Are Most White Cats Deaf

It s believed that the ear closest to the oddly colored eye or both ears if both eyes are uniquely colored will be the ear with deafness.

Are most white cats deaf. Cats with the dominant white or white spots gene may suffer from genetic deafness. Totally or partially white cats due to the s gene all white cats due to the dominant w gene we find in the last group those that are white due to the dominant gene w. Some people say that deafness in a cat is due to hearing loss but the change in ear canal size does not change how the cats here and there is no evidence of any other loss of hearing that would make a cat deaf. Interestingly if a white cat with one blue eye is deaf in only one ear that ear will invariably be on the same side of the head as the blue eye.

Two blue eyes completely deaf. However the prevalence of white cats does vary in different geographies. For this reason a cat with odd eyes can be deaf from the ear that is on the side of the blue eye. It is a congenital deafness caused by a degeneration of the inner ear.

It is this w gene which is the most prone to causing deafness in white cats. Black and white cats do however have a different physique than most felines. 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. When cats with the w gene are bred the resulting litters have the chance to inherit faulty hearing.

A white cat with one blue eye has a 39 chance of at least partial deafness and a white cat with two blue eyes may have a 65 chance. The percentage rises to 40 percent if the cat has one blue eye while upwards of 65 to 85 percent of all white cats with both eyes blue are deaf. The same genetic factors that give white cats their snowy coats and unique eye colors can also cause total or partial deafness in many kitties. Contrary to popular belief white cats are no more likely than any other coat color to be deaf.

It is curious to note that that particular cat could have shown a wide range of colors. According to the aspca complete guide to cats 17 to 20 percent of white cats with nonblue eyes are deaf. The roll of the genetic dice that produces a white. Congenital sensorineural deafness occurs commonly in domestic cats with a white coat.

Is that true and why. Overall deaf cats with white coat colour and one or both blue eyes make up around about 1 1 5 of the total cat population. 40 percent of odd eyed white cats with one blue. Deafness is far more common in white cats than in those with other coat colors.

The reason as you may have guessed is heredity. If a white cat has 2 blue eyes it is 3 5 times more likely to be deaf than a cat with 2 non blue eyes and a cat with 1 blue eye is about twice. Deafness in white cats typically is a genetic condition resulting from the dominant white gene commonly referred to as the w gene. No they are not deaf at all.

My veterinarian said white cats are often deaf.