PREOSSIA for Old-Style Siamese kittens, Thai kittens

PREOSSIA is the international breed club for the Old-Style Siamese.

PREOSSIA was the first club in the world to coin the term Old-Style Siamese as a formal name for the old type of Siamese that originated in Thailand.
(NOTE: The Old-style Siamese Club in the United Kingdom adopted the name Old-Style Siamese in 2000, a year after PREOSSIA, because their members had a great deal in common with ours and wanted to show solidarity with PREOSSIA. The Cat Fanciers' Federation recognized their version of the Old-Style Siamese in 2008 after two members of PREOSSIA brought the idea to them.)

So, yes, PREOSSIA originated the concept of the Old-Style Siamese and named it the Old-Style Siamese. We were the first.

From 1999 to 2013, we were the champions of the Old-Style Siamese on the international stage. Our over-riding goal was to ensure the survival of our breed, which by the 1990s was facing either extinction by numbers and extinction by adulteration. (The latter is what we call the mixing of non-Siamese cats with true Old-Style Siamese, coupled with selective breeding for a look that is not correct or authentic.)

We sought breed recognition from the world's third largest cat association, TICA, because, of the top three, it is the most truly international and is currently growing. We also chose TICA because of its genetics based registry and understanding of natural breeds. Through TICA, our European and American members could support the breed together, and we could use the remaining Western Old-Style Siamese as well as cats imported from Thailand to create a healthy gene pool and a promising future.

In 2010, TICA granted championship status to the Thai breed. In TICA, our Old-Style Siamese are called Thais. This is because the name Thai was adopted by many European registries circa 1990 for the old type of Siamese. (See our sections on the history of our breed.) However, the TICA breed standard clearly states that the Thai is the same as the Old-Style Siamese, and many of our cats transferred directly from the Siamese breed to the Thai breed in TICA when the Thai became a registration option. The remainder were direct imports from Thailand, which had to qualify as Thais in TICA via their import documents.

Many people refer to the Thai as the Thai Siamese. That makes perfect sense. The Old-Style Siamese is the Siamese that came from Thailand, which is the Thai Siamese.

By 2013, the Thai breed in TICA had passed through probationary championship to earn permanent championship status. At this time, it seemed as though all efforts on behalf of the breed could and should be done through TICA channels. All of our active members were also members of TICA and of the Thai Breed Section in TICA. The members had elected a breed committee in TICA.

As time has passed, however, it is apparent that there is a need, more than ever, for an Old-Style Siamese breed club independent of all the cat associations. This is a lesson that has been learned in other breeds. The cat registries and the cat show system are vital for the survival of breeds. But when it comes to breed education on a larger scale, only an independent breed club can maintain a membership that works together on behalf of the breed. More than ever, we need to provide clear and reliable information about our breed if it is to survive in this rapidly changing world.

That's the purpose of this website. Here we tell the history of the old type of Siamese. We explain how the breed is defined in TICA, what the breeding rules are (and why), and we soon will display many photos of authentic Thais -- genuine Old-Style Siamese. The photos will illustrate the correct features of the breed.

Last but not least, we will provide links to locations where breeders of authentic Thais may be found. But, given the foibles of human nature, we also will provide a guide to evaluating breeders. Breeding authentic cats of the breed in an ethical manner, preserving the health of the cats, requires a great deal of knowledge and experience. Some breeders take the time to work with others in the community and to learn before they leap. Others plunge right in and may make mistakes. We hope the guidance on this website will help the public determine which breeders they want to work with. And we hope that fostering a better understanding of our breed will ensure its preservation for posterity.

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	"There is no cat more beautiful than a healthy cat."