As the name suggests, this cat breed is a mix between the Siamese and the Manx cat. Since this is a mixed breed, their traits are not nearly as set in stone as those of a purebred cat. They can inherit any traits from either parent, which can result in a wide variety of appearances and personality traits even within the same litter. These cats simply have a larger gene pool to pull their traits from.
Often, this cat breed is referred to as an “experimental” cat breed. This is because their breed standard is not set, and they are not recognized by any major cat organization. In this way, they aren’t really an official cat breed at all.
Still, this breed often carries common characteristics. Many of them have short or stubby tails, though outliers do exist. Most also have blue eyes. Overall, their appearance can vary widely, with nearly any color possible.
It is difficult to find breeders who specialize in this mixed breed. They aren’t common by any means, which makes them quite difficult to purchase. When you do find one, prices can vary widely.
It depends on the rarity of the breed in your area. If there is only one breeder, then that breeder can technically charge as much as they want for their kittens. Breeders also put varying degrees of care into their kittens. While all of them should do health tests, some of them perform more than others. This can make their kittens more expensive, as this testing costs money.
Some also get their kittens more vet care before they are adopted. If your kitten has already seen the vet and started their vaccinations before you bring them home, then you will likely end up spending less in the long run. However, this extra vet care often makes the kittens cost more up front.
While you can purchase these felines from “backyard” breeders, these cats are often lower-quality. This is largely because these breeders often don’t know how to properly socialize and raise these cats. Many of them do not participate in health testing and may not get the kittens any veterinary care either. You won’t really know what you’ll end up with in these cases.
3 Little-Known Facts About the Siamese & Manx Cat Mix
1. Their tails vary in length.
Since one of their parents is a Manx, these cats are expected to have stubby tails. However, this isn’t always the case. In fact, they can have tails of nearly any length. It depends on the traits that they inherit from their parents. Most will not have as stubby of a tail as a full-blooded Manx.
2. This mixed breed’s personality can vary widely.
Although this mixed breed is sometimes advertised as being playful and cuddly, this isn’t always the case. Their personality can vary widely. While their genes do matter quite a bit, how you raise them matters as well. Some can be a bit territorial if they are not socialized properly.
3. Not all of them are healthy.
Mixed breeds are typically not as unhealthy as purebred cats. This is largely because they are less prone to genetic health problems, as their gene pool is larger. However, that doesn’t mean all mixed breed cats are healthy. They are still prone to various health problems.
The parent breeds of Siamese Manx: Left – Siamese (Los Muertos Crew, Pexels) | Right – Manx (PradaBrown, Shutterstock)
Temperament & Intelligence of the Siamese & Manx Cat Mix
The personality of this mixed breed can vary widely. They are often somewhat playful and sweet-natured. They have been bred for generations as almost exclusively companion animals, and many of them are made for families.
This cat can be quite vocal and loud, so we don’t recommend them if you’re looking for something quieter. They may even follow you around the house and meow, as they can become attached to their people. Many people describe them as “dog-like” for this reason. It isn’t uncommon for them to greet their owners at the door.
This breed is often intelligent and can be taught various tricks. Many can walk on a leash and enjoy playing fetch with a ball. They can often learn how to sit and lie down, much like a dog. They don’t necessarily need mental stimulation, though. As long as you provide them with plenty of stimulating toys and climbing structures, they’re good at keeping themselves entertained.
How you socialize these cats does matter, though. If introduced to many different people at a young age, they are often quite friendly. However, if you do not socialize them properly, they can easily become fearful of strangers. This can result in hiding and similar behaviors. Some of these cats may even become aggressive if they feel cornered, so it is best to socialize them properly from the start.
They can be. The personality of these cats can vary widely. They can inherit any number of traits from their parents. Some cats may make perfect family pets, getting along with children and remaining friendly with strangers. Others may be a bit more fearful, which can result in problems for strangers and children alike.
Of course, even the friendliest cat will avoid children if they have bad experiences. It is important to realize that how good of a pet this mixed breed makes often relies on you and how you raise them. This trait is almost completely changeable based on the genes that a cat inherits and their early experiences.
Does This Breed Get Along With Other Pets?
It depends. Some cats may get along great with other felines and never have an issue, while others can be a bit territorial. This is the toss-up that often comes with a mixed breed; you never know exactly what you’re going to get. For this reason, we don’t recommend that you adopt one of these cats if you’re absolutely set on having other animals in the house. However, you may be able to adopt another cat later if you discover that yours gets along just fine with other cats.
Many of these cats are fearful of dogs unless they are properly socialized. Even then, big dogs are often always going to cause some fear. They are not large enough in most cases to feel confident around dogs or other similar pets. They’ll act much like you’d expect a cat to in these situations.
We typically recommend that you feed this cat high-quality commercial cat food. They do not need a special diet or anything of that sort. Instead, they often do perfectly fine with what you would normally feed a cat. Some individual felines may develop health problems that can make them more sensitive to their diet, requiring them to be fed a particular, specialty diet. However, this is not true for most of these cats.
It is often in your cat’s best interest to be fed a diet with at least some wet food. Cats do not always bother drinking from their water bowl. In the wild, they would get most of their moisture needs from their prey and wouldn’t have to drink much water. It makes sense to mirror this in the home by providing them with wet food.
All their food should be high in meat products, as these are high in protein and fat. There are many vitamins and minerals that cats cannot get from plant-based sources. They simply don’t digest them and convert them like we do. Therefore, it is best if they receive most of their nutrition from meat, which allows them to make the most of the nutrients that their food contains.
You may also want to consider switching their food often to ensure that they’re eating a decently varied diet. This keeps the cat interested in the food and helps ensure that they’re getting everything that they need. Furthermore, deficiencies in foods are less obvious when your cat isn’t eating the same food for years on end.
Exercise 🐈
Like all cats, the Siamese Manx should be provided with ample opportunities to exercise. They usually need about 60 minutes of active play a day to stay healthy. However, you don’t have to be there to provide them with much of this exercise. If you provide your cat with climbing structures and toys, they will often be plenty active enough to stay healthy and thin.
We do recommend spending about 15 minutes playing with your cat before bed each day. This helps them tire out and can prevent late-night wakeups.
If you notice that your feline is becoming overweight or is simply not moving much, it may be time to start an exercise routine. Often, a few sessions of playtime throughout the day are all these cats need. Cats naturally run on a cycle of hunt, eat, and sleep. Therefore, you can expect your Siamese and Manx cat to work on a similar cycle.
It is important to realize that cats often don’t “hunt” for long periods at a time. They may run around for 15 minutes and then stop. Kittens may need more play sessions, but many of them will grow tired after a while. Therefore, we do not recommend planning long play sessions. Instead, you want to plan multiple play sessions.
These cats can also be taught to walk on the leash — most of the time. Siamese cats are famous for their ability to walk on a leash, and many of their kittens will inherit this trait. Cats need a bit more training to walk on a leash than dogs, as the draw of the outdoors isn’t often exciting enough to cover up the uncomfortableness of the leash at first.
These cats can be taught to do many different tricks. They are often intelligent enough to learn all sorts of things. However, some of them may not be people-pleasing enough to perform tricks in real-life situations without the promise of an award soon afterward. Therefore, they can be a bit more difficult to train than some other felines.
Positive reinforcement is a must for these cats. Otherwise, they may simply ignore your attempts to train them altogether. Many treats are recommended, though you shouldn’t offer them so many that they begin to gain excess weight. Generally, we recommend feeding them the smallest treat that they’ll accept and still be excited for.
When you’re training more difficult tricks (or doing things that your cat just doesn’t like), you may need to use higher-value treats. However, these should be kept to a minimum.
You should focus on teaching your cats how to do practical tricks, like sitting and walking on a leash. However, your cat should be able to learn just about anything that a dog can, including many tricks that aren’t practical but fun. Challenging your cat by training them to perform harder tricks is a great way to develop your relationship.
Grooming ✂️
Some of these cats have long coats. Others have short coats. Many are some length in between. For this reason, the amount of grooming that they need varies significantly.
Usually, these cats will need to be brushed at least two times a week, no matter their coat length. This helps remove excess fur, as well as dirt and debris. It also spreads their natural oils around, which can keep their coat and skin healthier. Many cats will do a good job of cleaning themselves beyond this. If your cat has long fur, this twice-weekly brushing will also prevent it from becoming tangled.
Many cats will shed particularly badly a few times a year, usually with the season change. During these times, you may need to brush them even more. If your regular grooming sessions don’t seem to be doing enough, then you may need to increase them momentarily.
You should also keep an eye on their ears, which may be prone to infections. This is especially true if they have long hair coming from their ears, which may need to be trimmed. This can trap dirt and debris, causing ear infections. Their nails will need to be trimmed regularly, usually every 2 weeks. Use an at-home, cat-safe toothpaste to keep their teeth clean, as they can be prone to periodontal disease as well.
Image Credit: RJ22, Shutterstock
Health and Conditions 🏥
Many breeders advertise the Siamese and Manx as healthy. While this is true to an extent, they are still prone to various health problems. They inherit most of these predispositions from their parents. The exact ones that they may be prone to vary widely depending on the traits that they inherit. While many conditions are solely genetic, others are caused by environmental factors.
Despite the fact that these cats have blue eyes, they are not prone to hearing damage. They can be prone to progressive retinal atrophy, however, which can cause them to become blind eventually. This is a completely genetic condition that has a DNA test. Therefore, many breeders will test their cats for this genetic variant before breeding, effectively eliminating this disease from their litters.
The same gene that causes blue eyes in Siamese cats can lead to a congenital eye disease that causes the cat’s vision to be diminished. This is why many early Siamese cats were cross-eyed; their eyes and brain did not communicate effectively. However, this trait has been bred out for the most part. Still, if your Siamese Manx has blue eyes, they can be affected by this condition.
This feline may also be more prone to lung infections, especially in kittenhood. Therefore, a safe, clean environment is even more important when they are young.
Many of these cats are tailless or at least have short tails. However, the tailless gene is a bit complicated. If a cat carries one tailless gene, then they have no tail. If they have two of these genes, they will not develop correctly in the womb and will not live long enough to be born.
However, the possibility of having two tailless genes is not possible for this mixed breed, as they will only have one tailless parent. For this reason, they usually have a short tail. Technically, though, the tailless gene doesn’t always work properly. It can result in a cat with a shorter-than-average tail. They can also be prone to arthritis in their tail, and they may have an obvious bend in their tail. These cats usually have their tail docked at birth for prevention purposes.
Sometimes, the tailless gene shortens the spine of the cat too much. This results in severe damage to the nerves in the spinal cord, which can result in severe birth defects. It can also lead to problems with the systems throughout the cat’s body, particularly the bowels, bladder, and digestion. Usually, these cats have underdeveloped bladders. This is often referred to as the “Manx syndrome.” Many of these cats die within 3-4 years.
Minor Conditions
Lung infections
Arthritis in tail
Serious Conditions
Manx syndrome
PRA
Eye problems
Male vs. Female
There is little difference between the sexes of this breed. Typically, you can’t tell the difference between them.
The sex that you want is completely up to your personal preferences. However, keep in mind that being set on one specific sex when this breed is already so rare can undercut your chance of adopting one of these cats.
Final Thoughts
This mixed breed is often described as having a temperament more similar to a dog than a cat. They are vocal and can learn various commands. Many even enjoy playing fetch. They will follow their people around and ask for attention, though they aren’t so people-oriented that they can’t spend time alone.
These cats usually come in pointed colors, though their markings beyond that can vary widely. Due to their Manx heritage, they often have shorter-than-average tails. In some cases, they may have no tail at all. Usually, their eyes are blue, like the Siamese.
These cats can fit in nicely in many different homes due to their friendly nature. However, they can be prone to a variety of health problems due to their parent breeds. It is important to adopt from a qualified, professional breeder who does the proper health testing.
