Cat Sunburn

CAT SUNBURN -- News 8th July 2013: Murray has won Wimbledon under hot sunny conditions than extend across the UK. The forecast is for more sun and heat. Great but strange ;). Cats can get sunburned, even in Scotland! This is what happened to Luna. Scotland is not known for its hot weather but it does have its moments. Ruth aka Kattaddorra, a regular and valued visitor to PoC recently wrote about cats in hot weather. There are things we should be aware of and should do.

Luna

White cats are particularly vulnerable to sunburn because their fur has no pigmentation (melanin) which is why it is white. The lack of pigmentation reduces the protective properties of the fur. The parts of the cat's anatomy where the fur is particularly thin are the ear flaps. They are also in the direct glare of the sun at a 90° angle to it. This ensures the sun's rays have maximum burning effect.

Cats are not aware that their ears are getting sunburned. The problem can become very severe to the point where the only option is for the ears to be amputated. Removal of badly sunburned ears removes the risk of skin cancer. Cats Protection in North Ayrshire is now looking after her. She looks a bit odd. I like that. It makes her special. She deserves a nice home and some shaded resting places.

Loud Deaf White Cats

Totally white cats are often deaf. Harrison Weir, the founder of the cat fancy in the late 1800s says that if a short haired or long haired white cat has blue eyes, "these are nearly always deaf" (you can read about the percentages in 2012 on this page). He bought a gorgeous white long haired cat at one of the early cat shows that he set up.

He was surprised at the price: 2 guineas. A guinea was always made of gold and the value fixed at 21 shillings (one pound and one shilling). We are talking about old English money of course as this is in the 1870s. That was very cheap, Mr Weir thought. He could not believe the price. The cat was in a cage.."it was a beauty - so comely, so loving, so gentle - so very gentle".

He checked the price was correct. He bought the cat. He had no idea that this beautiful pure white long haired cat was stone deaf. When he got home (to what seems like a palatial residence!) he kept the cat out of the dinning room for some reason. He then discovered why his new cat companion was so cheap to purchase.

The cat's voice was so loud in calling to be let out that it drove him crazy. When he went outside with this cat (he had several) and the cat lost sight of him he called out. Mr Weir says, "I feel confident that it might have been heard miles off".

Luckily, a friend took a fancy to the cat. He allowed the friend to take the cat home. Note: the friend was told that the cat was stone deaf but not that he had a voice that made you deaf!

His friend's home was miles and miles away! A few days later his friend had written to him asking if he would like to take the cat back.....No!

His friend found a solution. He gave this handsome yet very loud white cat to a deaf women.

The question that I have in May 2012, is, "have you had any experiences of deaf cats having very loud voices?" We know that if a person can't hear their voice because they are deaf it affects the quality of their voice. Do deaf cats have loud voices because they can't hear their voices?

I think it is certainly something to think about if you want to adopt a white cat and you live in an apartment. My personal view is that perhaps some deaf cats might have louder than usual voices. Mr Weir says that "in buying a white cat...ascertain for a certainty that it is not deaf".

Associated: read why a lot of white cats are deaf.

Beautiful Devon Rex

White Devon Rex Cat - photo nikonlarry

This is a beautiful Devon Rex cat. I have not seen a better cat of this breed - nice photograph too. It is not a professional photograph but there are some very good amateur photographers out there.


What a gorgeous little, pixie, face this cat has. She must be female. You can see that the whiskers are very thin and short. The Devon Rex can have a thin almost bare coat. It is part of being a rex cat (curly haired cat).


This is an white cat. White cats can be deaf but she has copper eyes. This tells me that there is pigment in the iris of the eyes which might mean that there has been no effect on her ears as they are near the eyes!

What percentage of cats are white?

My guesstimate is that about 2-3% of all cats, feral, semi-feral and domestic are white. I mean completely white and I mean domestic cats and derivatives. There are no figures in books or on the internet that are the result of a survey or some sort of genetic calculation. I make the guesstimate of the basis of observation over many years.

The most common cat coat type is the tabby cat and tabby and white cat. There are many varieties of tabby cat color. The tabby cat must take the lion's share of cat coat types, say at about 50% of all cats and even more.

In the warmer climates you will see more white on cats and I suspect more pure white cats. Bicolor cats are fairly common too especially in warmer areas. These are cats of two colors, white and one other. These might account for about 15%. So it is by deduction, in taking into account all coat types, that I conclude that totally white cats are fairly rare.

However, in Turkey the purebred Turkish Angora (TA) is always pure white as I recall (breeders breed them in a variety of coats though in the USA). The white TA is the genuine article. Pure white with odd colored eyes (one blue and one yellow) is the most desirable. These cats are also moggies. I would guess that the percentage of cats that are white in Turkey is higher than 3%, say 10% perhaps. I stress that this is a guess.

I have checked books and scholarly reports etc and found nothing on this particular subject. Perhaps someone better than me can leave a comment? Please leave a comment.

Breed of cat that is white

There is no breed of cat that is white, meaning that the cat has to be white and no other colour. Nearly all the cat breeds are allowed to be in a variety of colors by the various cat associations so you will find some cat breeds in pure white.

The list is too long to set out here. If you are looking for a purebred cat that is all white you should decide first what type of cat breed you prefer - this page may help - and then check with the breed standard if it can white. You can check breed standards at the major cat associations websites.

Some cat breeds are preferred or better known as white cats. The Turkish Angora comes to mind immediately. The Turkish Angora that the Turkish people like the best is the all white odd eyed cat. The gene that affects the pigment in the fur also affects the pigment in the eye.

Here is an all white Turkish Angora living in Turkey. These cats are different in body shape to the American bred Turkish Angoras.

The Maine Coon can have a myriad of colours and patterns and a fabulous looking white and deaf Maine Coo can be seen below:

Photo copyright Helmi Flick

Deafness often accompanies all white cats incidentally.

The cat associations allow the Norwegian Forest Cat to be all white too:

White Norwegian Forest Cat
photograph copyright noeoracio.

I have shown you three cat breeds that can be all white and which are simply stunning in white. What do you think? See cat coats white for information about the white cat. See also Grey Cat Breeds.



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