Exploring the world of cross-eyed Siamese cat

A cross-eyed Siamese cat can easily be the best historical beauty to come across and when you come to know more about them, you will surely be amazed at the core. In the current times, Siamese cats that don’t cross their eyes are also available; however, you would want the traditional cross-eyed Siamese more for the refined elegance, extreme features, and exceptional style they flaunt.

More...

About the Siamese cross-eyed cats

Over the years, these cats have been subjected to different breeding experiments due to which a lot of features that were MVPs of the traditional Siamese cat have been bred out, especially the crossed-eyes and kinked tail. Thus, the modern-day Siamese cat has very little resemblance with the original bred Siamese other than the coloration that has been kept intact.

Physical characteristics of the cross-eyed Siamese cat

The average lifespan of these cats is between 15 to 20 years.
The traditional Siamese has a round body and a big head as opposed to its modern counterparts who have a more slender appearance with almond eyes and thin tails.
Their height ranges between the average scale of 25-20cm.
They can weigh up to 5kg.
The coloration of these cats is the classic Seal Point variety where the whole body is white with darker marking on tip areas like ears, paw pads, and nose.

Historical briefing of Siamese cats

The Siamese is known to have an extensive history that goes back to the pre-medieval times of the 14th century. Siamese cats belong to the group of some of the oldest domestic cats in the world and, thus, are the parent breed of many other cat breeds.

The ancestral Siamese cats are known to have belonged to Thailand, known as Siam back then. They are also believed to have been the progeny of the sacred Siam cats and were owned exclusively by the royal families and Buddhist monks. These Siamese cats then made their way into Europe in the 18th century in the form of Thai gifts to European travelers and then soon their popularity swelled across Europe, North American, and Asia.

The most important thing to note is that Siamese cat eyes were all cross-eyed initially. Despite being tried to evict, such eyes along with kinked tail still occur as a genetic defect but are the true historical beauty mark of Siamese cats.

Reason behind the crossed eyes of Siamese cats

The first thing that you need to know is that the eyes of Siamese cats aren’t always crossed. It is primarily due to the inherent anatomy of the eyes due to which they need to cross them for looking in a straight forward line. Now coming to addressing the question of why are Siamese cats cross-eyed, it is their natural way of adjusting to a genetic eye structure problem.

This condition is called Strabismus in which the eyes fail to line up together in a straight line of vision. This is caused by the tilting of the retina sideward in both the eyes and thus the cats need to cross the eyes to see in front. It’s like a disruption in the neurological wiring where the vision fibers are abnormally crossed in the nervous system of the cats.

The faulty gene responsible for all of this is called the Albion gene and hence, all the Siamese cats are albinos by default. Sometimes, this gene turns out to be present in a severer genotype version that causes magnified visual complications in the Siamese cats.

Another thing to note is that it is not necessary for a Siamese cat with the albino gene to cross its eyes. It is the only way for them to be able to see straight but they do it intentionally and not as a requirement. Some of the Siamese cats just don’t cross their eyes.

Some interesting facts about the cross-eyed Siamese cat

The crossed eyes of these cats are no less in charm; in fact, they look even more mysterious legendary beauties. We are sure you are intrigued to know more about them and here are some interesting things about them to know.

The albino gene related to Siamese cat eyes is also responsible for their unique coloration as it plays the role of stopping pigmentation. This modifier gene only gets activated in the par temperature body parts of the cat, leaving darker color pigmentation to develop in the cooler body areas.
Many legends are associated with the Siamese cats and the one attached with their cross-eyed trait is that it occurred in them due to a task given to them. According to it, they were supposed to guard a royal golden goblet and they happened to gaze at so intensely that their eyes got crossed.
Siamese cats were highly held by the royal families as they believed to be the carrier of human souls after their death. They were pampered by the priests and monks of big temples.
The latest appearance they made was in the U.S.A. in the late 1800s when the wife of the then-president Rutherford B. Haye owned a Siamese cat that was gifted to her by the US ambassador in Thailand.
Siamese cats also hold a big name in the cinematic world as they have also featured in big-shot movies like The Lady and the Tramp, That Darn Cat!, and The Incredible Journey.
Another incidence that exemplifies their stardom is their appearance in the first-ever huge cat show of the world. This event was held in the Crystal Palace of London in 1871.
Cross-eyed Siamese cat possesses a mention in the Thai manuscripts which hints at their even older existence in the world.
The temperament of the Siamese cats is generally held to be a very positive one. They are very friendly, affectionate, love attention from humans, highly vocal, active, and extremely playful. They also enjoy playing with creative toys.
Their grooming needs aren’t very high and they can fine with occasional grooming via the right brushing tools.
Siamese cats, as contrary to what you might feel, feel comfortable with crossing their eyes for good vision. They also remain able to carry out all the activities perfectly and naturally.
All the Siamese cats possess the same behavioral characteristics irrespective of the albino gene being present in them.

Final words

We hope that this info about a cross-eyed Siamese cat would have amazed you enough to bring one for your home. Apart from their beauty, these cats are one of the best pets to have due to their amazing nature and lesser maintenance demands. If you are in for a little fuss, get yourself a Siamese and you will have the best time with them.

Related posts:

Luna Tran

My name is Luna and I am a great cat lover and a cat owner of three lovely cats. I have owned many cats till now and have dedicated many years to nurturing and caring cats. Through this blog, I am here to share my knowledge and experience about cats.