufficiently detailed standard. The Thai breeders also want to discourage the use of cats of doubtful pedigree, which has sometimes been common among "applehead" breeders isolated from the cat fancy. They do not want cats that are extreme in either direction: too round and fluffy-coated on the one hand or too elongated and suede-coated on the other. Tonkinese breeders do not allow their cats to become too much like the Siamese or Burmese, despite the fact that in TICA they can outcross to those breeds, and the first-generation offspring can be show in championship classes as Tonkinese. Tonkinese breeders understandably love the moderate look described in the Tonkinese standard, and they want their cats to make them proud at cat shows. That same pride in breed is evident in show-style Siamese breeders, and it exists among the Thai breeders as well.
Conclusion: The breeders and the public have demonstrated their loyalty to the look of their breed and their pride in its independent identity through hard work, preservation of pedigrees, and the importation of cats from Thailand.
9. What can the Thai offer to TICA?
If the Thai is recognized by TICA, for the first time the breed will have a great possibility to unite breeders from many countries under one standard and one breed name. That is important because in Europe, due to the hundreds of different clubs and registries, there have been many different standards and interpretations of standards. Outside of Europe, no official standard endorsed by an established major registry has existed. In the United Kingdom and North America, many breeders of the cats exist, but they have never been able to show their cats in their own breed category in a major association. The Thai breed has the potential to bring many additional breeders and exhibitors to TICA. The breed has persisted for decades now. As many people have noted, it is not going away.
Conclusion: TICA has a unique chance to unite Thai breeders from all over the world under one association: TICA.
1The Prestwick-Beresford Old-Style Siamese Breed Preservation Society (PREOSSIA): http://www.oldstylesiamese.com
2Clutterbuck, Martin R. (2004). Siamese Cats: Legends and Reality. Bangkok: White Lotus.
3The International Cat Association (TICA): TICA Thai Standard. The International Cat Association (TICA): http://www.tica.org
4The International Cat Association (TICA): http://www.tica.org/html/english/shows/standards_glossary.php