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Question about Siamese eyes

post #1 of 12
8/7/11 at 9:15pm
Thread Starter 
I have a 3 year old Siamese mix (Lynx Point) Thai. He has beautiful blue crossed eyes. While checking out the Texas Siamese Rescue site, I noticed that one of the descriptions on a cat mentioned his crossed eyes. It said he had problems (possible depth perception?) and was scared of sudden movements towards him. I wonder if that is part of Thai's being so skitty. He is a very nervous cat and sudden movements send him on the run. Could that be due to his vision?
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post #2 of 12
8/7/11 at 9:16pm
IMO, it is entirely possible due to vision. That said, it's also possible he was under-socialized or abused when he was younger, if you adopted him when he was an adult.
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post #3 of 12
8/7/11 at 9:27pm
Thread Starter 
No we adopted him as a kitten from the Humane Society. He's always been treated gently here. Our usual mantra is "It's ok Thai Thai!" I have always felt bad for him that he is such a scaredy cat.
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post #4 of 12
8/8/11 at 4:22am
We have a Siamese cat at the shelter that we are working on to become the shelter's resident cat. He is so cross-eyed, he might as well be blind beyond just a couple of feet.
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post #5 of 12
8/8/11 at 6:05am
We just had a siamese in the hospital with the same name and he has crossed eyes. He doesnt seem disoriented though. I've seen a few siamese with crossed eyes. This particular cat was so sweet....didnt flinch when we poked him, just looked at me with those eyes.

Have you taken him to the vet? Maybe there's an ear infection which could affect balance and such.
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post #6 of 12
8/8/11 at 3:12pm
Pipsqueak is a siamese too. With the slightly crossed eyes and his eyes also wiggle side to side ever so slightly when he is trying to focus on close objects. He also is VERY skittish when something is coming at him, almost like he can't see it very well, but he has always been that way since day one at twelve weeks old. He will be five next month. I took him to an eye specialists and they confirmed that this is totally normal for some siamese and Pipsqueak is one of the lucky ones to get that "hard to focus Siamese" eyesight. . Not much you can do. Pipsqueak is a bit high strung too, typical siamese too.
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post #7 of 12
8/8/11 at 3:27pm
My 4 year old kitty Fuzzy is crossed-eyed, he is a mix, but his eyes are blue and I think he has some siamese in him. I know he can't se every well. He doesn't come to me unless he hears my voice. I can stand in front of him and he won't trust me enough to come to me unless I call him. Then the sweet boy comes running to me, I love him so much
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post #8 of 12
8/9/11 at 1:06pm
"Issues" with it? No, if they are that way, that's just the way they are. And how well do they need to see to sneak up and attack a bowl of food?
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post #9 of 12
8/9/11 at 1:44pm
Crossed eyes and a kinked tail are two traits that are pretty common in Siamese cats. Reputable breeders breed against both traits so it is becoming a little less common.
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post #10 of 12
8/9/11 at 3:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by spudsmom View Post
I have a 3 year old Siamese mix (Lynx Point) Thai. He has beautiful blue crossed eyes. While checking out the Texas Siamese Rescue site, I noticed that one of the descriptions on a cat mentioned his crossed eyes. It said he had problems (possible depth perception?) and was scared of sudden movements towards him. I wonder if that is part of Thai's being so skitty. He is a very nervous cat and sudden movements send him on the run. Could that be due to his vision?
Quote:
Originally Posted by white cat lover View Post
IMO, it is entirely possible due to vision. That said, it's also possible he was under-socialized or abused when he was younger, if you adopted him when he was an adult.

Quote:
Originally Posted by spudsmom View Post
No we adopted him as a kitten from the Humane Society. He's always been treated gently here. Our usual mantra is "It's ok Thai Thai!" I have always felt bad for him that he is such a scaredy cat.
From that description and as you can see from other people's responses it is likely his fear is based on vision loss. But to be sure bring him to a licensed veterinarian you trust for a ophthalmology evaluation.

I can say as a vet tech and working with rescued cats that are cross eyed they seem to be more nervous in my experience.
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post #11 of 12
8/9/11 at 4:11pm
My Fuzzy is perfectly happy and has never had any poblems knowing where his food is. I don't let him go outside, never, because I"m too scared of him getting hurt. But he is always happy, he squints a lot though.
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post #12 of 12
8/9/11 at 6:50pm
I have to go a bit against the general thought here. It's possible I suppose the skittishness comes from the vision, but I think it's more behavior. My cross eyed cat is VERY out going.

The crossed eye will follow the pointed pattern of the Siamese gene. I have a pointed Tonkinese and he has crossed eyes. One more than the other.

They don't really have "double vision" but it's thought that cats with crossed eyes usually have trouble judging distance and depth. You really just have to watch their behavior and see what you notice. Like most things with animals - it's all in observation.

What I can tell you about my Simon is that I definitely notice he has trouble judging distance. He misses jumps a lot - ones that I know he can clearly make. If he's made a jump over and over and is certain about it then he lands it no problem but I think it's more muscle memory or learned behavior. If we move the furniture he usually jumps to or from then he will have trouble. My other Tonk, Lexie, jumps from the floor to my shoulders with no trouble, Simon will not - he only jumps into my arms for me to hold him. He's just not sure about jumping onto places he needs good balance or narrow landings.
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