Regarding the Siamese* body and head type: It should be noted that the body type of this breed has been radically altered since it was first introduced to the West. The current typical "show" breed looks utterly nothing like the original Siamese purebreds that came to the West in the 1800s. The original breed standard is still preserved by some breeders. Information on these conformations can be found at the following: http://www.meezer.com/siambreed1.html http://www.oldstylesiamese.com/ http://members.lycos.co.uk/TSCA/3a.html http://www.travelswithtigger.com/fanciers/trad-siamese-faq.html Some "professional" breeders who specialize in one variant or the other take hatred of the variant they don't raise to fetishistic heights. Most Meezer lovers understand that the personality matters every bit as much as a mere "breed standard". *To be more precise, the term "Wichien Maas" better pins down the specific breed. there are no less than six distinct pure breeds that could be legitimately considered "Siamese", as in "developed in an native to old Siam". The others are the "Khao Manee" (a pure white breed), the "Ninlarat" (a pure black breed), the "Kao Taem" (a white breed with black spots), the "Thon Daeng" (called "Burmese" in the West), and the "Sisawat" (called "Korat" in the West). Claims regarding the use of the Wichien Maas as guard animals or breeding them to hold jewelry upon their tales are the stuff of Snopes. Nothing other than folklore holds these claims. Unfortunately, encyclopedia authors are very often not in the least bit careful when checking their "facts".