Why Do White Cats Make Poor Mothers?

Surely the color of your pet’s fur doesn’t affect her parenting skills?

Surprisingly, it does!

However, it’s not quite as straightforward as simply being the color of her fur. Many white cats are deaf and simply cannot hear the mewling of their kittens when they call to her, so she appears to be indifferent to their cries.

She really would be a good mother - if only she knew that her motherly attentions were needed.

But the story doesn’t end there. As fascinating as it is to discover that white cats are frequently deaf - it is only the blue-eyed white cats that are afflicted. Orange-eyed white cats don’t seem to suffer in the same way.

Even more spooky, cats who are born with one blue eye and one orange eye are deaf in the ear on the blue eye side - the other ear hears perfectly!

The defect is genetic. Shortly after birth, the cochlea in the ear starts to fail and this deterioration cannot be halted or reversed. This failing can be passed on to any kittens she may have so it’s probably best not to breed from a deaf cat.

If you are wondering if your white cat is deaf - try rustling some paper behind her and out of her sight to see if she reacts. Banging, clapping or stamping won’t be useful as a test as deaf cats are expert at detecting vibration in the air and will react to that, rather than the noise.