What is the history of the lynx point siamese cat?

Answer 1

Lynx point is just a colour of siamese cat.

The Siamese Cat originates from Siam, now the country of Thailand. These were royal cats who were tied to aristocracy of the Thailand Kingdom. The Siamese were nurtured and protected within temple walls and portrayed in art and literature for many centuries. The Original Siamese Cats bear no resemblance to modern Siamese: Ancient Siamese had stocky bodies and well-rounded heads.

Today's Siamese Cat has a slender, lithe body and shape and have more angular heads. You will always know the Siamese by it brilliant sapphire blue eyes, large-pointed ears and long legs. This is a color-point cat that can be found in points seal, blue, chocolate, lilac, red, tortie and lynx. The Siamese Cat Personality can be described as both intelligent and lovable. This is a 'people cat' that craves attention and doesn't like to be alone or ignored. In fact, the Siamese cat can be quite mischievous if bored or lonely. This cat loves to communicate loudly. Its sound is similar to a baby crying for its mother.

Answer 2

I hope you still use this account.

The lynx point Siamese cat is possible due to the agouti gene that creates tabby patterns being separate from the tyrosine activated gene that creates mink, point, and sepia patterns.

It is actually more complicated to achieve this coat color then simply breeding a purebred Siamese cat and domestic short hair together. Here's the history as far as its introduction as a color by breeders. It was in the 1960's that interest in a lynx point pattern begin. Most official registries do not accept the lynx point pattern as an acceptable color. Instead of researching Siamese, research the origin of the Color Point Short Hair, a breed accepted only by the CFA.

Only an irresponsible breeder will breed direct descendents and close cousins together. Breeders pay money to other breeders who sometimes live very far away for studs to copulate with the respective queen. However, if this was the only thing done over a very long period of time. it would eventually result in severe inbreeding as the gene pool would slowly become more and more limited over time.

To combat this, cat associations have guidelines about when it is appropriate to breed into the linage a that is not the same breed. In the case of the Siamese it is usually breeding stock in the form of street cats from Thailand or a small list of purebreds not closely related to the Siamese.

Here is the catch, the resulting offspring will not be able to be registered as purebreds for quite some time. They must be bred back into the linage for several generations. This explains why the lynx point pattern is not an accepted color as well as how the pattern comes into existence:

A cat not carrying the point pattern bred with a purebred Siamese will never ever have any pointed kittens in the first litter. This is because since all other coat patterns are dominate to the recessive pointed gene, all the resulting kittens are carriers and cannot display the pattern nor the blue eyes. At this point the breeder will select the kittens that most resemble a Siamese cat in body shape to continue breeding.

It is this step in the 2nd generation of the out crossing that the lynx point pattern occurs. If a tabby cat from this out crossing carrying the tyrosine gene is bred back with a pure bred Siamese then a kitten displaying the agouti (tabby) gene can also carry both tyrosine genes. A lynx point 'Siamese' occurs. A breeder will generally not continue to bred this coat patterns; They will select the kittens with breed acceptable coat patterns instead to continue crossing into the linage if possible. You can see why a lynx point pattern cat occurring naturally due to strays breeding is unlikely though. A pure bred would have to breed with a stray. One of those kittens would then either have to breed with another purebred or by chance find another stray that also is a tyrosine gene carrier. It is possible, but unlikely.

This is why the lynx point is not accepted. It is a sign of recent breeding to a non pedigree cat. A purebred lynx point can be bred and many other countries do. However, American breeders do not pursue it.

Most American cat fancies also only accept the modern wedge headed extreme type Siamese to in cat shows.

[Note: If you are interested in a lynx point, there are many imitators. A true tyrosine activated pattern is not fully white with a perfect mask, socks, and tail. At around 2 years, noticeable darkening of the white areas will happen. Look up older Siamese and Tonkinese to see this marbling effect. It is subtle. Bicolor cats can imitate a point pattern. Other possibilities, although rare, are tabby patterns with either a sable pattern and mink pattern.]