Understanding and Managing Crossed Eyes in Ragdoll Cats

Cross Eyed Ragdoll Cats?

Originally published November 24, 2010

One of the good fortunes of having this website is that I get a lot of interesting questions from people that have Ragdolls or that are considering Ragdoll cats for adoption.  Just last week, I received the following inquiry:

“I have just purchased a 4 month old Ragdoll kitten, a male Seal Colourpoint. I already have a Ragdoll but have noticed this week since bringing him home, he has crossed eyes, where one is worse than the other, everyone has noticed this and I would like to know if anyone knows about this problem, is it a common problem with Ragdoll, although I have never seen it before, or is it a problem with the kitten I have.

I did think of taking him to the vets but thought maybe someone on the forum could help me with this problem, or let me know if it is a common problem with a kitten and whether it is only temporary, possibly diminishing in time.

Obviously I am concerned about the kitten’s eyes, in case it is affecting his eyesight.”

I belong to a few Ragdoll Yahoo! Groups – and it’s a great way to find out more about Ragdolls too.  So I sent out the inquiry about cross eyed Ragdolls (or Strabismus) to the Yahoo! Group and here are two replies I got:

Cross Eyed Cat:

Any pointed cat can be cross eyed, whether its a ragdoll, siamese, himi, tonkinese ect. Its not breed specific. My daughter has a mink tonkinese that went cross eyed, which is uncommon in the mink.

Lisa
BeCharmed Rag dolls

Siamese breed tends to have more cross-eyed cats than most others.
It is not common in ragdolls but can occur in any breed. Sometimes a kitten may outgrow it and sometimes not. I would make the breeder aware as this is not something you want to pass on to future generations (assuming it is genetic). It usually is more a cosmetic thing as opposed to a health issue.

Gail http://megaileeragdolls.tripod.com

Can you offer Barbara any more advice?  What do you know about cross eyed Ragdoll cats?