Do Black & Tan Siamese kittens ever have crossed eyes or kinked tails?
Crossed eyes, kinked tails, and white toes are considered cosmetic faults. These cosmetic faults have been present in the Siamese gene pool for more then 70 years. Breeders of Siamese work to eliminate serious health and personality faults from their lines first, then work on cosmetic faults. As with any recessive genes the gene causing faults can remain hidden and passed on for generations only to resurface again. Siamese are known to have Strabismus and Nystagmus. Siamese of today rarely show severely crossed eyes. Breeders do however see mild cases from time to time. The brain of a Siamese with mildly crossed eyes adapts and the cat has no visual difficulty. The same holds true for a kink in the tail. Recessive faults only show up when both of the parents carry the fault and both pass the gene onto a kitten. Breeders hope they don’t see it expressed but it does happen.
