Are White Cats Deaf?

Question

MY TWIN KITTENS ARE BOTH WHITE. THE MALE HAS A SMALL TINY BLACK STREAK ON TOP OF HIS HEAD. I HAVE HEARD WHITE CATS ARE DEAF BUT NOT SURE. THE GIRL HAS TWO GREEN EYES AND THE BOY HAS ONE GREEN EYE AND ONE BLUE/GREEN EYE.

Answer 1

There isn't an inclination to go deaf; but certain breeds cats born with white fur and blue eyes are more prone to deafness at birth.

The gene that makes cats a solid white ( it's the LW gene for short-haired cats and UW for long-haired cats) is a very dominate gene. In addition to producing the white coat it also favors blue-eyes. Sadly, with the genes coming from the parents in the right combination this will also leave the kitten deaf. This is OK if the cat is indoors and will not be used for breeding. Cats have managed without hearing in caring homes very well.

Several papers over the last few years have shown that this deafness isn't as common as once thought. With proper care in breeding it can be reduced even further.

Felines have interesting genetic "hiccups" for lack of a better term. Almost all calico or tortoiseshell cats are female (upwards of 90%) while most orange or marmalade tabbies are male (around 80%).

Hope this helps. --Andy

Answer 2

Often--but not always--white cats WITH BLUE EYES are deaf. There seems to be something genetic invovled. I read once that it has something to do with the structure of the ear that seems to go along with the lack of pigmentation that affects the skin and eyes.

So, there is a good chance that the cat with the one blue eye is deaf on that side, but the side with the green eye should have normal hearing. The green eyed cat should be normal entirely.

That said, deafness in cat is not a big deal, provided you do not allow it to go outside where it can be run over by a car or chased by dogs. After all, when you call a cat with normal hearing, he probably will only flick his ear and sit there ignoring you anyway. So really there is no big difference between a deaf and a hearing cat..

Answer 3

No, not all. To assume all white cats are deaf is irresponsible. A cat simply being white doesn't have anything to do with their hearing Actually, you/her mom is probably thinking of white cats with blue eyes. It's also irresponsible to think all white cats with blue eyes are deaf (cirtainly some are not), but for some reason white cats with blue eyes are more likely to be deaf than other cats. Why has baffled scientists for ages. Charles Darwin even used that as an example of the complexities of evolution in Origin of Species.

Answer 4

Only cats that are completly white will go deaf. This is usally the case, but does not always happen. Chances are that your female kitten will go deaf and the male will not because he has the black stripe on his head. Hope this helped!!!!

Answer 5

a white cat with blue eyes has a very good chance of being deaf, but it's not automatic. A deaf cat can still make a wonderful pet, you just have to make sure he's strictly indoors, as he has no way to hear what might harm him.

Answer 6

There is an established link between the white coat color, blue eyes and deafness. The tapetum lucidum is generated from the same stem cells as melanocytes (pigment cells). The blue eyes in a piebald or epistatic white cat indicates a lack of tapetum. Deafness is caused by an absence of a cell layer in the inner ear that originates from the same stem cells as well. In odd-eyed white cats, the ear on the blue-eyed side may be deaf, but the one on the orange-eyed side usually has normal hearing. Not all blue-eyed whites will be deaf since there are several different genes causing the same physical attributes (whiteness, blue-eyedness) so it all depends on the cat's genotype (its genetic make-up) not its phenotype (its physical appearance). Some people claim that 99% of blue-eyed white cats are deaf. This is inaccurate because blue-eyedness and whiteness can both be caused by different genes. It all depends on what genes the cat has inherited. These are the actual figures from scientific studies around the world. The percentages are given in ranges because results are different in different areas, partly because of the different genes found in the cat population. Where a cat is classed as deaf, the deafness may affect one or both ears.

95% of the general cat population is non-white cats (i.e. not pure white) and congenital deafness is extremely rare in non-white cats.
5% of the general cat population is white cats (i.e. pure white). 15-40% of these pure white cats have one or two blue-eyes.
Of those white cats with one or two blue eyes, 60-80% are deaf; 20-40% have normal hearing; 30-40% had one blue eye and were deaf while 60-70% had one blue eye and normal hearing.
Of the 5% of white cats in the overall population, 60-80% had eyes of other colors (e.g. orange, green). Of those 10- 20% were deaf and 80-90% had normal hearing.
Deaf white cats with one or two blue eyes account for 0.25 - 1.5 of total cat population
Total number of cats with white coat and blue eyes account for 0.75 - 2.0% of total cat population

The fact your cat has a small balck streak between her ears is a very good sign btw.... she is less likely to be deaf.

Answer 7

If your cats do not have completely blue eyes, then no, they are not deaf. Cats born with white fur and blue eyes have a high chance of sight or hearing defects. However, professionals have interbred cats with blue eyes/white fur and cats with green/yellow eyes/white fur to produce the odd-eyed cat with two-colored eyes. Odd-eyed cats do not have hearing defects, so don't worry!

Answer 8

It is not the just the white color it also had to have blue eye color for deafness. Here are two sources. The first one tell you about the eye color. The other just the white coat.

Answer 9

I had a pure white cat that was DEFINITELY NOT deaf!! She could hear the food can open from the far side of the house. lol Seriously -- try testing each one individually (take a can and put a few little rocks it in) and shake it behind them.

Answer 10

I read somewhere that some white cats carry a recessive gene which causes them to be born deaf. This is pretty rare, though.