What makes Siamese cats look cross-eyed?

Question

Sam has some Siamese bloodlines and I've noticed lots of Siamese have a bit of a cross-eyed look. What causes that? This is Sam:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/catsnkits/2772337839/

I rescued him from the pound just before he was about to be put down.

Answer 1

I haven't really noticed that in my cats. I have 3 that are part Himalayan. Now that you mention it I think the mother of the 2 has eyes like that. Hers are really round and look like big blue marbles and sometimes she looks like your cat's eyes in the picture. I guess it's just one of their breed traits. I love my Himalayans even though they are little snobs. LOL. I am so glad you rescued Sam. I have a cat named Jasper I rescued from the pound as well.

Answer 2

They don't just look cross-eyed, they are cross eyed, LOL!   It's a genetic defect that reputable breeders try to breed out of them.  You'll never see crossed eyes or a kinked tail in the show ring. Interestingly enough, they can also have their eyes crossed outwards - it's really odd looking.  My lynx point's eyes are so crossed that he has no depth perception - and is very clumsy as a result.  

One legend has it that the crossed eyes and kinked tail is due to the fact that they would guard the Princess of Siam's jeweled rings while she bathed.  She would place them on their tails, which they would kink to keep it from sliding off, and focused very intently on it, causing their eyes to cross.  Totally untrue of course, but it makes a nice story.

Sam's a lovely lynx point mix - a beautiful boy!  

Answer 3

I never knew...good question and great answers and beautiful Sam! and that's all...

Answer 4

Just a breed trait.

Answer 5

Haha I know what you mean, I have two male Siamese's and they both look cross-eyed!  

Answer 6

I think it's just a genetic defect that can occur in the breed.  A couple of kittens came out crosseyed and then they bred with other cats and it went from there.  Having crossed eyes is considered a fault in the purebreds so any Siamese that's purebred with crossed eyes is not going to be show quality.

Answer 7

bad breeding...

they also sometimes have a kink in their tails...which, the breeders will tell you, is a BIG no no...

I think crosseyed siameses are cute though, and make wonderful pets!

Answer 8

It's all those beautifully crazy howling meows.

They're enough to even send the cat itself cross eyed *giggles*

Answer 9

He's not all that bad with the eyes.

The crossed eyes was a breed trait that showed up and was hard to get rid of in the Siamese breed.  It's considered a fault in show cats.  I THINK they proved though that slight crossing didn't interfere with how the cat sees and triangulates, so it's not a life threatening thing for them, but you really don't want to pass it on with the blood lines.

You've got a lynxpoint. He's pretty.