The official Website of the first club established exclusively for the Old-Style Siamese, now also known as the TICA Thai. In February, 2007, The International Cat Association (TICA) became the first established, transcontinental cat association to recognize the Old-Style Siamese in its own breed under the name "Thai." After half a century, at last the old-fashioned type of meezer will be seen in the showhalls again.

The Prestwick-Beresford Old-Style Siamese Breed Preservation Society (PREOSSIA) was the first club in the world that was devoted solely to the preservation of the Old-Style Siamese (OSS). In fact, PREOSSIA was the first club to use the term Old-Style Siamese as a formal name for the old type of Siamese.

Many of you will remember the OSS as the Siamese seen everywhere during the mid-twentieth century and before. We can still see the OSS in 1950s/1960s movies such as Disney’s That Darn Cat; The Incredible Journey; and Bell, Book and Candle. Many people call this old type of Siamese the applehead Siamese. Some cats that meet the PREOSSIA definition of an Old-Style Siamese may be labeled elsewhere as Traditional Siamese, Classic Siamese, or Primary Siamese. However, those other names are defined so that they sometimes refer to cats that do not meet the definition of an Old-Style Siamese. The Old-Style Siamese is the same as the Siamese still bred today in Thailand and long known in that country as the Wichien Maat.

When we first created the PREOSSIA website in 1999, the Old-Style Siamese could not be shown at cat shows sponsored by major international cat associations. Beginning in 1990, they could be shown as "Thai" in Europe, using the World Cat Federation standard. The World Cat Federation in Europe is not an international cat association. It is an organization that publishes standards and offers guidelines to hundreds of independent European cat registries that they may decide to adopt if they choose. However, from the start, many breeders complained that the WCF standard for the Thai was vaguely worded such that it could describe many different types of cat. The judging of the Thai in Europe seems to have varied greatly from club to club and even from judge to judge. Nonetheless, Europe did something very important for our breed. The breed name Thai became well established from 1990 to 2006, and the rest of the world's registries began to get used to the idea of letting the old type of meezer back in the showhalls.

Thus, in 2007, the name Thai was adopted by The International Cat Association (TICA) as the international breed name, the cat show name, of the Old-Style Siamese.

You could say that "Thai" is Esperanto for "Old-Style Siamese." :-)

By whatever name it is known, this is a Siamese that is more robust and less extreme than the modern CFA show-style Siamese. Despite the nickname applehead, the cat is not cobby and roundheaded like a Himalayan. Rather it is like most of the cats you can still see in Southeast Asia today: a substantial, moderately oriental cat with a modified wedge head. The kind of Siamese we are talking about can be clearly seen above and in many old photos of Siamese cats from one hundred years ago. It is clearly described in the TICA Thai Breed Standard.

PREOSSIA is the international breed club devoted exclusively to the Old-Style Siamese, now known in the showhalls as the TICA Thai.

A few of the things people like best about PREOSSIA are:

• The Old-Style Siamese Breeders List (directory of breeders that is free to all kitten seekers, whether nonmembers or members).
• The opportunity to network with people, e.g., on the club's members only listserv, who love the Old-Style Siamese as much as you do.
• Fun showing off your Old-Style Siamese to others. To see what we mean, please take a look at the
  PREOSSIA Old-Style Siamese Photo Contest. We have been too busy working on our breed's future to sponsor photo contests for the past few years, but we may one day do so again.
• We help people learn more about the Old-Style Siamese. For example, we can provide titles of the most useful old books and magazine articles about the Siamese, names of organizations that publish inexpensive copies of rare books, names of archives and libraries and individuals who have collections of rare Siamese-related publications, and more. One of the best books for learning about all of the breeds of cat dervied from Southeast Asia, including the Old-Style Siamese, is Martin Clutterbuck's book, which is described in a box on this page. This book may be purchased directly from the publisher in Thailand or may be purchased at cost from PREOSSIA (shipped from the U.S.)  or from the OSSC (shipped from the U.K.). To contact the OSSC, go to www.oldstylesiamese.co.uk

Siamese Cats: Legends and Reality by Martin Clutterbuck (perso.wanadoo.fr/tavistock-international/cats/catblurb.htm). This is the 2004, expanded version of the classic book, The Legend of Siamese. Like the original, the new book contains the first complete English translation of the seven hundred year old Siamese Cat Poems. But the new book also contains the first published, factual, detailed account of the evolution of Siamese cats in their ancient homeland and their place in ancient and modern Thai culture. A plethora of western myths about the cats are debunked, and the reader hears, for the first time, the Thai side of the story. The book also examines the enormous impact of Thai cat breeds on the western cat fancy. A charming, enlightening, unique book by a university-trained expert in Asian cultures.

For more about the Old-Style Siamese and PREOSSIA...

Click these links to find a breeder of Old-Style Siamese kittens:

PREOSSIA's Old-Style Siamese (Thai) Breeders List

 TICA's Thai Breeders List
Note that TICA is currently revising their website design. They will keep adding breeders to the different breed sections as they gradually catch up with the mass of data not yet uploaded.

Code of Ethics  - Extensive ethical guidelines considered the ideal by the founders of PREOSSIA and followed by most of the breeders listed on the club's Breeders List. The breeders who have not yet pledged to comply with the Code of Ethics must at least follow the Minimum Standards of Conduct (see below). 

Minimum Standards of Conduct  - Rules upheld by all members of PREOSSIA, including those not listed on the Breeders List.

Nutshell summary of the differences between the Code of Ethics and the Minimum Standards of Conduct.

Ethics Committee

Ten Signs That You are Dealing with a Bad Breeder

Click the links below to find out if PREOSSIA is the right club for you and about PREOSSIA services and activities:

Why Preserve the Old-Style Siamese?

History of Siamese Body Type

The International Cat Association's Thai Breed Standard
This is the breed standard used internationally when showing Old-Style Siamese at cat shows. It is the ONLY breed standard for the "applehead" or old-fashioned type of Siamese that has been approved by a major cat association. We define a major cat association as a cat registry and cat show sponsoring organization that has reciprocity agreements (official standing) with hundreds of well established cat registries located in many different countries and on more than one continent.

PREOSSIA Goals

PREOSSIA Membership

Old-Style Siamese Photo Contest

For Breeders Only: Should You Join PREOSSIA?

PREOSSIA Breeder Mentoring Program

Click the links below to learn more about Old-Style Siamese and their status in the cat fancy:

Educational Materials & Articles

Siamese Eye Colors from Whitish Blue to Navy Blue (see photos showing the full spectrum of Siamese blue eyes)

Links to Clubs & Organizations Worldwide

Understanding Old-Style Siamese: The Basics
For Children Who Love Old-Style Siamese Cats
For Adults Who are New to the Old-Style Siamese

and

Those Amazing Old-Style Siamese - (the cats in action)

 

 

Sydney the Old-Style Siamese Thinks "Fish" By Jamie, age 7, PREOSSIA Youth Member

(c) Text and photos copyright 1999-2007 A.D. by PREOSSIA. Some photos and materials on or linked to this site are copyrighted by individual PREOSSIA members and their friends and are found here with their permission. You may link to this page, but may not copy or reproduce any portion of it or anything linked to it without written consent from the copyright holders.