White Cats Deafness Blue Eyes

Overall statistics indicate that.

White cats deafness blue eyes. Some of these cats are deaf in only one ear. Hereditary deafness is a major concern in white cats and even more so if one or both irises are blue in color. Not all of these cats are deaf see part 2 of this short article.

The blue eyes in a piebald or epistatic white cat indicates a lack of tapetum. As we have mentioned previously not all white cats with blue eyes are prone to deafness. Interestingly most white cats regardless of eye color exhibit a special kind of deafness.

Overall deaf cats with white coat colour and one or both blue eyes make up around about 1-15 of the total cat population. And 65 to 85 percent of white cats with two blue eyes were deaf. Coat color and an aspect of the cats personality or another aspect of anatomy can be linked if the gene that dictates the cats colour and a gene which affects the way the brain develops are situated close together on the same chromosome.

Eye color in white cats also relates to the potential for deafness. When one or both eyes are blue anywhere from 60 to. These animals are well-known to be commonly affected by a congenital hereditary deaf-ness that may affect one or both ears.

If a white cat has 2 blue eyes it is 3-5 times more likely to be deaf than a cat with 2 non-blue eyes and a cat with 1 blue eye is about twice as likely to be deaf as a cat with 2 non-blue eyes. Cornell University cites a study that found that 17 to 22 percent of white cats with non-blue eyes were born deaf. Furthermore if a cat has one blue eye and one green the ear on the side of the blue eye is more likely to be deaf than the other.

Do 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. 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.