Do White Cats With Blue Eyes Deaf

The deafness is linked to the so-called W gene.

Do white cats with blue eyes deaf. Not all blue-eyed whites will be deaf since there are several different genes causing the same physical attributes whiteness blue-eyedness so it all depends on the cats genotype its genetic make-up not its phenotype its physical appearance. The blue eyes and white coat are a result of a lack of melanin in pigment cells. As we have mentioned previously not all white cats with blue eyes are prone to deafness.

Hereditary deafness is a major concern in white cats and even more so if one or both irises are blue in color. 40 percent of white cats with one blue eye were deaf. Pure white cats with blue eyes are well-known to be commonly affected by a congenital hereditary deafness that may affect one or both ears.

Dominant epistatic white is a masking gene that overrides all other coat colours and is symbolised with the letters W D. When one or both eyes are blue anywhere from 60 to 80 of white cats will be deaf. These animals are well-known to be commonly affected by a congenital hereditary deaf-ness that may affect one or both ears.

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. Not all white cats with blue eyes are deaf. Among white cats with two blue eyes about 60-80 are deaf.

Some of these cats are deaf in only one ear. Older cats with the same eye color as humans may not be able to hear things very well when they are young and as they grow older they may not be able to do anything about it. Not all white Cats are Deaf.

The rest of the white cats typically have orange or green eyes and they are usually neither deaf. We cannot rely solely on coat and eye color to affirm it. Cornell University cites a study that found that 17 to 22 percent of white cats with non-blue eyes were born deaf.