9/10/2023 0 Comments Albinism purple eyesIn albinos, of course, the white is only an appearance attributed to their lack of color. The only real similarity between cats with white coats and albino cats is the apparent coat color. Albino cat owners should be very cautious with their cat’s access to direct sunlight. Albino cats may not have any other associated health issues, but direct sunlight is harmful to their vision and potentially destructive to their skin with prolonged exposure. Most importantly, melanin’s role in giving color to eyes, skin, and coat, and the utter lack of it in albino cats, means that they are highly light-sensitive. On a more holistic level, it assists in the body’s ability to fight off infection and disease. In the eyes alone, it also aids in depth perception. For cats, melanin gives color to the skin, the coat and the eyes. In cats, as well as other creatures, including humans, melanin has a number of functions. Melanin does more than contribute to skin tone. The lack of pigmentation in true albino cats is due to their inability to produce melanin. Color-pointed cats, at least those developed from Siamese, including the Thai cat, are born white, and develop their color patterns as they age. The color concentration depends on heat, with pigmentation developing in cooler areas while warmer areas remain much lighter in comparison. One surprising thing I learned was that certain members of the so-called “Oriental” family of cats - including the Siamese, Burmese and Tonkinese - each gain their distinctive “pointed” coloration from a kind of partial albino genetic heritage.Ī color-pointed coat is one in which color tends to concentrate in certain areas. Partial albinism, however, is much more common than you might think. Those are the basics for true albinos, which are rare. Again, this is not a color inherent to the skin, but a trick of light reflecting blood flow. ![]() The skin, most visibly the nose and inner ears, may appear to be anywhere from pink to pale pink. Looking even closer, an albino cat’s skin also lacks any pigmentation. The same can be said of the skin of the albino cat. Here, pink is not itself a color, but an excess of light reflecting back blood vessels within the eye. ![]() The eyes of a true albino cat are limited to a very pale blue, or may appear pinkish or pinkish-blue. On the other hand, albino cats’ eyes have a very limited spectrum due to the complete lack of pigmentation. White cats tend to have a range of eye colors, including the always-intriguing heterochromia, or “odd-eye,” in which the two eyes are different colors. The first, easiest, and most important distinction between a white cat and an albino cat can be found in the eyes. An albino cat’s coat may appear to be white, but closer inspection, particularly of the eyes and skin, reveals a series of differences. Where a white cat has a white coat, the cat is generally, in most other respects, a perfectly normal cat. For a kitten to be born a true albino cat, both the mother and father must carry the genetic marker for albinism. Albinism is a genetic condition in which there is a complete lack of color or pigmentation. ![]() Let’s start with the basics, and make it all as comprehensible as possible.
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