All-white cats are extremely attractive because they have an elegant and majestic fur, as well as being very attractive, as they have a very characteristic glowing port.
You should know that white cats are sensitive to a genetic peculiarity: deafness; however, not all white cats are deaf although they have a greater genetic predisposition, i.e. more chances than other cats of this species.
- In this Animal Expert article we give you all the information to understand the reasons for deafness in white cats.
- Explaining why this happens.
Giving birth to a cat with white fur is mainly due to genetic combinations, which we will detail in a summarized and simple way:
The latter group includes those that are white by the dominant W gene, and are also the most likely to develop deafness.It is curious to note that this concrete cat could have a wide range of colors, however, it only has the white color that camouflages the presence of others.
White cats have another special feature to highlight as this gives you the possibility to have eyes of any color, something possible in the felines:
The color of the cat’s eyes will be determined by the maternal cells found in the layer around the eye called tapetum lucidum.The composition of these cells with those of the retina will determine the color of the cat’s eyes.
There is a relationship between deafness and blue eyes as normally cats with the dominant gene W (which may be the cause of deafness) are shared by those whose eyes are of this color, however, we cannot say that this rule is still applied at all.Cases.
Out of curiosity, we can point out that deaf white cats with eyes of different colors (e.g. green and blue) tend to develop deafness in the ear where the blue eye is located Is it by chance?
To correctly explain why this phenomenon occurs in blue-eyed white cats, it is necessary to dely into genetic theories, instead we will try to explain this relationship in a simple and dynamic way.
By the time the cat is in the womb the cell division begins to develop and that’s when melanoblasts appear, responsible for determining the color of the hairs of the future cat, the W gene is dominant, so melanoblasts do not.expand, leaving the cat without pigmentation.
On the other hand, in cell division, it is when genes act to determine the color of the eyes that, because of the same lack of melanoblasts, even if only one or two eyes end up turning blue.
Finally, we notice the ear that, in the absence or deficit of melanocytes, suffers deafness, so we can somehow link genetic and external factors to health problems.
As mentioned above, not all blue-eyed white cats are prone to deafness, nor can we rely solely on these physical characteristics to affirm this.
Detecting deafness in white cats is complicated because the cat is an animal that easily adapts to deafness, rating other senses (such as touch) to perceive sounds in a different way (vibrations for example).
In order to effectively determine deafness in the stable it is essential to go to the veterinarian to perform a BAER (evoked auditory response of the brainstem) test with which we can confirm whether our cat is deaf or not, regardless of the color of its fur or eyes.
If you would like to read articles similar to, we recommend that you visit our Curiosities section of the animal world.