is my cat a siamese mix?

Question
My sister-in-law and I took in these two kittens and we were told they were American short hair and Siamese mixes. How do we tell?

Answer
Very difficult to tell without seeing the parents.  Many Siamese mixes will have a loud voice and be very talkative.  However, the American Shorthair is quite quiet, so this may subdue the Siamese trait to be vocal.  Siamese also are long, sleek and muscular with an angular face.  But then the American Shorthair is round and cobby, so there you have another pair of traits that may wash each other out.  The one trait you may see that would pretty well confirm Siamese ancestry is the Siamese color pattern, called "pointed".  Pointed cats have dark ears, face, legs and tail, while the rest of their body is lighter in color.  Unfortunately, chances Siamese offspring will be pointed when mixed with another breed are not high.  The long and short of it, there's no real way to tell.