Siamese: health conditions to watch
Siamese are vocal, people-oriented and often long-lived. Their main breed considerations are the airways and a raised risk of certain cancers and gut disease, all easier to manage when caught early.
What to watch in a Siamese
A predisposition is a “worth knowing”, not a diagnosis. Most Siameses never develop these — but knowing the early signs means you can act early.
Feline Asthma
Learn about Feline Asthma →Siamese and related breeds are prone to feline asthma; a persistent cough or wheeze, or episodes of open-mouthed, laboured breathing (an emergency), are the signs to act on.
Join the Breathing & Airways community →Cancer (General)
Learn about Cancer (General) →The breed has a higher rate of some cancers, including of the gut and mammary glands; get any new lump or unexplained weight loss checked promptly.
Join the Cancer (General) community →Start here
How to Give a Cat an Inhaler: The AeroKat Technique, Step by Step
Handing an owner an inhaler for their cat usually earns a long, doubtful pause. A cat. An inhaler. The picture that comes to mind is a wrestling match twice a day for the rest of the cat's life, and it's a fair thing to wonder. So let me say the reassuring part up front: cats...
Cat Having an Asthma Attack: What to Do Right Now
Read this paragraph first, then the rest. A cat breathing with its mouth open, or with blue, grey or very pale gums, or heaving hard from the belly to get air, is in a genuine emergency. Go to a vet now. Phone ahead if you can, but do not wait, do not dose from the...
Feline Asthma: The Complete Guide
Most cats reach a feline asthma diagnosis by a roundabout route. For months the cat does that thing, crouching low, neck stretched out, hacking away as if a hairball is finally on its way, and then nothing comes up. You clear the rug, you wait for the hairball that never appears, and you half-file it...
Chronic Bronchitis in Cats: The Close Cousin of Asthma
Asthma and chronic bronchitis get used almost interchangeably in the same conversation, and owners often leave a consult unsure whether they mean the same thing, two different things, or whether anyone is quite certain. It's a fair muddle to be in, and the answer is more interesting than a flat "they're different". Chronic bronchitis is...
Feline Asthma Medicines: The Controller, the Reliever and Why Inhaled Wins
A new asthma diagnosis usually sends you home holding an inhaler the colour of a child's toy and, often, a pot of small tablets. Somebody used words like "controller", "reliever", "steroids" and "lifelong", and by the time you're through the front door half of it has evaporated. So treat this page as the slow version...
Feline Asthma Triggers: Hunting the Things That Set Your Cat Off
Once the diagnosis is in and the inhaler routine has settled, almost every owner asks the same practical question next: what's setting it off, and can I do something about it at home? It's the right instinct. Feline asthma is, at heart, a problem of over-reactive airways, so the air your cat breathes all day...
Looking after a Siamese
- Take a persistent cough or any laboured breathing seriously — breathing distress is an emergency
- Neuter, check the mammary area, and get new lumps looked at early
- Investigate long-running tummy upset properly
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