Siamese Cat Coloring Page

This Siamese cat coloring page shows a slim cat sitting tall on a stone terrace rail, with its long tail curving along the stone. The head is a narrow wedge on a long neck, the ears are huge, and a clear line across the forehead marks the top of the dark mask. Kids from about 6 to 12 will do well with it.

Look past the cat and you will find a little story. A pavilion with tiered roofs stands on the left. A pond with lotus flowers and floating pads fills the bottom of the page. A branch of white blossoms reaches in from the top corner, and the sun sits high on the right.

How to color the points

The word "points" means the parts of the cat that come out darker: the face, the ears, the legs and the tail. A pale body with dark points is what makes a Siamese look like a Siamese, so this one step matters more than any other.

1. Start with the body. Use cream or a very light tan and keep the pressure gentle.
2. Color the long shadow down the back one shade darker than the body.
3. Now add the points. A dark brown crayon, pressed firmly, gives the classic look known as seal point.
4. Do the far front leg a little darker than the near one. It pushes it back in the picture.
5. Finish with the eyes. They should be the only blue on the cat, so use your brightest one.

The little fur marks on the forehead and the tail are there to help. Follow their direction with your strokes and the color will look soft instead of flat.

Try a gray blue for the points if brown feels too heavy. Siamese breeders call that blue point, and it looks lovely next to a pale pink lotus.

Siamese cat coloring page background ideas

The pavilion can carry a lot of color. Try orange and green for the roof tiers, red for the pillars, and yellow for the arches behind them. Make the rail a soft gray so the cat stands out against it.

For the pond, a teal crayon laid on its side gives a nice wash of water. Leave the pads green and the lotus petals pink or purple. A pale blue sky with one or two white clouds keeps the top of the page calm, which gives those big ears room to stand out.

What makes a Siamese

The breed comes from cats native to Thailand, the country once called Siam. Modern show Siamese have a long, slim body, a wedge-shaped head and very large ears set wide apart. Their eyes are almond shaped and light blue.

Now for the best part. Siamese kittens are cream to white when they are born. The dark points show up over the first few months, and heat is the reason. An enzyme that makes the dark color stops working at normal body temperature, so color only forms on the cooler parts of the body. That means the ears, the feet, the tail and the face. The Siamese cat article on Wikipedia explains it well, with photos.

Kids tend to love this. It makes a tricky word like "enzyme" feel like a magic trick.

Try this in class

Give each student a copy, and before anyone starts, ask them to circle every part of the cat they think is cold. Then explain the fact above and let them check their answers. They will have just marked the points by themselves.

Geography fits too. Find Thailand on a map, then talk about why people there might build a roof with so many layers. Older kids could write a short diary from the cat's point of view as it sits on the rail. What is it waiting for, and what does it see in the water?

Time and tools

Plan on thirty to forty minutes. The big shapes are simple, so a younger child can finish the cat alone and leave the roof tiles for a grown-up. Colored pencils work best for the pale body, because a gentle layer stays light and clean.

Fond of long tails and big ears? Try the cat on a windowsill coloring page next. For more of the water flowers from this picture, print the lotus coloring page.

Questions