The deafness of the white cat is a problem of some felines with milky hair and blue eyes. But are all white cats deaf? How to understand it?
The white cat is a symbol of candor and peace, positive feelings and wisdom arise. The white cat has a very sweet, quiet and reserved personality. It is an affectionate animal and eager for pampering moreover it is very fond of its human family.
Since these felines are prone to deafness, they very often appear in the eyes of lackluster and intelligent people, but it is a wrong impression, as this cat will be very good at developing smell and vision. Unfortunately, however, it is not the solution that can avoid certain accidents and dangers, such as avoiding a car on the road. That is why even if it is a self-sufficient cat, it is better that it lives in domestic environments.
The white color of the coat in white cats is due to several reasons:
- albinism;
- the presence of the gene for white spots (genes). In these cases cats may be with white spots, or white with some colored spots;
- completely white due to the dominant W gene, which masks any other color.
The deafness of the white cat with blue eyes
The deafness of the white cat, in the specific case that we treat today, does not depend on a hereditary or post-birth disease, but closely linked to the white color of the hair and that of the blue of the eyes, which is why it is caused by a genetic factor. In fact, the fault lies with a gene present in the DNA, which is dominant over the others.
This gene is known as W, a particular chromosomal particle that acts not only on the cat’s hearing but also on the coat and iris, with the consequence that very often white cats with blue eyes are deaf. The W gene acts on the embryo during the developmental phase, stopping the coloring of the hair and that of the eyes.
In other words, this W gene does not allow the colors that the cat would have inherited from the parents to take over, but it is also the same gene that acts on the development of hearing.
Are all white cats deaf?
To answer the question: “Are all white cats deaf?” we must refer to the explanation previously given, regarding the W gene present in some white cats and therefore more likely to be deaf, especially those with blue eyes or an eye of any color. So we can answer by saying that not all white cats only deaf.
White cats with eyes of a color other than blue, most likely will not present this congenital problem, while those felines with two-colored eyes will be deaf only by one ear, that of the side that corresponds to the blue eye. While cats that possess green, brown or yellow eyes, are not deaf, except for a few rare exceptions and special cases.
How to tell if the cat is deaf
As is well known, the cat is an animal that hides its insecurities and weaknesses very well, so establishing that the feline may have some health problem is very complicated, it will also know how to remedy this problem by developing the other senses. To understand if a cat is deaf it may be useful to pay attention to the fact that while if you call it it does not react, if you touch it instead it reacts accordingly.
Even the volume of its meows, in fact, not being able to listen to each other on average tend to use a higher volume. Also not having much balance due to deafness, they stagger slightly when walking and it may happen that this condition can lead to the cat’s vomiting. To test the cat’s hearing and understand if it is actually deaf you can use some tricks, such as:
- make noise while sleeping;
- make noise when distracted;
- draws attention with a whistle;
- turn on an appliance, such as a vacuum cleaner, suddenly.
Finally, if you notice that on your return it does not appear to make sure that it is you, most likely the cat is deaf. The cat with deafness is more limited, which is why it is necessary to replace voice commands with manual gestures that are easy to distinguish and remember.
It may be a good idea to use a flashlight to call the cat, reward it every time it responds to the command and above all try not to scare them. In any case, the best way to ascertain the deafness of the white cat is to use a very common test, namely the BAER test. This test must be carried out by a veterinarian with specific machinery.
