LEGENDS OF THE
SIAMESE CAT
I don't know if any of these Legends are
true but they are very nice little stories to read. There must be many more. If you let me
know I will try to put them on my web site.
Long ago it was thought that the Siamese cat
was the guardian of the soul. When someone of great importance died a cat was chosen to
guard that persons soul and it was sent to a temple to spend the rest of its days in great
luxury. They had gold plates to eat from, comfy cushions to sit on and servants to wait on
them. All the cat had to do was to use its special powers to guard the dead persons soul.
THE KINKED TAIL
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A Siamese
Princess used her cats tail as a ring stand. When she wanted to go bathing she would put
her rings on the cats tail, then the cat would curl the tip of its tail over the rings to
prevent them from falling off and being lost. This made the tail have a kink. Another story is that a Princess had enemies
who were about to capture her and she had to flee her palace. She left behind, in the care
of her cat, not only her rings but all her other jewels. the dutiful cat sat with her tail
curled round the jewels to guard them. When the Princess returned to her Palace the cat
was still there with its tail around the jewels and after sitting there so long with its
tail curled round the jewels the cat had a permanent kink.
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| Once when all the men of Siam
had to leave their homes and temples to fight for their kingdom they left two cats, one
male and one female, in the sacred temple to guard the Buddha's Golden Goblet. The female
wrapped her tail round the stem of the goblet to prevent it from being stolen when she was
asleep. When she was awake she never took her eyes off the goblet, and guess what? Yes she
developed a squint. When the men returned to their temple the cat not only had a squint
and a kinked tail - so had all her kittens. |
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So if your cat or kitten
has a kinked tail or a squint it could be a "Royal" cat!
LEGEND OF THE BLUE EYES
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One day a temple was raided by
enemies and the priests had to run away. The temple cats stayed behind to guard the alter.
The enemies dared not touch the alter as they were afraid of the sharp claws and teeth of
the cats. When the priests came back they told their Gods who said that the faithful cats
should be rewarded. The Gods took the blue from the skies so that the cats eyes would be
permanently the colour of deep azure blue. |
THE HISTORY
The Siamese originated in the East as there
are some very ancient manuscripts that are in the National Library in Bangkok, Thailand (
formerly Siam). The cats pictured in these manuscripts are very much the same as the old
style Siamese. These cats were revered and were Royal cats and only members of Royalty and
their family were allowed to keep the. I believe that in 1884 the King of Siam gave two of
these cats to a Mr Owen Gould who brought them to England and he gave them to his sister
Mrs Valley. She was captivated by these cats, and as a consequence I believe she became a
founder member of the Siamese Cat Club in 1901.
The first cat show took place in London in
1871.
The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy was
formed in 1910.
I do hope the visit to the FOXYPAWS web site
has been both informative and entertaining.
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