Deb Knorr
(Investigation of 'Siamese-negative' comments contained in an
article in the December 2004 issue of Cat Fancy magazine.)
To: Siamese Breed Council Members
Some time back a remark was made on the Siamese breed council list about the efforts that would be taken to protect and defend the breed at all cost, and in regard to an article in the Dec issue of Cat Fancy Magazine. I was not happy with the article and wanted to learn the where and why of it, so I wrote to Dr. Richards to get his input.
Accordingly, please find both my note to him, along with this reply, to which I find remarkable and astonishing comments. It would appear that "old" data was used, provided by two CFA judges that are neither on the Siamese Breed Council, nor breeders of the cats, and this data was done "without" the permission of the Doctor. This sort of action neither helps us as breeders, or the general public as potential purchasers of our cats. I guess I would wonder why they chose to use out-dated information, "and" to do so without consultation of the breed council.
This is an example of the type of action that I will take to defend and protect our breed, the one that I have worked with for 15 years now. Please keep this in mind when you are casting your vote for Siamese Breed Council Secretary.
Respectfully,
Debora A. Knorr
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Dr. Richards, I am writing you in regard to a statement that was attributed to you in an article published by Cat Fancy Magazine, December 04 about the Colorpoint Shorthair. The following was published: "James Richards, DVM, director of the Cornell Feline Health Center in Ithaca, NY said that in addition to crossed eyes, "nystagmus, a slight, very rapid jerking back-and-forth of the eyes" is a concern. "Congenital heart defects are reported more often in Siamese cats than in any other breed, he added."
As a Siamese/Colorpoint Shorthair breeder for the last 15 years I can say that I have only encountered the nystagmus, which was associated with a neurological disorder, once, and have not had any instances of the crossed eyes or the congenital heart defect. I am not denying that any of these "may" occur within the breeds, but do not feel that they are conditions running rampant in the breeds. To that end I would like to ask what you based your statement on. What studies of purebred, pedigreed animals have you conducted, or read, that have lead you to make the above statements? Are these studies available to the general public, or for breeders of pedigreed animals? As a breeder who is extremely careful with breeding practices, it always concerns me when I see statements as the one above, being made without supporting documentation to back them up. I would appreciate the courtesy of a reply from you, so that I may forward it to the Siamese and Colorpoint breed councils of CFA, so it members with combined breeding expertise of hundreds of years may peruse and make comments. I do think that IF a national magazine article is/are going to make specific statements that the actual breeders should also be involved. We as breeders see issues and conditions that the typical pet breeder and veterinarian does not, due to the mere situation of treating animals that are not bred for show, and improvement of the breed. Respectfully, Debora A. Knorr - CFA Siamese Breed Council
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"Dr. James Richards" Hello Ms. Knorr,
Mr. Personius forwarded your email message to me regarding an article that appears in the December issue of Cat Fancy. I wasn't interviewed for the article nor was I aware it even existed until you contacted the Cornell Feline Health Center. Based on the quote you sent, it appears that the author pulled information from the ASPCA Complete Guide to Cats, a little book I wrote, and put quotation marks around it. (hmmm...I'm not really sure it's OK for a writer to do this) I think seeing the statements as they appear in the book might be helpful.
On page 83, the "Special Alerts " section that appears in each breed chapter is described as follows:
Be aware that some of the most popular breeds have the longest lists of medical conditions--partly for the simple reason that problems become much more apparent when there are more cats to observe. Far less is known about the potential problems in some of the rarer or newer breeds...." The Special Alerts section on Siamese cats on page 150 states:
Then on page153 in the Colorpoint section I state:
The latter is based on the ancestral background shared by both breeds. (By the way, as noted in the acknowledgements section of the book, Judy Thomas consulted on the breed reference guide (from which these quotes were pulled) with additional help from Hilary Helmrich). My hope is that the readers of the book would understand that not ALL Colorpoints have these afflictions ("...conditions are seen with greater frequency in some breeds..."). Some lines are more likely to be affected than others, but nowhere in the book do I imply that these conditions are "running rampant" in the breed.
OK, so where did the information come from? All of it appears in the veterinary literature, either in peer-reviewed publications or in textbooks that reference them. Admittedly, most of these reports are pretty old, but more recent surveys don't exist. For brevity's sake, I'm quoting from one textbook (Diseases of the Cat: Medicine and Surgery,
by Dr. Jean Holzworth):
I hope this helps. All of us cat lovers appreciate your desire to breed the healthiest cats possible. It takes much diligence and a lot of effort, but we're very grateful.
Sincerely,
Dr. James R. Richards
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