Oriental Shorthair nutrition: body condition and gum disease

The Oriental is a Siamese-style cat without the point markings, and the Cat Fanciers' Association counts over 600 possible combinations of color, pattern and coat length. It is also one of the lightest pedigree cats. In a survey of pedigree cats weighed at shows and clinics, Siamese and Oriental Shorthairs fell into the very light class, and only a quarter of neutered males and almost no neutered females were overweight, against half of all neutered males weighed. That lean build is normal for the breed. It also means an Oriental carries little in reserve, and weight changes show early.

Calories and body condition

In the body weight study, cats in the very light class averaged 2.8 kg for females and 3.6 kg for males at an ideal body condition score. Individual Orientals vary, so a cat's own ideal weight, confirmed by a vet, is a better target than a breed average.

There is no published calorie figure for Orientals specifically. The usual starting point comes from the Merck Veterinary Manual: resting energy requirement is 70 multiplied by body weight in kilograms to the power 0.75, then multiplied by 1.2 for a neutered adult cat, 1.4 for an intact adult and 1.0 for a cat prone to obesity. Kittens get 2.5 times their resting requirement, or can be fed free choice.

Merck stresses that any calculated intake is only a starting point. The cat's response decides the portion. Weigh an adult Oriental once a month on a baby or pet scale, where a change of 100 g is visible, and look at shape as well as the number. At a healthy weight the ribs are easy to feel under a thin layer of fat and there is a waist behind them when seen from above. Sharp hip bones and a spine that feels ridged mean the cat has become too thin. A cat that loses weight without a change in food needs a vet check, because in this breed thinness is easy to dismiss as normal.

What the food has to supply

A cat's list of dietary essentials is longer than a dog's. Merck lists taurine, arachidonic acid and preformed vitamin A as dietary requirements for cats, along with higher levels of arginine, niacin and vitamin B6. The AAFCO minimum for adult cat food is 26% protein on a dry matter basis. Taurine deficiency causes dilated cardiomyopathy and degeneration of the retina. Plant proteins contain no taurine, so a cat food needs animal protein or added synthetic taurine.

In practice, a food labeled complete and balanced for the cat's life stage covers these requirements. There is no evidence that Orientals need a special protein, fat or carbohydrate ratio beyond that, and exact percentage targets for the breed have no published basis. What does vary is palatability and form. Wet food adds water and makes a meal look larger for the same calories, which some owners of lean, active cats find useful.

Teeth and gums

Periodontal disease was the most common specific diagnosis in a UK study of 18,249 cats under primary veterinary care, recorded in 15.2% of them over one year. The Siamese, the Oriental's parent breed, was among the breeds with the highest prevalence, at 18.7%. Age was the strongest predictor: the median age of affected cats was about nine and a half years.

Home care that helps:

• Toothbrushing with a cat toothpaste, started young and built up slowly.
• Dental diets or treats carrying the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) seal, which shows they met the council's standard for reducing plaque or tartar. Count their calories.
• A mouth check at every vet visit, with cleaning and dental X-rays under anesthesia when the vet finds disease.

Signs of a sore mouth include bad breath, drooling, dropping food, chewing on one side and a sudden preference for soft food. A cat in dental pain may simply eat less, which on an Oriental soon shows on the scale.

Familial amyloidosis

Siamese and Oriental cats can inherit a form of AA amyloidosis, in which abnormal protein is deposited through the body, mostly in the liver and thyroid gland. In a genetic study of affected Oriental Shorthairs, signs usually appeared between one and seven years of age. At post-mortem the livers were enlarged, pale and fragile, and some had ruptured and bled into the abdomen. The condition was highly heritable, and the pattern fitted one major gene acting together with several smaller ones. The disease is fatal.

No diet prevents amyloidosis. What an owner can do is recognize trouble early and avoid breeding from affected lines. See a vet the same day for:

• Pale gums, weakness or collapse, which can mean bleeding from the liver
• A swollen belly
• Loss of appetite or lethargy lasting more than a day
• Yellow tinge to the gums, skin or whites of the eyes

Once the disease is diagnosed, the vet will set the diet according to how the liver and kidneys are working. Liver and kidney values on routine blood tests are worth tracking over time in this breed, so changes can be compared against the cat's own baseline.

Heart health

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is often mentioned in Oriental guides. Cornell's Feline Health Center names breeds in which HCM is more prevalent, including the Maine Coon, Ragdoll, British Shorthair, American Shorthair, Sphynx, Bengal, Chartreux, Norwegian Forest, Siberian and Persian. The Oriental is not named, but the list is not presented as complete, and any cat can develop HCM. Many affected cats look well. Others show labored or rapid breathing, open-mouthed breathing or lethargy. A blood clot from the heart can cause sudden pain or paralysis in the hind legs, which is an emergency.

On diet, the heart point that is well established is taurine, covered above. Taurine above the level in a complete food has not been shown to protect cats from HCM, and fish oil or coenzyme Q10 doses for a healthy cat have no supporting evidence. If a heart murmur or HCM is found, the vet or cardiologist will advise on diet and any supplements for that cat.

Meals, routine and enrichment

Orientals are active, people-focused and vocal, and many will make their views on meal times known. Dividing the daily ration into several small meals suits that temperament and the cat's small stomach. A fixed schedule also makes appetite changes easier to spot.

Food puzzles are worth trying for an indoor Oriental. A review in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery describes how they draw on a cat's instinct to work for food and reports health and behavior benefits in case studies from the authors' practices, while noting the research is still new. Start with an easy puzzle and some of the cat's favorite food, and make it harder only once the cat uses it confidently.

An Oriental that normally eats eagerly and then leaves food for more than a day needs a vet visit. Dental pain, liver disease and many other problems show first as a smaller appetite, and a lean cat has little margin for missed meals.

Sources

1. Oriental. The Cat Fanciers' Association.
2. A pilot study of the body weight of pure-bred client-owned adult cats. British Journal of Nutrition, 2011.
3. Nutritional Requirements of Small Animals. Merck Veterinary Manual.
4. Periodontal disease in cats under primary veterinary care in the UK: frequency and risk factors. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 2023.
5. Complex segregation analysis of familial amyloidosis in Oriental shorthair cats. The Veterinary Journal, 2020.
6. Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Cornell Feline Health Center.
7. Food puzzles for cats: Feeding for physical and emotional wellbeing. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 2016.