Goals

PREOSSIA Old-Style Siamese Breeders List	PREOSSIA's History	Old-Style Siamese Breed History	Our Breed Standard	Photos Illustrating Old-Style Siamese (TICA Thai)	How & Why to Show a TICA Thai	PREOSSIA for You Breeders?
PREOSSIA Index Page	PREOSSIA Goals	PREOSSIA Breeder Mentoring	PREOSSIA Code of Ethics	Educational Articles	Those Amazing Old-Style Siamese	Links

Goals

Mission: To preserve for posterity the Old-Style Siamese¹ and to improve the health of this breed.

Specific Goals:

© To recruit, encourage, and mentor new or experienced not-for-profit breeders willing and able to responsibly breed the Old-Style Siamese.

We need enough breeders to maintain a healthy gene pool for the breed, but we do not want kittens produced in excessive numbers. Therefore, we discourage large catteries in favor of many tiny catteries, each with its own small happy family of cats and a unique bloodline. Many small catteries make for happier cats, less overworked breeders, and a large healthy gene pool for the breed. Good breeders develop the contacts and skills to work with other breeders; one breeder cannot and should not try to carry an entire breed.

© To search for old, rare, and healthy lineages of Siamese and place them in breeding programs designed to both preserve healthy genetic diversity and perpetuate the critical historic traits of the breed.

The emphasis is on finding rare lineages that can restore healthy genetic diversity to the historic breed.

© To develop and maintain a breed standard and guidelines for breeding the Old-Style Siamese that will preserve the health, personality, and moderate appearance of these cats, including the development of guidelines for genetic testing and screening.

© To encourage the breeding of registered, pedigreed Old-Style Siamese only.

This does not mean that we disapprove of introducing unregistered cats into breeding programs under certain circumstances, but we do expect that breeders should be registering their cats and pedigrees with some multi-member cat association. This is essential if the cats and their descendants are to be bred wisely and responsibly.

© To promote greater public awareness and appreciation of the Old-Style Siamese.

This includes attaining recognition of the Old-Style Siamese breed, or Old-Style Siamese type within the Siamese breed, from at least one major cat association.

© To encourage ongoing genetic and historic research by breeders and owners of Old-Style Siamese so that we can learn how to do a better job identifying and preserving healthy Siamese cats and lineages.

© To encourage the scientifically based preservation of healthy, sustainable gene pools among the historic breeds of domestic cat.

This means developing breeding strategies that will allow adequate genetic diversity and hybrid vigor to exist indefinitely within each breed.

© To encourage breeders to devise ways to scientifically salvage and preserve healthy metabolic and personality genes, with emphasis on the Old-Style Siamese.

© To encourage unselfish breeding practices, cooperation and collaboration between Old-Style Siamese breeders and other cat lovers.

A good, healthy breed can only be developed and preserved via the hard work and skills of many different people working together.

© To encourage Old-Style Siamese breeders to place health and personality above the cosmetic appearance of their cats.

© To encourage Old-Style Siamese breeders and owners to help each other learn about cats and share ideas in a supportive environment.

© To encourage all of us to have the patience to wait, learn, and listen before leaping to make mistakes for which the cats will suffer.

© To encourage breeders and owners of Old-Style Siamese to place the welfare of the cats above winning awards and other human folly.

What we do for the cats is forever, but no one will remember the cattery names or the show ribbons in a thousand years.

© To encourage breeders of Old-Style Siamese to take personal responsibility for the welfare of every cat they ever own and every kitten they ever produce.

© To encourage breeders to perform only as many breedings as necessary to preserve a healthy gene pool for the breed, to be aware of the tragedy of the homeless dogs and cats, to avoid contributing to the numbers of homeless unwanted animals, and to find ways to help the existing homeless animals.

PREOSSIA encourages breeders to breed only a few litters per year and, when it seems appropriate, refer those looking to adopt a kitten or cat to local shelters and breed rescue groups. For example, breeders may be contacted by individuals looking to adopt an inexpensive adult Siamese or older kitten. Many of them are not aware that they may be able to find the cat or kitten of their dreams in a shelter. Some of them will want a purebred Siamese and only a purebred Siamese, but others will be delighted, say, to learn about small local shelters where the cats receive lots of love and good care.

© To encourage cat lovers who are not breeders to play an active role in helping to preserve and promote the Old-Style Siamese, as well as to influence breeders to keep the cats healthy and avoid breeding fads.

The emphasis is on preservation of a healthy Siamese breed.

© Above all, to encourage human members of PREOSSIA to be kind to, and respectful of, each other - and to do the same for their feline companions now and in future generations.

Philosophy

PREOSSIA is about pedigreed Old-Style Siamese because we are planning for the time when most cats are beloved, neutered pets, a time when virtually the only cats born will be to well-loved breeding cats in responsible not-for-profit breeding programs. Our highest priority is salvaging the Old-Style Siamese and its lineages because they are in great danger of being lost forever and we believe the future health and genetic diversity of all domestic cats will to some degree depend upon them.

PREOSSIA is about not-for-profit breeders and cat lovers who care about the survival of the Old-Style Siamese. It’s not for breeders and owners who view cats as a vehicle for making money, achieving status, or earning fame.

PREOSSIA is about helping each other learn to help the Old-Style Siamese. PREOSSIA does not believe in dictating to breeders and owners what they specifically can or can’t believe as members of the society. We all have a lot to learn about the cats. Members are only expected to share in the general goals and philosophy recorded here. Everything else is open to discussion.

PREOSSIA members feel that the cat show system and the policies of most cat associations pressure and condition cat breeders to place the cosmetic appearance of the cats they breed above their health and well-being. Breeders invest much time and effort learning to produce cosmetic traits and planning strategies for out-competing fellow breeders at shows. They are made to feel inferior if their cats are "merely" healthy instead of cosmetically flashy or cosmetically ideal.

The cat show system was developed in the 19^th century, when photographs and other visual media were in short supply, to motivate breeders and help them and the general public to learn firsthand what cats in the various breeds should look like. The problem back then was that there was too much diversity in the appearance of cats from the same breed. For example, it was necessary to convince breeders that Siamese cats should always have a pointed color pattern and blue eyes. The show system no longer meets the critical needs of today’s 21^st century cats. The critical need now is finding ways to regain and maintain adequate genetic diversity, hybrid vigor, in the genes that determine health.

PREOSSIA is not against cat shows, nor is it for cat shows. There are lots of cat associations and clubs that sponsor cat shows and focus on the way cats look. What we try to do is provide breeders and other cat lovers with the knowledge, the tools, and the motivation to focus on the health and well-being of pedigreed cats, especially the Old-Style Siamese. If our members elect to show cats in shows sponsored by PREOSSIA or other organizations, it will be in the interest of promoting the breed and helping breeders learn, but the primary goal of our members and breeders will always be health and personality, not appearance.

PREOSSIA does not compete with the cat registering associations. They have their role in registering cats, pedigrees, and writing breed standards for cat show purposes. Our mission is primarily educational, supportive, and promotional. We intend above all to preserve the health and personality of the Old-Style Siamese. The PREOSSIA breed standard for the Old-Style Siamese is intended to promote healthy genetic diversity while still retaining the unique character of the breed. We want to encourage breeding decisions that are based less on cosmetic appearance and more on pedigrees, genetic testing, veterinary examinations for health, observed physical function, and observed personality traits. We want to encourage breeding for health.

Definitions

¹Old-Style Siamese (also known as applehead, Classic Siamese, Traditional Siamese, Thai Cat, or Primary Siamese) - a Siamese of moderate Oriental body type and having a pedigree that contains Siamese ancestors, at least dating back to 1980, that are substantially different than those found in the pedigrees of modern CFA show-style Siamese. The Old-Style Siamese is therefore likely to possess some desirable (e.g., health-related) traits of early historic members of the breed that are no longer present in current CFA show-style Siamese. See also the PREOSSIA Old-Style Siamese Breed Standard.

²pedigreed - having a pedigree that is documented by a recognized cat association registry. Pedigreed Siamese are bred by a group of breeders working cooperatively together toward one or more common breeding goals. PREOSSIA reserves the right to determine the criteria for evaluating the adequacy of documentation of pedigrees and breeding goals by individuals or by cat association registries.

VERSION# G080200

For questions about PREOSSIA, email the Webmaster.

(c) Text and photos copyright 1999-2009 A.D. by PREOSSIA. Some photos and materials on or linked to this site are copyrighted by individual PREOSSIA members and their friends and are found here with their permission. You may link to this page, but may not copy or reproduce any portion of it or anything linked to it without written consent from the copyright holders.