Siamese Cat: nature, care and diseases of this breed of cats
Siamese cat
Siamese cat is an ancient breed, favored by cat owners for many years, is often called simply I am Siam.
The cat originally found in Siam (now Thailand).
Only royal families could be in its possession.
- Siamese cat in nature
- What a Siamese cat looks like?
- Siamese cat care
- How much does a Siamese cat live?
- What do Siamese cats suffer from?
- Gene of Himalayan meanings
- Eye diseases: strabismus
- Eye diseases: nystagmus
- Eye diseases: corneal necrosis, retinal atrophy, glaucoma
- Mucopolysaccharidosis type VI
- Resorptive, odontoclastic erosions
- Adenocarcinoma of the small intestine
- Lymphoma in Siamese
- Cleft palate in a Siamese cat
- Umbilical hernia
- Juvenile gingivitis
- Exfoliation of the femoral head
- Excessive production of cerebrospinal fluid
- Is it worth choosing a Siamese cat??
Siamese cat in nature
Siamese cat in nature This naturally exuberant cat loves to play.
Affectionate, speaks a lot and loudly, and his wailing voice can sometimes feel like a baby crying.
Highly intelligent, he needs a lot of attention and creates a very strong bond with a favorite person at home.
A great jumper who needs a lot of fun.
The Siamese cat enjoys the company of other animals, as well as walks on a leash.
What a Siamese cat looks like?
Siamese cat breed description This cat, often compared to a dog, because of its characteristics, gains the following weight:
- females 2.5-3.5 kg,
- males 3.5-5.5 kg.
The clearly wedge-shaped, elongated head is triangular in shape.
The ears are huge and set so that the outer edges continue the outline of the face.
A body with long lines, lithe, small-boned with a slim neck.
The limbs are long and the feet are small and oval in shape.
The tail is long, thin, tapering and devoid of lumps.
The eyes are always intensely sapphire blue, set close together, almond-shaped and of medium size.
The coat of Siamese cats is uniform, composed of smooth, short and delicate hair.
The acceptable colors are:
- Seal point - fawn base color and brown-black markings.
- Blue point - markings in a deep, silvery, gray-blue color with a light gray body.
- Lilac point - an almost white base color with gray-pink markings, called frost.
- Chocolate point - ivory-colored body and intense chocolate markings.
- Acceptable by some registries in Europe: colorpoint shorthair.
What it looks like Siamese cat You can see (Blue Point) in the video below
Cuddling With A Blue Point Siamese Cat
Watch this video on YouTube
Siamese cat care
Siamese cats they do not require extensive and intensive care.
It is often enough to periodically wipe them with a chamois or hand.
How much does a Siamese cat live?
Siamese cat lives approx 15 - 20 years.
What do Siamese cats suffer from?
Gene of Himalayan meanings
It is a term for a genetic trait that produces an effect incomplete albinism, because the loss of tyrosinase function occurs locally.
Where the skin is cooler, pigment is produced normally, and in warmer areas, no melanin is produced because the enzyme does not function at higher temperatures.
In addition, other genes also influence the hair coat.
Kittens are born white.
They begin to colorize even before weaning.
Shaving the hair in the darkest area will cause it to grow back in the form of a patch, and only then will it take on the color of the surrounding hair.
This is mainly important for show individuals.
Older Siamese people darken with age.
Eye diseases: strabismus
Siamese cats often face eye problems.
Convergent strabismus, it does not adversely affect the ability to see because cats compensate for impaired stereoscopic vision, even though the visual impulse has an abnormal course.
Many cat fans are careful. that cats with squint are the sweetest.
Affected kittens are initially born with a divergent strabismus, which is the norm in newborns, but as they develop, the eyeballs remain in a parallel position and then follow centripetally.
Eye diseases: nystagmus
It is less common nystagmus.
It allows cats to overcome a serious defect in the conductivity of visual stimuli.
Nystagmus can be horizontal, vertical or rotational.
It may improve with age and fade away at times when the cat's gaze focuses on the subject of interest.
Cats with impaired vision should not be bred.Eye diseases: corneal necrosis, retinal atrophy, glaucoma
The other changes affecting the organ of vision are corneal necrosis, retinal atrophy, and glaucoma.
Martwak we define a dark brown lesion located in the central part of the cornea, surrounded by a band of poorly adherent corneal epithelium.
The necrosis may be shallow or extend deeper into the stroma.
The neoplasm may separate on its own, forming a healing ulcer 2-6 months, therefore the best is theirs surgical removal.
Progressive retinal atrophy often occurs on both sides.
The first symptoms are weakening of the blood vessels in the retina and its thinning.
Loss of vision occurs at various stages of the disease, while the ability to see in the dark is preserved.
Siamese cats may be prone to primary open-angle chronic glaucoma.
As a result increase in pressure in the eyeball it may be exophthalmos, injection of blood vessels of the eyeball and even up to lens dislocation.
Glaucoma is a painful disease process that is subject to long-term treatment, sometimes ending with the removal of the eyeball.
Mucopolysaccharidosis type VI
A disease caused by an autosomal recessive trait consisting in the deposition of glycosaminoglycans in the lysosomes is mucopolysaccharidosis type VI.
The changes primarily concern skeleton.
It is observed:
- flattened visors,
- dwarfism,
- joint degeneration.
Some individuals do not have skeletal changes, but they do exist changes in internal organs.
The changes are already visible at age 8 weeks old, on X-ray are visible dysplastic changes, osteopenia, and compression on the spine can cause paralysis.
Diagnosis is made on the basis of detection dermatan sulfate in urine.Treatment consists in removing misplaced and overlapping teeth, depending on the severity of the lesions, it is also possible to perform treatments that shorten or change the shape of the tooth crowns.
Overall, treatment is palliative.
Resorptive, odontoclastic erosions
Resorptive, odontoclastic erosions in cats, they usually concern oriental breeds, including the Siamese.
They are characterized by a gradual resorption of tooth hard tissues: enamel and dentin, starting from tooth neck.
The lesions are semicircular in shape, may bleed and are painful due to the exposed nerve endings.
The symptoms are:
- reluctance to eat hard food,
- vocalization while eating,
- sudden spitting out of a food bite,
- drooling.
The diagnosis is based on a careful examination of the oral cavity with probing of the lace defects, which causes pain even in anesthetized animals.
Treatment consists of filling cavities with glass ionomer cement, but the disease is recurrent.
Additionally, it is recommended to use NSAIDs and remove badly changed teeth.
Adenocarcinoma of the small intestine
It was observed in this breed of cats 8 times higher risk of occurrence adenocarcinoma of the small intestine.
Is it malignant tumor, which does not give any characteristic symptoms at first.
Lack of appetite, poor gain or loss of weight, and sometimes vomiting are observed.
In the case of large growth of the neoplastic lesion, there may be obstruction and secondary symptoms resulting from metastases to other organs.
In order to diagnose the tumor, an examination is performed Ultrasound, a to confirm histopathology cut lesion.
Lymphoma in Siamese
In addition to adenocarcinoma, Lymphoma often occurs in Siamese people.
Most often it was mediastinal form with lymph node involvement.
In such an animal, the following are observed:
- weight loss,
- dehydration,
- lack of appetite,
- breathlessness due to a build-up of fluid in the chest.
Above 86% cases of mediastinal lymphoma is associated with a positive result in the direction of leukemia (FeLV).
Cleft palate in a Siamese cat
It is a genetic defect cleft palate.
It manifests itself as a fissured connection between the oral and nasal cavities.
This defect may accompany cleft lip.
Kittens with this defect have a problem with feeding, they sneeze and their nose comes out with milk.
This anomaly leads to aspiration pneumonia.
The only way out is surgical correction of the defect.
Umbilical hernia
It can also occur after childbirth umbilical hernia occurring in 2-3% cases.
It consists of an ungrown ring after the umbilical cord, through which the fat, net or organs of the abdominal cavity are extracted.
Such a hernia tends to overgrow spontaneously as the kitten grows.
In the case of its enlargement, surgical intervention is necessary.
Juvenile gingivitis
Juveniles are prone to juvenile gingivitis.
Immediately after the end of the eruption of the teeth, the gums remain fluffed, overgrown and bleed on examination.
The depth of the gingival groove exceeds 2 mm.
You can try to treat the disease conservatively by performing intensive hygienic procedures, or by performing a gingivectomy.
If inflammation is ignored, it may become permanent and evolve into inflammation.
Exfoliation of the femoral head
In sick cats, exfoliation of the femoral head in 23% concerns Siamese cats.
Epiphyseal dysplasia is characterized by thickening of the epiphyseal cartilage and disruption of its structure.
It is possible that the growth plate cannot withstand the normal load due to the abnormal structure.
Age cats are affected 4.5-24 months and has a genetic basis.
The diagnosis is made on the basis of x-ray pictures, and treatment is based on the surgical correction of the defect.
Excessive production of cerebrospinal fluid
Excessive production of cerebrospinal fluid is a common phenomenon.
This leads to an occurrence congenital hydrocephalus arising from disorders in fetal development, bleeding into the ventricles of the brain, viral infections.
Hydrocephalus is suspected when all 3 conditions are met:
- Enlargement of the ventricles of the brain.
- There is no active disease process that could give rise to neurological symptoms.
- Neurological symptoms suggesting brain disorders.
Clinical symptoms usually appear between the ages of up to 6 months and are progressive.
There is an enlarged dome of the skull with non-unionized fontanel, bilateral ventrolateral strabismus.
Such animals are dull and show manege movements.
A photo is taken to confirm hydrocephalus X-ray and computed tomography.
Treatment is to reduce the production of cerebrospinal fluid by administration prednisone or additionally Diuramide.
In rarer cases, surgical placement of a drain draining CSF into the peritoneal cavity is performed.
Nevertheless, the prognosis for this condition in Siamese cats is cautious to bad.Is it worth choosing a Siamese cat??
Is it worth choosing a Siamese cat?? Individuals of this breed reach sexual maturity faster compared to other breeds of cats.
Additionally, it was found within the breed 100% individuals with blood group A.
Comparable to dogs, they are often an attraction for children who can go out for a walk with them on a leash.
Characterized by great attachment to the owner and an active lifestyle, they are suitable for living in a block of flats and single-family houses.
It is worth providing them with a large jumping space, thanks to which we will be able to enjoy their natural behavior.
Sources used >>