White Kittens With Blue Eyes Deaf

However the prevalence of white cats does vary in different geographies.

White kittens with blue eyes deaf. Full white kittens will either have blue or amber eyes or possibly one of each called odd eyes or heterochromia. An estimated 40 percent of white cats with blue eyes are deaf which is high. For this reason a cat with odd eyes can be deaf from the ear that is on the side of the blue eye. Cats with the dominant white or white spots gene may suffer from genetic deafness.

Domesticated cats with blue eyes and white coats are often completely deaf. Most kittens will be born with blue eyes which change color as they mature. Eye color in white cats also relates to the potential for deafness. Unless both ears are affected cats may never show any signs of hearing loss.

White cats can have blue gold green or copper coloured odd eyes. Still look at it this way. Solid white cats with blue eyes are often deaf but their eyesight is completely normal. Cats who are white with a dominant white gene marked as w are commonly deaf because that gene is associated with deafness.

White kitten with blue eyes are often be associated with blindness and deafness. In one 1997 study of white cats 72 of the animals were found to be. White cats with one or two blue eyes do however have a higher incidence of genetic deafness with the white gene occasionally causing the degeneration of the cochlea beginning a few days after birth. Some of these cats can actually have other colors in their fur often in spots on their head which fade with age.

The deaf ear is usually on the same side as the blue eye. In a cat with the white spot gene the deafness usually occurs in the ear affected by the spot. If deafness occurs it may be either unilateral or bilateral. Deafness can occur in white cats with yellow green or blue irises although it is mostly likely in white cats with blue irises.

However there is no need to be feared to bring a cat with blue eyes home because more than 50 percents of cats who are not pure white their blue eyes are not always related to deafness and blindness. Of white cats with one blue eye about 40 percent are deaf in at least one ear. About 10 20 of normal eyed cats are born deaf or become deaf as part of the feline aging process. Albino cats are not linked to deafness.

Overall deaf cats with white coat colour and one or both blue eyes make up around about 1 1 5 of the total cat population. Non pedigreed white kittens may have green or yellow eyes.