The Delightful Mutation Behind Siamese Cats

It's easy to assume a cat's coat pattern is based exclusively on genetics, but that isn't entirely the case for Siamese cats. Their unique coloration comes from a combination of genetics, a fragile enzyme, and losing heat from little noses and toe beans.

Hosted by: Hank Green

----------
----------
Huge thanks go to the following Patreon supporters for helping us keep SciShow free for everyone forever:

Kevin Bealer, Jacob, Katie Marie Magnone, D.A.Noe, Charles Southerland, Eric Jensen, Christopher R Boucher, Alex Hackman, Matt Curls, Adam Brainard, Scott Satovsky Jr, Sam Buck, Ron Kakar, Chris Peters, Kevin Carpentier, Patrick D. Ashmore, Piya Shedden, Sam Lutfi, charles george, Greg

----------
Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet?
----------
Sources:

[theonetribble]

So siamese cats look like their own thermal image.

[OMalleyTheMaggot]

I really like referring to a part of a cat as the "central core"

[llLorenzoll]

You forgot another thing with siamese cats: As they age and naturally get less active they also get darker, to the point you can almost tell their age from how dark they are.

[berryberrykixx]

I watched this boy in my icon from the day he was born to the day he passed. He went from white, to red ears and tail, to a little bit of a mask, then in his later years all of his fur was cream to orange with little individual furs of black here and there on his face (his mask), almost like an old man turning grey. He was the best boy ever. It's been 4 years since we said goodbye and I miss him every day. ❤ my Noah.

[Abcflc]

I had a Siamese cat for 17 years and I just found out about this- mind: blown.

[BJ-ehol]

Siamese cats are the absolute best cats you could ever have. I'll never have a different breed again! I've had my adorable siamese mix for 13 years and she still acts like a kitten and talks to us all throughout the day

[ICEBUNNo]

So basically Siamese cats are furry, walking mood rings.

[leelulady]

I used to have a Siamese mix. The fur on her sides looked like roasted marshmallows. She still had the blue eyes, dark points and "voice". I rescued her from literal death. Her owner was dragging her by the neck on a rope to dump her somewhere or kill her. I begged to take her from this stranger. She was one of the best cats, so sweet and loving! She had feline leukemia and lived several years with us until she passed away. This was the 80's.

[kingdmind]

Talking about “tiger” cats, I took care of a mixed, mostly orange cat that had triplets: all completely orange, and 2 of them were female. Pretty rare, NGL. She also once had twins, and the female came almost like an albino; she’s practically pink! Its really cute and I’ve never seen a cat like her. Only in a vid of a kitten that was a little bit darker

[thatpantransguy]

My poor kitty must be cold all the time then, because he’s pretty dark. He’s a Seal Point Siamese. When he was only 1 month old though he looked like a little fluffy storm cloud. It was so cool watching him change colors as he got older. He’s almost 2 years old now. They grow up so fast!

[allieconzola]

What about my tortie point Siamese? She’s mostly got the common Siamese coloring but she has one white paw! Also, as I had this video on, I looked at her and whispered “This is about you.”

[Gaby-wibx]

That explains why when I got my siamese cat spayed, the hair on her sides, which were shaved, started to get significantly darker, she was getting cold! 😂

[DasPuppy]

They're wearing their own heatmap! .. that's so cool!

[theCodyReeder]

The dark spot on Buddy’s back is due to excessive grooming removing hair, lowering the temperature. Cool!

[prawn_]

That's an adorable MEWtation indeed!


Alright, I'll see myself out.

[littlerougue]

A siamese chose us last year showed up out of the blue and she fit right in with the dogs and even has pretty much ran the mice out.

[LeatherNeck]

"So, what color is your cat?"
Infrared

[ColoredMud]

I have a flame point siamese and he's extremely cute. I just thought that was important information.

[inzomniacZz]

Just recently adopted a Siamese kitten! Her name is Mia, she’s not full blood Siamese but still looks like one nonetheless. I’ve always been fascinated by them, so when my uncle’s cat had a litter before he could get her fixed, I had to take one. The momma was a stray tabby he took in, and the father was the neighbors male Siamese. All the Siamese babies were female funnily enough, so we picked our Mia. As she’s grown, she’s developed tabby like markings on her extremities, very reminiscent of her mommas stripes. She’s got a lil M on her forehead too which makes her name perfect👌

[cube_cup]

We had birmans. Essentially long haired super cuddly Siamese cats. In the winter sometimes their coats would get tangled and we'd cut fur loose. It often gew back dark because so much heat escapes from the short fur. First it has to get longer to produce white fur, and then that white fur has to replace the dark. This always took a long time.