Pure White Cats Deaf

These cats will have hearing loss on the same side that she has a blue eye.

Pure white cats deaf. Deafness in White Cats. I am not sure but I think it was an inherited problem. White cats with blue eyes are usually deaf.

I was told that all pure white cats with both eyes being blue are completely deaf and that all pure white cats with one blue eye are deaf on the side that has the blue eye. Not all but some solid white cat breeds have a genetic mutation which causes deafness in both ears. Contrary to popular belief white cats are no more likely than any other coat color to be deaf.

Signs of dizziness or disorientation. Charles Darwin discovered that cats with blue eyes who were also pure white in color were most often deaf shortly after being born. Researchers found that only 17 to 22 percent of white cats with non-blue eyes are born deaf.

The percentage rises to 40 percent if the cat has one blue eye while upwards of 65 to 85 percent of all-white cats with both eyes blue are deaf. 30-40 had one blue eye and were deaf while 60-70 had one blue eye and normal hearing. In cats inherited congenital present from birth deafness is seen almost exclusively in white coated individuals.

Inherited Deafness in White Cats. Not pure white and congenital deafness is extremely rare in non-white cats. The uphill road to solving polygenic disorders The pure white cat with luminous blue eyes is an attrac-tive image familiar to many.

Deafness in white cats typically is a genetic condition resulting from the dominant white gene commonly referred to as the W gene. These animals are well-known to be commonly affected by a congenital hereditary deaf-ness that may affect one or both ears. For this reason a cat with odd eyes can be deaf from the ear that is on the side of the blue eye.