Hepatic Amyloidosis in Siamese & Oriental Cats

Hi Anon

I left the comment dated 23/1/2010.

I am so sorry to hear of the passing of your beloved 14 year old.

Although some of the symptoms are the same as my boys suffered, such as vomiting with blood, weight loss all the information I have read state cats with Amyloidosis do not live beyond 5 years. Certainly both my siamese boys passed away before 5yrs.

Interestingly as you mentioned for both my boys the Vets suspected & tested for FIV results were negative.

I currently have 2 siamese boys - one at 3 years (Alfie) and one 18 months (Oliver) and although we were extremely careful and open to the breeders re: Amyloidosis I have recently had Alfie scanned & blood tests taken to see if there are any early signs. Fortunately the results of the bloods & scan of main organs are normal. I have a couple of reasons for having these done:

1) The scan of (chocolate who passed away) showed a very poor liver, completely covered in "cysts" the vet had never seen anything like it - the "cysts" are thought to be pockets of protein that have attached themselves to the liver.

2) One of the main problems in diagnosis was they didn't have a list of normal blood readings for Chocolate. So when carrying out blood tests when he was ill & some of the results were slightly raised it didn't ring alarms bells bu if they had compared them to a set of previous tests for Chocolate the Vet informs me that they would have been able to identify a problem much earlier and this would save having to put the cat through no end of blood tests trying to find a cause. (I hope this makes sense)

3) Taking the above steps would not stop or cure the disease it would give us more time to try & stabilise the disease. New drugs are coming onto the market all the time although I am not aware of any particular research to help with Amyloidosis (other than mentioned here) I would be willing to try anything - to be blunt you have nothing to loose, the prognosis for Amyloidosis is fatal.

Before Alfie was scanned I booked an appointment to see the Vet (a new guy) on my own. I took along all the info I had on Amyloidosis (which is not much) and went through it with him - he had never heard of Amyloidosis!! It is my belief that
because most cats die very quickly, some just literally overnight,
the cause or diagnosis is not confirmed and therefore Amyloidosis remains, conveniently under the Radar. This certainly suits the breeders but also the Veterinary community who therefore do not have to deal with something they know little or nothing about - it is utterly shameful in my opinion that both communities prefer to turn a blind eye to this horrific disease!

So to date both my beautiful boys are perfectly healthy but I worry constantly and will continue to do so until they re both over 5 yrs.

PLEASE please keep reporting on any new cases or further information on Amyloidosis on the website x

Hi..sorry to hear of your cat's ill health and passing away.

You know this disease is not even mentioned in what I consider to be the best and most comprehensive book on cat health: Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook.

I refer to this book for information and assistance. I can't add anything therefore. Sorry about that.

The Siamese cat does have a lot of potential to acquire genetically based illnesses. The Oriental SH is the same cat really. It seems to me that this problem originates in breeding. I suspect that breeders know about it but keep quiet but I could be wrong on that.

Good luck.

I recently had to have my beautiful oriental cat put to sleep having been extremely ill and I wonder if this was what he had? He was 14 which is a bit older than other cats mentioned here? But he did have periods of being very unwell and then getting better, until the times that he did seem better were becoming less and less. He vomitted alot, sometimes with blood in the vomit. He had excessive thirst and urination. He lost loads of weight and eventually was just skin and bone with no muscle mass at all, this made it very difficult for him to walk as he had no strength (poor boy). his blood tests showed raised liver enzymes, and very poor kidney function. But I remember when I first got him 5 years ago, his red blood cell count was very low and the vet suspected FIV, which he didn't have. The disease that we are discussing was never mentioned to me by my vet, and I wonder if it is widely known about? He did also have hyperthyroidism and ws on medication for this, but do you think it is possible that he also had Hepatic Amyloidosis? I also still have his mother who is 16 and has hyperthyroidism, but she seems to be ok on her medication? Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Sorry to hear about Talal, sounds like he was a true fighter! Mind you, I think anyone that knows the breed would agree that they're all little fighters! :D As I sit here now I'm snuggled up to Londo, the full-blooded brother of Orli, whom the original article was written in memoriam. He's coming up for 6 years old now, so that's twice the lifespan his brother had. With luck, Londo has NOT inherited this awful disease!

And like you, I wish there were a blood test, or something that could be used to identify this horrible monster lurking in the shadows.

I pray that both Londo and Talal's sister dodge this, as I don't want to see more of this beautiful breed brought low.

Our usually very healthy CFA registered purebred neutered male seal point Siamese suddenly developed insulin dependent diabetes and hepatic lipiodsis at age 9. He was given an emergency esophageal-gastric feeding tube by which to receive a slurry of Hills A-D q 2h for 4 weeks and started on insulin every 12 hours. What a champion Talal was and he survived for 2 1/2 years with adequate blood glucose control after the amyloidosis became manifest; however, despite best efforts by North FL Vet Speciality DVMs, he died at age 11 from the disease. His full-blooded sister is now 12 1/2 and has no signs of having this disorder. We need an accurate blood test to detect the disorder!

I just wanted to thank you for spreading the word about this horrible disease!

I lost my beloved siamese boy 4 years ago at age 3.5 years to Amyloidosis. We contacted the breeder at the time to inform her of the diagnosis and she completely denied it. We now another an Siamese a Chocolate point (from a different breeder) who is nearly 4, sadly he also has Amyloidosis, we manage to pick it up early as we recognised the signs, however he will die. In the 4 years the amount of information or research into this terrible disease has not increased. I believe here in the UK that the breeders deliberately keep it under wraps, for financial gain, it would ruin their industry! Although everyone tells me that it is a very rare condition, I do not believe them. There is no way we could be this unlucky (lightening does not strike twice). To the Siamese breeding community please please stop the breeding process and face up to this horrific disease. If you really care for these beautiful animals, you will stop their suffering.

Thanks to the person who made the last comment and provided some useful contact details - appreciated.

I know of a lot of genetic diseases but this one is not referred to in a book on genetic diseases in purebred cats as far as I can see.

Medical, Genetic & Behavioral Aspects of Purebred Cats by Ross D Clark DVM.

Could you tell us what breeders do to try and eliminate it?

If, as you say, this nasty killer disease has been known "
for years" that is not a very good indicator that breeders are doing a satisfactory job. It indicates that breeders are working within the problem creating cats that are destined to suffer rather than pausing, reflecting and prioritizing resolving the problem.

It has been known for years that familial kidney amyloidosis is prevalent in Abyssinian cats and Shar Pei dogs

Muriel Finkel
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