Thai cat

History of origin

In the Book of Poems about Cats, you can read the description “a white cat, with black ears, paws and a tail”, very similar to the color characteristic of Thais. Thai cats, like their closest Siamese relatives, lived at Buddhist temples and in royal palaces. They enjoyed the special favor of the emperors, so only in the 1990th century did they appear in Europe. In England, Thai beauties fell in love with aristocrats, and Queen Victoria even settled oriental purrs in her palace. The breed received official recognition in XNUMX, and a year later its standard was approved.

Breed description

And although Thai cats are often confused with their closest cousins ​​- Siamese, representatives of these breeds have significant differences. For example, the Siamese are distinguished by a graceful elongated physique, a very long and thin tail and pointed ears. Thais are much more massive, muscular, but at the same time very slender and graceful. Their limbs are strong, of medium size, and the head is large and rounded (in Siamese, the muzzle is more elongated). The ears are large, set wide apart, but rounded at the tips. Sky blue eyes are also round rather than almond-shaped “oriental”. The tail is of medium length, broad at the base and tapering towards the tip. The coat is thin, short, close to the body and with a slightly pronounced undercoat.

A unique feature that unites Siamese and Thai cats is their characteristic color point: a recognizable color of the muzzle, ears, paws and tail.

The most popular color is seal point (pale fawn background and black markings), as well as blue point (bluish markings on a cream background), chocolate point (light brown markings on an almost white main background), red point, cream point, tortie (tortoiseshell color), tabby (color with a pattern) and others.

Photos

Character

For some reason, a stereotype is widespread in society that the Thai cat is very aggressive, unsociable and vindictive, but in reality this is not so. The fact is that earlier knots and kinks on the animal’s tail were considered the norm, and later it turned out that this is a spinal deformity that causes excruciating pain and discomfort. What kind of caresses and purrs are there. Also, “illegitimate children” of Thais and ordinary street cats can have a bad character, so it’s better to buy kittens from trusted breeders.

Like Siamese, Thai cats are real empaths, able to guess the mood of their owner and adapt to it. If you are sad, your pet will definitely come to cheer you up: it will purr a song, fawn and trustfully fall asleep on your lap. Most importantly, never show aggression towards a cat, otherwise the affectionate purr will turn into a vindictive and vindictive kitty, doing everything in defiance.

Thais love to frolic and play, and they continue to chase the rubber mouse, even turning from a kitten into an adult cat. Sleeping 18-20 hours a day? This is definitely not about Thai cats. Play, wear around the apartment, explore the most hidden corner, play with a trickle of water – there are so many interesting activities in the world, why waste time sleeping! Excessive activity and curiosity, by the way, can sometimes lead to trouble, so do not leave windows and doors wide open, and be sure to put a harness on the cat before taking it out for a walk. Thais get along well with small children, not releasing their claws if they get naughty, and with other pets. Although they will definitely arrange a real hunt for a bird or rodents, because cats of this breed have a very developed hunting instinct.

Care and maintenance

The breed does not require special care. It is enough to comb the cat once every couple of weeks with a brush with hard bristles, and twice a week to run it through the coat with a damp hand, collecting dead hairs. Bathe no more than once a quarter (well, or if it gets very dirty), but do not forget to regularly clean your ears and eyes with a moistened cotton swab, and also brush your teeth with a special brush. If the cat knows how to use a scratching post, then trimming the claws is optional. But choose a tray with high boots, because the Thais are very furiously burying their “deeds” that the filler can scatter across the floor.

The best food option for a Thai cat will be premium and super-premium professional food. If you choose to feed “from the table”, then do not take it literally and do not stuff the animal with sausage or fatty soup. Choose lean meats, such as boiled turkey or rabbit meat, offal, chicken yolk and quail eggs. Supplement the diet with boiled or baked vegetables, occasionally indulge in boiled river fish with a minimum bone content. Remember that bones are generally very harmful to cats, because their fragments can pierce or scratch the animal’s esophagus. But sea fish and seafood, due to the high content of iodine in them, contributes to the darkening of wool.

Education and training

And who said that cats are too free-spirited and proud to be trained? Thais have a lively mind and ingenuity, therefore, they easily learn to use the tray, scratching post and other cat “rules of decency”. Many owners of Thai cats note that they taught them to perform simple commands like “bring”, “lie down”, “give paw”. The main thing is to start training from an early age, when kittens perceive everything as a game, but never force the animal to do something against its will and do not use punishment, otherwise you risk greatly angering the pet. Patience and affection are the keys to successful training.

Health and disease

Thais are distinguished by good health and immunity and rarely suffer from genetic diseases, which are mainly related to appearance: a broken tail or strabismus. To avoid such problems, take a kitten from trusted breeders and make sure that his parents were absolutely healthy. Also, Thai cats can get liver amyloidosis, cardiomyopathy, mammary tumors and gingivitis, but again, most often these are hereditary diseases.

In order for your pet to live happily ever after, visit the veterinarian regularly, do not forget about vaccination and prevention of parasites and helminths. Since the Thais have an excellent appetite and will never refuse an extra portion, do not overfeed the cat so as not to overload its digestive tract.

Popular questions and answers

We answered the most frequently asked questions about Thai cats veterinary cardiologist of the European Veterinary Center EVC Victoria Druzhinina.