The photographs illustrating this post are by a Flickr photographer who lives with a fantastic looking cat who just happens to be a Flame Point Siamese. I won’t get as lucky again. The photographs are reproduced under a creative commons license.
The license permits no derivatives, no commercial work and it requires an attribution. I have complied with this. Many thanks to the photographer for granting the license.
She is talented, generous, and taken….I don’t know her name but this great cat is called Whitaker. OK down to business. There are a range of Siamese cat types as we know. Siamese cat history, charting the journey from Traditional through Classic (to me, this is the Thai cat) to Modern is interesting. Whitaker has a totally natural and gorgeous traditional appearance. You won’t get a more handsome cat. What makes him the way he is?
There is a lot of genetic work going on in a Flame point Siamese Cat. First there is the pointing. All Siamese cats have pointing. The classic is seal point, a dark brown to black pointing. The first Siamese cats to be imported into the West (the UK) were seal points. Two copies of the pointing gene (see below) makes a black cat a seal pointed cat.
The cat breeders of the cat fancy created the flame point (starting about 1948). Himalayan cats are pointed Persians, for example. You can see a flame pointed (red point) Doll Face Himalayan called Ayla by clicking on the link. Albinism is a caused by a lack of melanin pigmentation.
Pointing is partial albinism caused by the pointing gene, which affects the production of a chemical in the body called tyrosinase that in turn controls the production of melanin pigmentation. When both alleles (a pair of genes) of the pointing gene (cs) are present, pointing shows. It affects eye pigmentation too, hence Siamese cats are blue eyed.
We know how we get pointing but how does it turn orange/red in color? As I understand it (and this is a complex area) a Flame Point Siamese Cat is a red cat (or orange) carrying 2 copies (a pair) of the recessive pointing gene mentioned above. This turns the cat pure white at birth and the gene creating the red color comes through at the cooler extremities after birth as the pointing gene is heat sensitive (the extremities of a cat are cooler than the rest of the exterior of the body).
Whitaker has a ringed tail. This I believe is due to the presence of the agouti gene (tabby gene – see cat coats tabby). You can see the same pattern on the legs in the Lynx Point Siamese. His legs have faint tabby markings too. Finally, an archaic name for this cat is Flame Concha.
Here is another by Sunny Day Photography:
Sources:
- Wikipedia
- Showcatsonline
- ABOUT CAT
Ihave always had cats. My father died in front of me from a massive heart attack when I wasn’t yrs old. When I returned to school a darling calico was in the playground after school. She followed me home and my mom said I could keep her. She lived for about 14 yrs and was a sweetheart. Last yr 2017 was a very hard yr for me. My partner died from Cancer and I had to put my 20 yr old Pearl down a few months later. She was such a friend to me. 2 days later an adorable white cat with peach colored ears and blue eyes appeared in my yard. He was very scared but kept returning to be fed and petted. I feel he was sent to me. He made me smile again and laugh and I named him Magic. .He is super smart, fetches, and cuddles for awhile under the covers. I worry about him all the time when he is outsude. I cannot take another loss right now and hope he will turn into an inside cat. I make him stay in at night because I live in the mountains. I’m sure he is a mix because of his medium long hair and fluffy tail. He is striking to put it mildly. I will try to post a picture. I love cats but feel siamese are for me…
Thanks Kathryn for your nice story. It is a story where cats come to you. This is how a friend of mine and cat expert, Sarah Hartwell (messybeast.com website) adopts her cats. I might publish your comment as a article. You may not have the funding to do it but you might consider a large cat confinement fence covering a large part or all of the backyard.
Kathryn, if you can upload a photo of Magic it would be nice.
I would like to introduce to you my 5 months old baby pyeol she is the cutest kitty ever and the most precious gift I’ve ever had, but i am not sure if she is also a flame point siamese so i would like to check~~
Hi Lina, she is a very attractive flame point Siamese with a modern (but not extreme) appearance. Superb looking cat. Nice photograph too by the way.
oh! it’s nice to hear that thank you very much, here is another picture to show my appreciation
A superb looking cat. Really tremendous.
This is Todd!! Such a playful male kitten. We got him at 8 weeks old and we did well, because he is such a fun and loving kitten. Puppy like, that my husband loves about him. Our 5 year old daughter considers Todd, a baby brother!! (Family of three girls)
Not sure if this blog is still active. Thought I’d give it a shot and send a pic of our Bella. She is the funniest, most entertaining cat I’ve ever had. My question is; are flame points, as a rule, not lap cats? She will not sit on us unless we have something solid in our lap, such as a closed laptop. Most of her traits are siamese-like, and at times dog-like. Love her to pieces.
Hi Debbie, the blog is definitely active and more so now that you have contributed! Many thanks. Bella is gorgeous. There is nothing to suggest that Flame Point Siamese are not lap cats. She has her own likes and dislikes. Her own character. It is this which makes her prefer something solid on your lap. A cute trait.
Here’s my big ok’ Kasper.
Wow, he is very impressive. Excellent photo too. Thanks Gail.
Hi my flame point of 16 years passed in November. He was so special with his horizontal nystagmus. He is dearly missed. He was the last of a found litter that I could not find a home for, and thank heavens for that!!! Little did I know he would become so dear to me. My other flame point misses him too, he is only 10 years old. He was waving to me at a shelter while I was supposed to be looking for a dog to bring home…. ended up with a lovely older German Shepard and of course the kitty also.
Here is a photo
Beautiful cats, nice photo. Thanks for showing us.
Thank you very much for telling us about your flame point Siamese. Thank you to for uploading a photograph.
Thank you for your nice response and for providing this neat web space for all of us to read about and see lovely kitties. ( I found this website while missing my older kitty and searching for pictures or videos of flame points with nystagmus). I learned, by reading your writing, many things about flame point kitties, thank you