SIAMESE
From the earliest days of the cat fancy, the Siamese has been recognized - even by those who have no interest in cats - as a bred unlike any other. The first known reference to a cat with the Siamese pattern has been found in the Cat-Book Poems, a centuries-old manuscript preserved in the Thai National Library in Bangkok. This anonymous work contains verses that describe white-haired cats with black tails, feet, and ears - a recognizable portrait of today’s seal point Samese. The Cat-Book Poems was rescued from the ancient Siamese city of Ayudha, which was 417 years old when it was leveled by Burmese invaders in 1767. We can assume, therefore, that the Siamese breed is well over two centuries old, and perhaps a good deal older.
