Pure White Cats Deaf

Historically white cats were prone to being deaf I am not referring to pedigrees.

Pure white cats deaf. Usually pure white cats can have the risk of deafness skin disorder and poor vision. Not all but some solid white cat breeds have a genetic mutation which causes deafness in both ears. 5 of the general cat population is white cats ie.

31 of white cats and blue eyes had normal hearing. Contrary to popular belief white cats are no more likely than any other coat color to be deaf. Generally it occurs in breeds having white blue eyes.

However that is not guaranteed. 25 of white cats with yellow eyes have normal hearing. If the cat has even a single spot on it it is not considered pure white.

Deafness in white cats typically is a genetic condition resulting from the dominant white gene commonly referred to as the W gene. Black and white cats do however have a different physique than most felines. Cornell University cites a study that found that 17 to 22 percent of white cats with non-blue eyes were born deaf.

Charles Darwin discovered that cats with blue eyes who were also pure white in color were most often deaf shortly after being born. No they are not deaf at allSome people say that deafness in a cat is due to hearing loss but the changein ear canal size does not change how the cats here and there is no evidenceof any other loss of hearing that would make a cat deaf. The deafness is caused by degeneration of the auditory apparatus of the inner ear and may affect one ear unilateral or both ears bilateral.

Eye color in white cats also relates to the potential for deafness. For this reason a cat with odd eyes can be deaf from the ear that is on the side of the blue eye. When cats with the W gene are bred the resulting litters have the chance to inherit faulty hearing.