White Male Cats With Blue Eyes Deaf
Many cats are born with congenital deafness which causes deafness in the cat as it ages instead of later on.
White male cats with blue eyes deaf. And 65 to 85 percent of blue eyed white cats are deaf domesticated cats with blue eyes and white coats are often completely deaf. Two blue eyes completely deaf. Cornell university cites a study that found that 17 to 22 percent of white cats with non blue eyes were born deaf. About 20 percent of non blue eyed white cats also are deaf.
However among pet cats it is much more common to find white cats probably simply due to selective breeding human preference and intervention. White cats have a genetic makeup similar to albino humans who lack pigment. Why are blue eyed white cats usually deaf. According to the aspca complete guide to cats 17 to 20 percent of white cats with nonblue eyes are deaf.
In a feral situation deaf white cats experience strong negative natural selection pressure as. About half of all white cats are deaf and those numbers increase in cats with blue eyes with deafness often found on the same side as the blue eye left blue eye deaf in left ear. Of white cats with one blue eye about 40 percent are deaf in at least one ear. This gives them some vulnerabilities like sensitivity to uv light.
Some of the cats were deaf in only one ear interestingly if a cat had a blue eye on the right side of her head she tended to be deaf in the right ear and vice versa. Cats with the dominant white or white spots gene may suffer from genetic deafness. 40 percent of odd eyed white cats with one blue eye are deaf. Many cat breeds are known to have the white coat gene and can therefore produce deaf white individuals.
Black and white cats with blue eyes have a much more common type of hearing and vision problem that may be related to their eye color. They are photophobic intolerant of bright light because of the blue eyes they have reduced vision in low light conditions. In a cat with the white spot gene the deafness usually occurs in the ear affected by the spot. And 65 to 85 percent of white cats with two blue eyes were deaf.
Up to 85 percent of them may be deaf but solid white cats are relatively few to begin with and blue eyed solid white cats are even rarer. An estimated 40 percent of white cats with blue eyes. For this reason a cat with odd eyes can be deaf from the ear that is on the side of the blue eye.