Pure White Cats Deaf
Cats with the dominant white or white spots gene may suffer from genetic deafness.
Pure white cats deaf. How can you tell if a white cat is deaf. 20-40 have normal hearing. These cats will have hearing loss on the same side that she has a blue eye.
Epistatic gene commonly referred to as Dominant White is the gene that produces white cats with blue orange or odd color eyes and this mutation is most closely related to deafness. 5 of the general cat population is white cats ie. Black and white cats do however have a different physique than most felines.
Inherited Deafness in White Cats. Of those white cats with one or two blue eyes 60-80 are deaf. Charles Darwin discovered that cats with blue eyes who were also pure white in color were most often deaf shortly after being born.
Generally it occurs in breeds having white blue eyes. A failure to respond when spoken to or called. Researchers found that only 17 to 22 percent of white cats with non-blue eyes are born deaf.
These animals are well-known to be commonly affected by a congenital hereditary deaf-ness that may affect one or both ears. But not all white cats are deaf. 25 of white cats with yellow eyes have normal hearing.
5 of the general cat population is white cats ie. 15-40 of these pure white cats have one or two blue-eyes. 40 percent of white cats with one blue eye were deaf.