One of the stories which accounts for the cross-eyed or kink tailed Siamese recounts a time in Siam when all of the men went off to defend their kingdom, leaving only a male and female Siamese to guard the golden goblet, once used by Buddha, in the sacred temple.  The male Siamese, being a tom cat and having already impregnated the female, became restless and went off seeking other pretty females.  The faithful female became so concerned over the vastness of her responsibility to guard the goblet that she not only stared at it with concentrated eyes but also wrapped her long and lovely tail around it in case she should have a cat nap.  As time passed and her kittening time came closer, she increased her vigilance, hoping that some of the monks would return.  At last she could wait no longer- sixty eight days had passed, probably the longest gestation for any feline breed, and her lovely babies were born - all with crossed eyes as hers had become from watching the goblet, and all with kink tails as hers had become from being wrapped about the goblet.  Those kink tails and crossed eyes do show up occasionally to this day, reinforcing this legend and other similar ones.  The kink tails certainly do no harm to the health of the cat.
    Another legend referring to the kinked tail was said to have originated when the Royal princesses were taking a bath.  The cats allowed the princesses to place their valuable bracelets and rings on the end of their tails for safe keeping.  To prevent these from falling off, the temples cats knotted their tails and after a while a permanent kink developed especially for this purpose.
     The eye colour of the Siamese, unknown to the everyday cat is a distinct feature of the Siamese breed.  The classic blue eyes are said to have been the result of a gift from God.  The legend states that the Barbarians threatened to destroy the temple altar in ancient Siam, and the cats defended strongly and repelled the savage invaders.  In gratitude to the prayers of the devout priests, Siamese cats were rewarded by the everlasting gift of their exquisite blue eyes.