Other cats that can have blue eyes include the American Shorthair, British Shorthair, Balinese, Persian, Maine Coon, and Devon Rex. These include the well-known Siamese and Ragdoll breeds. Some breeds are known for their distinctive blue eyes. The gene that codes for a white coat and blue eyes can cause the cochlea of a cat’s inner ear to degenerate within days of birth. White cats with blue eyes, due to the dominant gene, are also at higher risk of being deaf than white cats with green or yellow eyes. It blocks out any other genes that code for color, which results in a completely white coat. This is due to the dominant white gene known as the epistatic white gene. It sounds far-fetched, but it is true! Blue eyes can range from a pale sky blue to a deep and brilliant sapphire.īlue eyes are far more common in white cats. Blue cat’s eyes are clear, but we see the blue color due to light reflecting around the curved sides of the irises. Blue Eyed Cats Image Credit: PixabayĬats with blue eyes don’t have any melanin in their irises. It’s easier to think of cat eye colors as a spectrum of shades that blend into each other rather than distinct bands. Maybe your cat has an eye color that sits somewhere between two shades. These colors aren’t discrete, so you may find it difficult to pin your cat’s exact eye color into a specific shade. We’ve also listed their rarity on a scale of 1–10, so you can know if your cat has an unusual shade! We’ve included eight typical eye colors seen across a wide range of cat breeds. Let’s take a look at all the possibilities for a cat’s eye colors. Generally, purebred cats will have more vivid shades of eye color than moggies. This means all Siamese kittens are born with white fur that only develops color later in life thanks to a temperature-sensitive enzyme. Siamese cats are temperature-sensitive albinos. All Siamese cats have blue eyes in varying shades of intensity. Siamese cats are a good example of a breed with an eye color linked to their coat color. Certain breeds will only display one eye color. The color of a cat’s eyes is influenced by genetics, just like the color of its coat. By 12 weeks, a cat’s final eye color will be fully developed. This is when the color develops, depending on the amount of melanocytes present and the melanin produced. At roughly 6 weeks, this color may start to change to reveal their true eye color. Cats with blue-colored eyes lack any pigment the blue color results from the light refracted by the stroma.Īll kittens are born with eyes of cloudy blue. The stroma is clear-colored and can vary from almost colorless tones of blue to deep blues and even violets.Ī cat’s eye color is the result of the amount of pigment present combined with the blue reflection. Another factor influencing the color of a cat’s eye is the stroma, which is the outer layer of the Iris. The more melanin in the cat’s iris, the darker the eyes will be, and the colors can range from lemon yellow to hazel to deep orange or brown. The darkness and intensity of the color will depend on the levels of the natural pigment produced by these cells, which is called melanin. The base layer contains specialized pigment-producing cells called melanocytes. The iris is the part of the eye that presents different colorations. The determinants of the color of a cat’s eyes are blue refraction, iris pigmentation, and breeding. That is why two littermates of the same parents can have different eye colors. The color of a cat’s eyes is influenced by several genes. While some eye colors are linked to specific breeds, others can be found in many purebred and mixed-breed cats. But do you know if your cat has a rare eye color? Domestic cats can have more eye colors than many other domestic species, including dogs. Many cat parents can happily get lost staring into their cat’s beautiful eyes.
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