Grooming Tips

Grooming Tips: Siamese

Siamese cats require subtle grooming, rather than an intensive effort. Being both extremely shorthaired and of a long elegant style, grooming is used sparingly to enhance the characteristics, rather than to camouflage. Most of the showy characteristics of the Siamese come from breeding and conditioning. Long slender legs and a tubular body, the large ears, chiseled wedge, violet-blue eyes and striking color pattern are the result of breeding, not grooming. A hard sleek physic and a short glossy coat come from proper diet, exercise and inheritance. However there are certain things that breeders can do to emphasis these characteristics.

One of the most popular grooming areas are the ears. Siamese ears should be large and exaggerated. Therefore most exhibitors will trim the inside of the ear to enhance the size. This must be done carefully with a blunt end pair of scissors, or a safety razor. All that is required is to remove the longest hairs, leaving a very short length of hair for the most natural look. Many exhibitors also trim other body areas of the cat, including long hairs on the belly, legs and flanks to emphasize the elegance of the breed.

Bathing is done "as needed" with this breed. Many Siamese show cats never need a bath. Others, particularly males, may need to be bathed once a week. Usually they will be bathed at the beginning of the week so that the coat has a chance to reclaim its natural oils without the heavy feel that an unwashed coat can have. The preferred shampoos are usually of the human variety, anything that will make the coat lay smoothly without fluffing up. Other options to bathing are a dry bath of baby corn starch, given the night before a show. In this case the exhibitor will rub the corn starch into the coat down to the roots, and allow it to work its way through the coat on its own. This will remove most of the loose hair and extra oil in the coat, but still leave it with enough texture that it will lie nicely for the show.

Brushing of the Siamese must be done sparingly, as too much brushing can damaged the color of the coat. One technique for removing loose hair is to dampen your hands and rub them backwards in the cat's coat. This will remove loose hair without damaging the new coat. The most popular grooming item for brushing is a small rubber brush that can be bought at most pet stores. If this is used carefully once a week during the spring and less often at other times of the year, it can also safely remove dead hair without damage to the coat.

Breeders will also use a variety of products to enhance the look of the coat. These range from witch hazel and bay rum to professional grooming coat conditioners. Most exhibitors find that what worked on one cat does not help another, so finding the perfect product for this year's Siamese show cat can be a challenge.

Text: Debbie Stevenson 7/99

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