White cats and head patches?

[jenluckenbach]

YUP. ALL the white babies, in both litters have color on their heads. Some more than others. Some just a few hairs. And while there is a possibility they have the Turkish Van markings, It is also "proof" that they are not deaf cats.

It was explained to me that there are 2 (possibly more) ways a cat can be white. 1) the absence of color......the cats with blue eyes and without hearing. The gene that programs the lack of pigment in the hair and eyes, also affect the hearing. and 2) the white gene spotting the cat with SO many spots of white that there is no dark color showing. These cats tend to have eye color OTHER than blue and can hear. Their hair has pigment and that pigment is white. And these are the cats who might show a bit of that other color.

I have had several other kitten with ths look. And even one of the mom cats has a very tiny spot of grey on her head.

[Boberlee]

Our rescue is named Purrl. She is an all white cat with heterochromia (odd eyes). She was born with a black smudge of fur on her head between her ears. It faded away and turned white by the time she was 5 months old. She is 100% deaf. So cats with the color smudge can be deaf. Deafness is attributed to the color eyes, not the fur color. Blue eyed white cats are 85% deaf. That is true whether they have 1 or 2 blue eyes.