Is the World Silent for Blue-Eyed White Cats?

There is an old wives tale that all blue-eyed white cats are deaf. While this is not in fact true, it is not totally off track as there is a well established link between deafness in cats and coat/eye color.

The determination over whether a blue-eyed white cat will be born deaf is not based upon their physical appearance; rather it is determined by the precise combination of the various genes determining both the coat and eye color of the animal.

White cats may fall into one of three basic categories:-

Albino - True albino cats are unlike other cats in that their genetic makeup contains a mutation that causes a total absence of color in the coat (white) and eyes (pink or bluish pink). Albinoism is not assocated with a higher risk of deafness but these cats do have their own health issues as their eyes and skin are very photosensitive and they must be protected from bright sunlight.

Dominant White - Cats that are white due to carrying the white (W) coat pigment gene are said to be Dominant White. In this case the white gene masks all other coat colors. Cats carrying the W gene are not always born totally white, they may have colored spots on their heads but these often disappear with age. Dominant White cats may have blue, orange or odd (different colored) eyes. Those which have blue eyes and are totally white at birth have the highest chance of deafness. Dominant White cats with odd eyes are frequently deaf on the blue-eyed side;

White Spotted - Cats may also carry the dominant piebald (S) gene also called the white-spotting gene. In this case the white color coat will mask the cat's base color but will do so in patches - cats carrying the S gene may have various degrees of spotting the highest of which will give the impression of a totally white cat. The chances of one of these cats being born deaf is small irrespective of eye color.

While the chances of a white mixed breed cat being deaf are actually higher than a pure bred cat there are certain pure cat breeds that do carry the white (W) coat pigment gene and are therefore more at risk for congenital deafness. These include:-

White
White Scottish Fold
European White
Foreign White
Norwegian Forest Cats
Ragdoll
White Turkish Angora
White American Wirehair
White Cornish Rex
White American Shorthair
White Devon Rex
White British Shorthair
White Manx
White Exotic Shorthair
White Persian
White Oriental Shorthair
White Main Coon

Deaf cats are at a disadvantage when outside as they cannot hear cars and predators. Deaf cats also have difficulty as mothers and kittens by being unable to communicate audibly. However deaf cats can live and thrive quite normally when kept indoors and, given the chance, make wonderful family pets.

The Pethealth Family