As an extremely soft and cute creature, cats have become one of mankind’s favorite pets. Speaking of cute things about cats, they can be pink flesh pads, furry little paws, and even more so, their beautiful Pupil-like eyes.

Speaking of the color of cat’s eyeballs, just like humans have different colors, cat’s eyeballs come in different shades of colors such as yellow, blue, amber, purple steel, green, light brown, etc. We often use "eyes filled with stars and sea" to describe beautiful blue eyes, but in cats, blue eyes don't just mean beauty. It is said that most cats with blue eyes are deaf, and people even call them gods. A big failure.

So is a cat with blue eyes necessarily deaf? No! Only if it has both blue eyes and white coat, this type of blue-eyed white cat has a higher chance of deafness.

Blue-eyed white cats are just a general term for cats with these two characteristics. They can refer to garden cats or breed cats, but the most common ones we see in daily life are garden cats. Here are some purebred cats with blue eyes:

Common Siamese cats, Ragdoll cats, Persian cats, British Shorthair cats, Himalayan cats, Baman cats, Balinese cats, etc.

The cats with blue pupils listed above basically do not have congenital deafness. So let’s talk in detail below about why blue-eyed white cats are born deaf. Are all blue-eyed white cats doomed to escape the tragic fate of deafness?

Causes of deafness in blue-eyed white cats

The reason why blue-eyed white cats are deaf is mainly related to the cat’s genetic genes. This is also called congenital deafness syndrome. This is mainly caused by genetic abnormalities on the chromosomes. The result of this abnormality is that some of the cat's auditory organs such as the organ of Corti, cochlear ganglion and other organs are underdeveloped, or completely underdeveloped. This This directly causes the cat’s deafness.

To put it more bluntly, the genes that make cats’ eyes blue and their coats white belong to the same genome, and this genome is related to the deafness gene. It can be said that they are closely related.

So when there is a problem with the genes that determine eye and hair color, it will affect the deafness gene, which means it may lead to deafness.

According to statistics, white cats account for 5% of the world’s cats, and among the white cats with this data, 15% to 40% have one or two blue eyes. 60% to 80% of cats with both blue eyes are deaf. The proportion of blue-eyed white cats in the global cat population is 0.25% to 1.15%. I can’t help but feel a little sad when I see this.

Some blue-eyed white cats are not twoBoth eyes are blue, maybe one is yellow and the other is blue, commonly known as mandarin duck eyes. This is because this cat has a white gene that blocks the precipitation of melanin, so the amount of melanin in the two eyes is different. . Usually cats in this situation will be unable to hear in one ear, which is most likely the ear corresponding to the blue eye.

How to tell if a cat is deaf

The first thing to note is that cats have blue eyes when they are born, so they may not always have blue eyes as they grow up. The real judgment will have to wait until 6-7 weeks later.

The way to determine whether a blue-eyed cat is deaf is very simple. The owner can stand far away and suddenly make some noise, preferably louder. If the cat reacts or stares at you, then it may not be deaf, because cats are actually more sensitive to non-auditory vibrations, so the distance must be far enough to be truly effective.

How do cats with congenital deafness “hear”

In fact, blue-eyed white cats are quite good-looking. Although most of them are pastoral cats in nature, there are also some stray cats, but they are also deeply loved by many people. If you adopt a blue-eyed white cat, regardless of whether you know in advance that they are deaf, please don't abandon them casually, because even if they can't hear, they still have their own way of perceiving the world.

Without ears, cats use the pads under their four paws to function. The role of meat pads is not just to be cute, they also contain quite a lot of sensory receptors. As the saying goes, when God closes a door for you, he will open another window for you. People with poor eyesight often have better hearing. Well, white cats with blue eyes are like that too.

When a deaf blue-eyed white cat cannot hear with its ears, the receptors in its flesh pads will be more abundant than other cats, and it can sense very small vibrations on the ground. Unexpectedly, our blue-eyed white cats rely on The soft and cute flesh pads allow you to sense the world.

And apart from the ear function, blue-eyed white cats are no different from other healthy and normal cats. Basically, it will not affect the cat’s balance function and physical health. It is also the same when raised, so there are often shovels The shit officer won't feel anything strange.

Cat eye care

Whether it is a white cat with blue eyes that is born with a defect or any other breed of cat, the care and daily cleaning of its eyes cannot be ignored.

1. Clean eye secretions in time

That’s right, even beautiful little fairies like cats will have eye mucus. The poop remover must remember to clean them up in time. Don’t wait until the secretions accumulate in the corners of the eyes, then the situation will become serious and cause many eyesInternal diseases.

However, pay attention to the cleaning method and do not buckle it directly with your hands. This may cause bacteria to enter the cat's eyes or accidentally poke it. The correct method is to use a damp cotton swab to wipe gently in the same direction.

　2. On-time care

If a cat has excessive eye secretions, you can give the cat an appropriate amount of eye drops for care. Some people can also use medicines on cats, such as the common chloramphenicol eye drops, ofloxacin eye drops, etc. However, It is best to consult your doctor before taking any medication. If there is nothing wrong with your cat's eyes, don't give them drops without permission, because their tears themselves have a cleaning function.

In addition to blue-eyed white cats, cats born with breed defects include folded-eared cats (hereditary bone disease), and Persian cats also have many breed defects. Looking at their beautiful and cute appearance, one can’t help but feel like God. It's unfair, but no matter what, since they are destined to be extraordinary, as owners, we can only accept their imperfections and take care of them more carefully.

Regardless of whether the cats are born with defects or diseases caused during the subsequent breeding process, we call on everyone to be responsible for them. After all, their lives are so short. Finally, I hope that everyone will not blindly pursue the breed of cats and adopt instead of buying. .