Pure White Cats Deaf

Hereditary deafness is a major concern in white cats and even more so if one or both irises are blue in color.

Pure white cats deaf. When cats with the W gene are bred the resulting litters have the chance to inherit faulty hearing. 31 of white cats and blue eyes had normal hearing. Black and white cats do however have a different physique than most felines.

Eye color in white cats also relates to the potential for deafness. 5 of the general cat population is white cats ie. 15-40 of these pure white cats have one or two blue-eyes.

A survey of 185 white cats reported the following results. Deafness is more likely to occur in white cats with blue eyes. Contrary to popular belief white cats are no more likely than any other coat color to be deaf.

Researchers found that only 17 to 22 percent of white cats with non-blue eyes are born deaf. Of the 5 of white cats in the overall population 60-80 had eyes. For this reason a cat with odd eyes can be deaf from the ear that is on the side of the blue eye.

However that is not guaranteed. The deafness is linked to the so-called W gene. 15-40 of these pure white cats have one or two blue-eyes.

White cats with blue eyes are usually deaf. 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. Generally it occurs in breeds having white blue eyes.