# White Cat with a

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-cat-with-a/261692>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 26, 2004, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-cat-with-a/261692 "2004-08-26T23:14:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\
**Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-cat-with-a/261692/1 "2004-08-26T23:14:56Z")

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Pink eye. It seems to come and go and dosen’t bother her any, but is it anything to be concerned about? Also, is there anything true about totally white cats being subject to hearing loss?

Cat’s about 5, 3 years outdoor and 2 indoors. Otherwise healthy and a pain in the ass, as are most cats. (Christ am I leaving myself open!) 😉

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**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\
**Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-cat-with-a/261692/2 "2004-08-26T23:26:58Z")

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From what I can find on Google, yes, there’s a relationship between albino tendencies (white coat, blue or pink eyes) and deafness. Similar to Dalmation dogs, IIRC. It’s not a definite factor, there’s both hearing albinos and deaf tortoiseshells living out there somewhere.

There’s also old-wives-tales, about non-matching eye colours, which are nonsense.

If the cat is living OK, then either it can hear, or it’s coping without hearing. Either way, it’s nothing to worry about.

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**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-cat-with-a/261692/3 "2004-08-27T01:18:26Z")

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> [@GorillaMan](#):
>
> From what I can find on Google, yes, there’s a relationship between albino tendencies (white coat, blue or pink eyes) and deafness. Similar to Dalmation dogs, IIRC. It’s not a definite factor, there’s both hearing albinos and deaf tortoiseshells living out there somewhere.
> 
> There’s also old-wives-tales, about non-matching eye colours, which are nonsense.
> 
> If the cat is living OK, then either it can hear, or it’s coping without hearing. Either way, it’s nothing to worry about.

Blue eyed or odd eyed white Persians carrry a color linked gene that causes deafness. If a white cat is not persian, their chances of being deaf go down. BTW, they aren’t albino, just geneticly white.

**Jake** Do you mean the conjunctiva ( inside of the eye lids, for example) turn red intermittently? It could be, because the cat’s _skin_ is pink you notice it more.  
White cats tend to "cry’ reddish brown tears. The tearing sometimes leaves streaks at the corners of the eyes. If that’s it, its normal. If you’re bothered by it your vet can recommend a soap made especially for that area.

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**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-cat-with-a/261692/4 "2004-08-27T03:32:26Z")

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I’m not sure if you’re talking albino kitty or honest to Og “pink eye” as in conjunctivitis.

If it’s the latter, yes, cat’s can get conjuncitivitis. Fatcat gets it from time to time, usually in his one eye. He gets an ointment from the vet (kinda like eyedrops) and it goes away in a few days.

With Fatcat, I don’t see the “pink” much, but he blinks a lot, squints continuously and there is usually a bit of a gooey discharge. I’ve learned to recognise it, so I don’t even bother taking him in, they just give me his eye drops and he’s back to his big, birght-eyed self.

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**Author:** ![SnakeSpirit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snakespirit/32/7271_2.png) [@SnakeSpirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakeSpirit)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2004, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-cat-with-a/261692/5 "2004-08-27T05:10:19Z")

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I’ve had white cats with blue eyes that were deaf. Several.

I’ve also had white cats with other colored eyes that were NOT deaf.

Just my experience.