Despite its esteemed position as one of the world’s most recognisable and popular purebred cats, the Siamese is arguably the most sick of all the cat breeds, indeed of any other cat.
The title is deliberately provocative but the statement is rooted in fact. Here is a chart that lists the inherited diseases associated with cat breeds. Some cat breeds are not represented on this chart. The reason is that there is, as yet, not enough research on this matter and therefore the information is unavailable. Also some cat breeds have no known inherited diseases.
This is the list of genetic (inherited) diseases associated with the Siamese:
- Asthma
- Cutaneous asthenia – 2 types (a) thin skin, or (b) soft velvety skin that is easily damaged.
- Esophageal hypomotility – spontaneous movement of the intestine. The cat regurgitates, is feverish and has respiratory problems.
- Mast cell tumors
- Hypotrichosis – abnormal hair patterns due to thinning.
- Cutaneous mastocytomas – masses under the skin.
- Glaucoma – chronic open-angled glaucoma – increased eye pressure.
- Cervical neck lesions – bad teeth. Siamese cats need dental checks.
- Hip dysplasia – loose hip joint
- Feline hyperesthesia syndrome
- Feline endocrine alopecia
- Mucopolysaccharidosis
- Gangliosidosis
- Adenocarcinomas of the small intestine
- Malignant mammary tumors
- Numerous congenital heart defects (PDA, aortic stenosis, AV valve Malformation, pyloric stenosis, etc)
- Strabismus – squint – the classic. original cross-eyed cat.
- Primary endocardial fibroelastosis
- Nystagmus – rapid eye movements left to right.
- Congenital heart defects
- Hydrocephalus – kittens have a domed shaped head, abnormal gait, depression, head ache.
- Sphingomyelinosis – retarded growth and ataxia (wobbly gait). Head bobbing. Death before one year of age.
- Chronic Degenerative Keratitis
- Hepatic Amyloidosis
When the Siamese cat was first imported from Siam to England, UK in 1886, Mrs Vyvyan of Dover, England, UK, describes the cat as dominant over other cats in the area where she lived. They were strong cats but they suffered from an acute case of worms. The condition was so bad the cats tried to cough them up. Veterinary surgery was hardly in existence and she gave them chicken heads and feathers for relief. An inauspicious start, health-wise.
The high number of genetic diseases associated with the Siamese has not been explained. For me it is caused by over zealous breeding for appearance while placing health as a secondary consideration.
I am referring to the extreme selective breeding that has created the slender and highly “refined” modern Siamese with the bony, elongated head. All breeders will disagree with me. I am fine with that.
Primary Source: Genetic Diseases in Purebred Cats – Source: Medical, Genetic, & Behavioral Aspects of Purebred Cats; Ross D.Clark, DVM.
I am very disappointed in your over exaggeration of the problems of the siamese, you have chose to show many minor issues that many breeds have themselves, they are not solely meezer issues and are just as prevalent in others.
They have eye problems, breathing and cancer but to say that bsh has only two when you show a meezers minor ones as well is biased.
If you were to include the minor issues of the other breeds it would be Not much of a difference between them. Breeds like bsh have a lot more than two. Maybe two major issues (all though that is false aswell), but then you should only include the three most common and major things for meezers too.
They may look fragile but they can be quite healthy if you screened the parents, which you should with any breed.
Also I am not saying this because I breed them either.
I am not exaggerating. The list of genetically inherited diseases for this breed is the longest and it comes from a solid source. Sorry but you are wrong. Some breeds should not bred (Manx and Scottish Fold) and I have removed these from the assessment.
Completely agree. To my (now) shame I had a number of Siamese cats and all died young, pancreatic problems, stomach problems, severe kidney disease, lymphoma, we knew the vet very well. It was heart breaking; each one was special, and I will never forget them. I understand why people love them, they are loving, gregarious and cuddly, but by buying the kittens I was part of the problem, demand and supply.
Note: these were all British.
Sally, thanks a lot for your comment. If you can see yourself doing it, I’d love it if you could write some more on this topic. Say around 500 words. It would make a useful article. First-hand experience is powerful.
A bit of thread necromancy, but is this mostly relevant to the american modern siamese, or is it modern siamese worldwide? I’m surprised because as far as I know, the Australian and South African lineages are fairly robust, but that’s anecdotal.
Hi, the post is made in reference to the American Modern Siamese. Perhaps I should have made that clear but the modern Siamese only exists in America, really.
It’s sad that some breeders keep on breeding cats even knowing of the many health problems they could face. It’s sad too that these people are making money out of selling especially bred pedigree kittens, when every day cats and kittens equally as beautiful and deserving of homes are being killed in Shelters because there are not enough homes for them.
I totally agree Ruth – it’s the same old argument and I too will keep on saying it until something changes. It only becomes more relevant and important as time passes because the shelter situation gets worse and worse. The fact that people want to have strange looking unhealthy expensive cats is a testament to how little people research or know whats going OR how much they don’t care if they do know.
It’s terrible and it will remain terrible until there is change.
People, in general, don’t “think”. They just follow their instincts. Humankind is not as well developed as we like to believe. We are an animal species and it shows all the time. But we seem to have distorted animal instincts.
I’ve been around the ‘traditional’ apple-head siamese all my life and didn’t think ours were particularly troublesome with diseases. I have, in fact, turned around the kidney disease of my old 16 year old cat with Reiki treatments. His bloodwork confirms it.
Thanks for the comment. There are many healthy Siamese cats, it is just that, in general, they are more liable to become unhealthy. Please note I am referring to the Modern Siamese. Your cat is a traditional style Siamese. There are different breeding practices involved, I believe.
Traditional apple head Siamese are most likely much more healthy. If anything it would be interesting to fit them in as a separate group and see how do in the list. I’d bet that they are very healthy. I bet the modern Siamese are actually more unhealthy than the list shows because the statistic mixes the two to make an average.
Well done with the reiki by the way – it works wonders. It’s quite something to diminish a kidney problem in a cat as old as 16. You must be an excellent caretaker 🙂
Absolutely, the list is an average. The trouble is there are a wide range of types of Siamese cats. The original is now put into the same category as the extreme bred Modern Siamese. That is unfortunate for the old style Siamese.
…yes and it also masks the issues of the modern siamese so it’s not good for them either unless you are simply trying to make money selling them and don’t care about the rest. The healthier traditional cats make the modern ones look healthier statistically I guess. Not good at all. Its about time the breeds got separated for these kinds of purposes. There has to be more awareness of the difference. The variations within one breed are almost akin to the differences between two different breeds – it’s that extreme it would seem. The apple head versus the long face modern is a huge difference. Calling them both siamese and not much more in some cases is not very accurate or good in my opinion.
This is one reason I’ve always like Moggies. Really, with DNA testing these days, breeders should be breeding to increase health. The leading Cat Fancy organizations could require a registration of only cats with healthy DNA, and only those could be shown.
Depends on which Siamese you are referring to. You can contact the Traditional Cat Association for a better understanding of the original traditional apple-head Siamese, and the new mangled version with a host of health problems. diana@traditionalcats.com