White cats are more likely to have a genetic defect that causes deafness. This anomaly resembles Waarddenburg syndrome, which affects humans.
Can’t your white cat hear you? Maybe he’s deaf because of his coat color. White cats are more likely to have a genetic defect that causes deafness. This is what explains a video published by Raw.
Your white cat is surely deaf. Especially if he has blue eyes. pic.twitter.com/9e1snTXSDa
– Brut nature FR (@brutnaturefr) 23 Aug 2018
A mutation in the W gene involved
A white cat has a 72% risk of being deaf. Its color is due to a mutation in the W gene, which blocks the cells responsible for hair pigmentation. But this gene can also destroy the cells of the organ of Corti, and therefore make the cat deaf. Deafness appears from the first days of a kitten’s life. If your cat has blue eyes, the risk is increased: most of them are deaf.
Similarities with Waardenburg syndrome
This genetic peculiarity of cats is comparable to a genetic disease that affects men: Waardenburg syndrome. Those affected are mostly deaf, due to a dysfunction of the organ of Corti, and have skin pigmentation abnormalities. This syndrome would affect one in 50,000 people.
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