Health Issues

For the most part, the Bombay and Burmese are healthy breeds with very few health concerns. However, "Contemporary" Bombay and Burmese lines can have health and genetic problems. These problems include the cranial-facial defect (which is lethal), excessive eye tearing and breathing problems due to the foreshortened nose and sinus cavities, and dental disease. The craniofacial defect presents at birth. Kittens with the defect are born with severely deformed heads and must be euthanized immediately. Those who are interested in pets need not be concerned about the head defect. Those who breed and show must decide if they want to deal with this issue. (More information about the cranial-facial defect can be obtained from "The Feline Genome project, Feline Cranial-Facial Abnormality" (http://www.bjelkes.dk/CRD-LYon%27s%20site.htm)

The health of my cats and kittens is very important to me; therefore, Kats'n'Klamms Bombays and Burmese are strictly from "Traditional" lines and DO NOT carry the gene that produces the cranial-facial defect. As a consequence, they are NOT prone to the excessive eye tearing, breathing problems and dental disease associated with the cranial-facial defects. The gene pool in North America of Burmese and Bombays that do not carry the head defect is relatively small, so I am working with another Bombay & Burmese breeder to import cats that do not carry the head defect from other countries. To that purpose, we have created a new cattery, NFusion, and are registering the import cats under that cattery name. Chagall's Mahalath of NFusion is one of the first cats we registered.