Breed: Siamese
Siamese: grooming and care
The Siamese is the cat that tells you what it thinks of everything, grooming included. Its coat asks for very little; its voice and its color raise most of the questions, and this guide takes all three in turn.
The coat
A Siamese coat is short, fine and close-lying, so damp hands do most of the work
CFA's breed standard asks for a coat that is short, fine textured and glossy, lying close to the body, and the standard names no undercoat. That is why a Siamese so rarely tangles: there is no soft second layer underneath to twist into a knot. It is not a coat that never sheds, though. CFA says plainly that Siamese do shed and that regular grooming keeps it under control, and VCA rates the breed's shedding at 2 out of 5, low but not zero.
The tool CFA suggests is your own hands. Wet them, stroke the coat from head to tail until your palms are dry, and the dead hair comes away with them; a rubber brush is optional. VCA's profile says a quick comb once a week is ample. A coat this short and fine gives a stiff brush very little to work on, and the light, regular touch is the whole routine.
- Short, fine, glossy and lying close to the body (CFA)
- No undercoat named in the standard, so mats are rare
- It sheds, but lightly: 2 out of 5 in VCA's rating
- Damp hands or a rubber brush, about once a week
The points
Siamese color is set by temperature, so the coat can darken with cold and with age
The pointed pattern is a temperature-sensitive pigment trait. A 2005 study led from the University of California, Davis, tied it to a mutation in the tyrosinase gene, TYR, and described a coloring that puts pigment on the extremities: the ears, the tail, the paws and the mask. In plain terms, pigment forms where the body runs cooler, and the warm trunk stays pale.
Temperature can move the pattern after the fact. In a 1930 experiment reported in the Journal of Heredity, researchers in Moscow kept a pair of Siamese cats cold during their shed, and the creamy body coat darkened toward the color of the points; patches shaved and kept warm under little vests grew back lighter. Age works the same way, slowly. CFA allows a darker body on older cats, and VCA says the coat darkens progressively with age.
So a darker saddle on a ten-year-old Siamese is pigment, not grime, and no bath will lighten it. If your vet clips a patch for a scan or a blood draw, it may grow back a shade darker for a while as the hair comes in over cooler skin. A healthy Siamese coat seldom needs clippers at all, which is one more reason a shave is seldom the answer for this breed.
The voice
A Siamese talks through its groom, so the groomer reads its body rather than its volume
CFA describes the breed as vocal, affectionate, active and sometimes insistent, with a large repertoire of vocalizations and a habit of protesting loudly when it wants attention. VCA rates chattiness 5 out of 5 and mentions a call that can sound like a human baby crying. A Siamese in a carrier on Route 127 may comment the whole way to Eastern Ave, and the commentary can carry on in the cat room.
Noise alone is not a stress signal in this breed. Our cat behavior specialists judge a groom by the quieter signs: ears turning sideways, pupils opening wide in a bright room, a tail tip that starts to tick. A Siamese chatting away with soft eyes and a still tail is usually fine; one that goes silent and low gets a pause. Tell the front desk how much your cat talks at home.
- Steady talk with soft eyes and a still tail: carry on
- Sudden silence, a freeze or flattened ears: a pause
- Tell us at booking how vocal your cat is at home
At home
Once a week with damp hands, plus the claws and a look at the skin, keeps a Siamese in order
The routine is short because the coat is. Five minutes a week covers the coat, and the claws and a quick check of the skin can ride along. VCA describes Siamese as determined climbers that need sturdy cat trees and shelves to keep them off the drapes and blinds, so claws that hook into fabric show up fast in a house that has let them grow.
Through the heating season, from November to March, dry indoor air in a Cape Ann house adds static even to a short coat, and the damp-hand method settles it. If your cat objects to wet hands, a barely damp cloth works the same way. Stop while the cat is still enjoying it; a Siamese will let you know, out loud, when it has had enough.
- 01
Wet your hands under the tap and shake off the drips
- 02
Stroke from the top of the head down the back to the tail, with the coat, until your hands come away dry
- 03
Repeat along each flank and down the chest, where shed hairs gather
- 04
Run a rubber brush over the back once if your hands left hair behind
- 05
Press each toe gently, look at the claws and clip only the clear tips, or book the $20 clip
- 06
Part the coat on the belly and inner thighs and look for thin or bald patches
At the studio
Most Siamese only need a $20 nail clip from the studio, and now and then a Full Bath
CFA says a Siamese should not need bathing unless it is being shown, and VCA calls the breed a fastidious cleaner that rarely needs a bath. So the regular studio visit is nail clipping at $20 on its own. A Full Bath at $95, which is a bath with water, a brush-out and nails, earns its place when the coat turns greasy or dull, when the cat has met something it cannot lick off, or when an older Siamese stops reaching its back.
Minimal Trims at $45, a trim and partial shave with no water, and the Full Service at $120, which adds shaving and trims to a full bath, are coat services a healthy Siamese almost never needs. Your cat is groomed in the cat room at 210 Eastern Ave, a quiet space on the road to Rockport, well away from the dog floors. There is no evaluation visit to book; the groomer assesses coat and temperament when your cat arrives, and a cat that cannot be groomed safely is referred to your vet.
- Nail clipping, $20: the usual Siamese visit
- Full Bath, $95: a greasy coat, a mess, or a senior that has stopped reaching
- Minimal Trims, $45, and Full Service, $120: rarely needed on this coat
- No evaluation; book online, in the app or on 978 491-5922
The vet
Bald patches on a Siamese are a vet question first, because overgrooming has several causes
VCA's breed profile notes that separation stress can lead a Siamese to overgroom, which can cause hair loss called psychogenic alopecia, and that young Siamese are prone to wool sucking. Cornell's Feline Health Center sets the order of thinking: cats lick where something itches or hurts, so parasites, allergies and pain come before stress, and a veterinarian should be the one to sort them out.
On a pale Siamese body a thin patch on the belly or the inside of a thigh is easy to spot. Cornell adds that compulsive licking at the base of the tail can point to fleas, and on Cape Ann fleas and ticks are active from April to November. Our groomers will show you any thin patch or scab they find, and stop there. The diagnosis is your vet's; the City of Gloucester lists local veterinary offices for anything that cannot wait.
- Thin or bald patches on the belly, flanks or thighs
- Licking or chewing at the base of the tail
- Sucking or eating wool and fabric
- Hair loss that starts when the cat is left alone more
At Dogtown
Cat grooming for a short, fine coat
Four cat services in a quiet room at 210 Eastern Ave, from a $20 nail clip to the $120 Full Service.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Why is my Siamese getting darker?
Does a Siamese ever need a professional bath?
My Siamese yowls in the carrier. Will it be too stressed to groom?
Will clipped fur on my Siamese grow back a different color?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
- CFA: Siamese
- VCA: Siamese breed profile
- Lyons and others, Animal Genetics 2005: tyrosinase mutations and the Siamese pattern
- Iljin and Iljin, Journal of Heredity 1930: temperature effects on the color of the Siamese cat
- Cornell Feline Health Center: cats that lick too much
- City of Gloucester: local veterinary offices
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
A short coat and a lot to say.
Book a $20 nail clip, or a Full Bath at $95 when the coat needs one, online or in the Dogtown app. No evaluation visit, and a quiet room away from the dogs.
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