White Cats With Blue Eyes 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.

White cats with blue eyes deaf. Deafness in white cats with blue eyes is a form of congenital deafness medically known as unilateral or bilateral congenital sensorineural deafness. 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 deafness is linked to the so-called W gene.

Statistically white cats with blue eyes with congenital deafness make up around 1 to 15 of the total cat population. The blue eyes and white coat are a result of a lack of melanin in pigment cells. Albino cats are not linked to deafness.

Cats with just one deaf ear may appear perfectly normal and their. When one or both eyes are blue anywhere from 60 to. The good news is a white cat is not prone to blindness.

Cataracts are not the only cause of cats with blue eyes. In a cat with the white spot gene the deafness usually occurs in the ear affected by the spot. And if the white cat has a different eye color for each eye heterochromia it will be deaf on the side where it has the blue eye.

White coat on cats can occur as a result of the dominant white gene W. Deafness in blue-eyed white cats. However that is not guaranteed.

31 of white cats and blue eyes had. The fact is that hereditary deafness does tend to be a serious concern in white cats. These animals are well-known to be commonly affected by a congenital hereditary deaf-ness that may affect one or both ears.