White Cats Deafness Blue Eyes

Overall deaf cats with white coat colour and one or both blue eyes make up around about 1-15 of the total cat population.

White cats deafness blue eyes. 40 percent of cats with one blue eye are deaf and up to 85 percent of all white cats with two blue eyes have deafness. Eye color in white cats also relates to the potential for deafness. Overall statistics indicate that.

People ask why white cats with blue eyes are deaf. According to the Cornell Feline Health Center only 17 to 22 percent of white cats with non-blue eyes are born with hearing loss. 40 percent of white cats with one blue eye were deaf.

When the white spot gene affects both eyes the cat will have blue eyes. The reason is the aforementioned W genotype. Deafness is associated only with the dominant white gene not the white spotting gene says feline geneticist Leslie A.

Not all of these cats are deaf see part 2 of this short article. Its even more of a concern in white cats when they have one or both irises that are blue. The fact is that hereditary deafness does tend to be a serious concern in white cats.

Interestingly if a white cat with one blue eye is deaf in only one ear that ear will invariably be on the same side of the head as the blue eye. The blue eyes in a piebald or epistatic white cat indicates a lack of tapetum. Some of the cats were deaf in only one ear - interestingly if a cat had a blue eye on the right side of her head.

A cat with a gene with white spots like the tuxedo cat can have blue eyes or in some cases odd eyes. However the prevalence of white cats does vary in different geographies. Hereditary deafness is a major concern in white cats and even more so if one or both irises are blue in color.