Odd-eyed cat
An odd-eyed cat has one blue eye and one eye either green, yellow, amber, or brown. This is a
Genetics
The odd-eyed colouring is caused when either the epistatic (recessive) white gene or dominant white (which masks any other colour genes and turns a cat completely white, solid white)[3] or the white spotting gene (which is the gene responsible for bicolour coats)[4] prevents melanin (pigment) granules from reaching one eye during development, resulting in a cat with one blue eye and one green, yellow, amber, or brown eye. Approximately 15–40% of the solid white cats have one or two blue eyes.[3]
The odd-eye condition only rarely occurs in cats that lack both the dominant white and the white spotting gene.[3] These cats carry a dominant blue eye-gene, which is not linked to coat colouration. A famous example of this case is the extinct Ojos Azules cat.[3][5]
Cat breeds
Odd-eyes are found in all
Kittens
As with some other newborn mammals, all cats are blue-eyed as kittens,[7] and may change as the newborn ages. The differences in an odd-eyed kitten's eye colour might not be noticeable, except upon close inspection. Odd-eyed kittens have a different shade of blue in each eye. The colour of the odd eye changes over a period of months, for example, from blue to green to yellow or from green to blue to yellow, until it reaches its final, adult colour.
Deafness in odd-eyed cats
There is a common misconception that all odd-eyed cats are born deaf in one ear. This is not true, however, solid white (completely white) cats with one or two blue eyes do have a higher incidence of
The established link between deafness and odd-eyes is found in the link between deafness, blue eyes and solid white coats. There are multiple different genes responsible for blue (incl. odd eyes), and several of these genes are not linked to white coats or deafness (e.g., "
Scientists estimate that about 10–20% of non-blue-eyed solid white cats of are born deaf, or become deaf as part of the feline aging process, while about 30–40% of the solid white odd-eyed cats are deaf. For solid white cat with two blue eyes, 60–80% are deaf.[3][9] Cats are classified as deaf, when one or both ears are affected by deafness.
Eyeshine and red-eye effect
In flash photographs, odd-eyed cats typically show a
Cultural reactions and folklore
The Atatürk Forest Farm and Zoo in Ankara has a breeding program to preserve pure solid white Turkish Angora cats.[10][11] The zoo specifically prized the odd-eyed Angoras, as the Turkish folklore suggests that "the eyes must be as green as the lake and as blue as the sky".[12]
Prophet
The mascot of the 2010 FIBA World Championship, hosted by Turkey, was an anthropomorphised odd-eyed Van cat named "Bascat".[13]
References
- , A-Z Health Library, Purina-One. Retrieved February 2007.
- |date=2008-09-26 }}, Peteducation.com. Retrieved February 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Hartwell, Sarah (2017). "White Cats, Eye Colours and Deafness". messybeast.com. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ^ a b Hartwell, Sarah. "BICOLOURS - TUXEDO AND MAGPIE CATS". messybeast.com. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ^ a b c Hartwell, Sarah (2023). "BLUE-EYED BREEDS / DOMINANT BLUE EYE (DBE)". messybeast.com. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ISBN 0-7894-8021-2, "Longhair - Japanese Bobtail"
- ^ Hints for Determining Cat Color Archived 2007-01-25 at the Wayback Machine, The Cat Fanciers Association, [1]. Retrieved February 2007.
- ^ Starbuck, Orca; Thomas, David (n.d.). "Cat Color FAQ: Cat Color Genetics". fanciers.com. Cat Fanciers. Archived from the original on 2007-12-24. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
- ISBN 9780811819299.
- ^ Turkish Angora Archived 2016-03-08 at the Wayback Machine, Cats United International. Retrieved February 2007.
- ^ a b "History". CFA Turkish Angora Breed Council. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ^ Hartwell, Sarah. "Cat Breeds, Types, Variants and Hybrids". messybeast.com. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- FIBA. Archived from the originalon 2010-09-14. Retrieved 2010-09-12.