A black Siamese?

Well, this is nice. Before I went to sleep last night, Maisie had joined me on the bed.

When I woke up this morning, she was still there. 

Given how nocturnal cats are, it is hard to imagine she stayed in the same spot all night, but perhaps she did. A very nice development. (Stella never slept on the bed with me. Roxie did, but it’s been a while.)

And I’ve discovered something interesting.

Pretty sure I’ve already mentioned that one of the three kittens Maisie had when she was being homed by my friend Jean was the image of its mother.

So much so that there was an automatic assumption (until evidence to the contrary became apparent) that this kitten had to be female. The kitten, named Skye, has been adopted by Heather, another friend. After the big reveal about Lynx Point Siamese, Heather’s done a fair bit of research into this specific breed and the Siamese more generally. 

She shared some of her research with me.

According to one article: “The Siamese breed has a gene that causes the colors that you find them in. It’s called the Himalayan gene, and it causes something called temperature-reactive albinism. This changes the color of the kitten based on their local body temperature.

“The fur in the cooler parts of the kitten’s body will be darker than the fur in the warmer regions. The darker parts are called color points and include lynx points, seal points, chocolate points, apricot points, and cinnamon points.”

Fascinating stuff, but that wasn’t the bit that particularly tickled my fancy.

It seems a “Siamese cat is technically considered to be a black cat. The Himalayan gene just prevents melatonin from circulating through the cat, which is why they develop seal points on their body instead of a solid black coat.”

This is hilarious. Why? Well, let me tell you.

For many years I had a cat named Clancy. A crazy black cat who absolutely doted on me and hated everyone else. 

When Mike (who’d had two Siamese cats in his past) met Clancy he swore my cat had to be at least part Siamese – the body shape, the personality, the yowling. Had to be.

At some point in the late 1990s we had to take Clancy to the vet. I can’t remember why, but it wasn’t anything serious – a booster shot or something. Now, yes, vets were generally greeted by Clancy with yowling and hissing and a determination to inflict injury, but vets are made of stern stuff. Not this guy. After a couple of minutes he informed us that we’d have to go away with a sedative to give Clancy before bringing him back for whatever it was. Wuss.

Mike asked him if this happened often. The wuss said no, not often. Mike asked if it was usually a Siamese. The wuss grimaced and said it was “always a Siamese”. Mike gave me an I Told You So look.

All of which came back to me yesterday when I read that second paragraph from the article. Well, fuck me, was Mike right? Was Clancy a Siamese missing the Himalayan gene? Wish I could tell him.