White Siberian Cats
White color pointed cat
Siberian Cats are one of the few breeds that come in full White. WinterForest has whites and definitely understands the allure.
There are 3 Genes that are responsible for the White coat.
The white spotting gene
The dominant white gene
Albinism
Regardless of the reason, white cats lack something called melanin.
The same stem cells that should turn into melanin ( color) are the same ones that should develop in a cat’s inner ear to create hearing. Without melanin , the inner ear never develops, thus neither does hearing, resulting in a minority of pure-white cats being totally deaf.
To understand this is to recognize that White is technically not a color, but a mask that covers the underlying color of the cat. This is why sometimes white cats have streaks of black, brown, red or blue, hinting at the true color of the cat.
We have found that white cats with a hint of color anywhere are never deaf. Total deafness affects approximately 20% of pure white cats and usually in traditional cats with entirely yellow or blue eyes ( they make up the majority) The percentage of white color-pointed cats being deaf seems to be lower than that of a traditional white with blue eyes. Due to the similarity in their eye colors, it is very difficult to differentiate the two without genetic testing.
White cats come in a variety of eye-colors.
In a traditional cat, eye colors come in green, blue, yellow, copper and odd-eyed.
Color points have blue eyes only.
It can be rather difficult to tell if a cat or kitten is deaf when it is young or if it is with companions. The only way to ascertain if a kitten is deaf is to subject it to a BAER test around 14 weeks of age. This test is not done earlier as kittens are all born deaf and develop hearing later.
(BAER) stands for Brainstem auditory evoked response. This testing is an electro-diagnostic test used to evaluate the hearing of dogs, cats and other domestic animals (including human babies). This lack of hearing due to the lack of melanin affects other species that have white and is not restricted to just cats.
As there are no BAER testing for cats or dogs available in Singapore. WinterForest generally advises that White cats must be kept indoors and should be in a multi-cat household. It is very difficult to discern if a cat or kitten is deaf.
Living with a deaf cat has little difference from a hearing cat. They are said to be calmer and easier to be around. Deafness in white cats are not considered a health issue nor a defect but as a rule of thumb, deaf cats are not used for breeding and may not be showed in certain associations. The only difference between care and living with a white cat versus a colored cat is probably the requirement of a bluing shampoo to keep their coat white.
Regardless of your decision to add a white cat into your home or not, it is always beneficial to read up more on deafness in cats as kitties loose their hearing as they age.
Here are some useful articles when deciding to get a white cat and preparing for the possibility that it may not be a hearing cat.
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/living-with-a-deaf-cat
https://www.rover.com/blog/why-are-white-cats-deaf/