White cats: description and popular breeds

The snow-white cat is a very spectacular animal, it is impossible to look away from it. Breeders and just lovers of cats are happy to breed and acquire white animals. This color is quite rare, it is not easy to get it through selection, because the genes of dark colors dominate over light ones. Therefore, an even color in a snow-white scale is so highly appreciated by experts and admirers of cats.

First of all, you need to understand that the white cat owes its luxurious color to the genes of albinism. The albino kitten, in principle, has no color, the albinism gene is responsible for the absence of pigmentation. If you have a real albino, then the iris of his eyes will be reddish. Such representatives of the cat kingdom are very rare. But blue-eyed albinos are more common. To get a white kitten, you need to bring a cat with a white gene to a male of any color. If you bring a cat and a cat, in the set of which there is this gene, then the suit of the kittens is indefinable, it can be any. As a rule, cats with this genotype have bright eyes.

The gene responsible for piebility gives white spots of a continuous type at the exit, but outwardly the animal looks completely snow-white. It happens that the spots do not adjoin one another, then the animal turns out spotty. Eyes can be of different colors. People who breed white cats often associate them with features that are unexplainable from a scientific point of view. For instance:

• a white cat crossing your path brings luck, success, gain;
• a domestic cat of this color should bring prosperity and monetary prosperity to the owners, but a strange cat that has come into your house will bring a material loss;
• snow-white cats cannot be offended, otherwise they will attract misfortune;
• white cats are even credited with the ability to increase the chance of conceiving a child for a woman, if she often strokes her pet's light skin;
• when attaching kittens, it is recommended to give cats to men, cats to women.

The color of the eyes of white cats can be different, it was already mentioned above that genes are responsible for this. That is why the eyes of albinos do not have a pronounced color and stand out with a red rim. But if the cat’s eyes have shades of green, yellowness, and blue, the white dominant gene has worked here. Sometimes these cats have different eyes, for example, one bluish, the other yellow. Among blue-eyed cats, a large percentage of animals with congenital deafness. If one eye is blue, the ear on its side may be inaudible.

So, it was found that the deafness of white cats is associated with eye color and genes. Ear degeneration occurs in 40% of different-eyed animals and about 75% of blue-eyed animals. Hearing impairment occurs due to the fact that the white gene gene has a devastating effect on the migration of melanoblasts producing and transporting pigment. This also affects the functioning of cells of a different order. The kitten still receives this deviation by the embryo. Of course, not all snow-white cats with blue eyes are deaf. Judging by the total number of cats, this is slightly more than 1% of the total. Geographically, the uniformity of distribution of such cats was not detected.

The risk of deafness of a blue-eyed cat grows by about 4 times in comparison with other colors. In addition, it is proved that cats with long hair are three times more likely to be born inaudible than short-haired. Hearing cats do not participate in breeding programs, they are rejected, but at home they can be wound up without problems. The only nuance of leaving is that they are strictly forbidden to walk on the street, all the more without supervision, there are too many dangers for them.

There are many purebred domestic cats, which can be snow-white, for some of them white color is a characteristic sign of the variety. We offer a list of the most common pets that are distinguished by white color.

• Kao-mani. This breed has spread from Thailand. It is quite ancient, once upon a time this breed was considered a court and was inaccessible to ordinary inhabitants. Distinctive features:
  • wool of a snow tone;
  • multi-colored or one-colored eyes, amber, green, blue;
  • many representatives of the breed at birth have spots on the head that disappear with age;
  • more than 50% of cats have hearing impairment on one or both sides;
  • animals are quite energetic, active in character;
  • they relate to a person with confidence, loving, affectionate;
  • this breed is one of the most expensive, very rare.

• Forin White. These cat representatives were created by selection in England in 1966, therefore their snow-white color is the result of human efforts. The progenitor of this cat is the Siamese cat. There are features:
  • white, snow color;
  • blue eyes;
  • there is no hearing impairment in this breed;
  • the nature of the cats is very similar to the Siamese counterparts.

• Balinese This breed is a type of Siamese with long hair. He mutated naturally without artificial intervention.Representatives of the breed have long been considered defective, unsuitable for the standard, however, in 1965, it was decided to register Balinesis as a separate line. There are representatives of completely snow-white and color-point suits, when dark spots are distinguished against a white main background.

• Turkish Angora. It is considered one of the oldest breeds, during the Second World War it was almost completely lost. Breeders were able to tackle the recovery after they found a female and angora male kept in the zoo. The breed is still very rare. Distinctive features:
  • the animal has a slightly elongated body;
  • the coat is dry, friable, thin;
  • there are different colors, the original is snow-white;
  • eyes are multi-colored or blue;
  • the temperament of cats of this breed is peaceful, benevolent;
  • active behavior, cats quickly become attached to humans and animals

• Russian white. This variety is the result of breeding two native Russian breeds - blue and Siberian white. As a result, the cat obtained is quite calm and affectionate, affectionate and very beautiful. The eyes are usually green, the color is snow-white. Despite the name, the breed is not bred in Russia, it has the greatest popularity in Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and is found in the USA and Europe.

• Turkish van. Representatives of this breed have an elongated coat, the main color is white, but there is a slight spotting in the area of ​​the head, tail, limbs. The eyes may be a shade of green, amber or blue.

• Anatolian. The appearance of this breed took place without human intervention, it was created as a result of a natural mutation. There are a lot of suits of such cats, among animals there are white representatives and snow-white with reddish spots. Virtually no albinos, eyes can vary in color.

• Persian. This is a very popular breed, distributed throughout the world. Its representatives have a long coat, thick undercoat, eye color may be the same or vary.

• British Another favorite among cats, most often smoky blue, but snow-white cats are also found. The eyes are most often blue. One of the calmest breeds, such cats are temperament phlegmatic.

• Scottish lop-eared. This breed is very similar to the previous one in appearance and characteristics, the only significant difference is hanging ears. There are representatives of snow-white color, the eyes are most often blue, but there are also multi-eyed cats.

• Himalayan cat. A very spectacular feline, this is a variety of Persian cat with color point. The main color is white with cream tint, with brown discharge.

• Devon Rex, Cornish Rex. These are almost naked cats, their short hair is slightly curled. There are white individuals that are very expensive, as they are rare and in demand.

• Oriental. The color is snow-white, cold, eyes are a shade of green, topaz, blue, animals can be odd-eyed. Very spectacular and rare cats, so quite expensive.

• Snow Bengal. A snow-white cat of this breed did not escape a specific patterned color in the form of stains, spots. There are several subspecies of this breed:
  • sepia - against a lightened warm background with a slight honey tint, darkened patterns, aquamarine eyes or yellowish eyes;
  • mink - the basis is snow-white, the pattern is bright, contrasting type, the eyes can be blue, gray, with a greenish tint;
  • the link is the most snow-white of all subspecies, the patterns are almost invisible on animals, the eyes are bright bluish, there are no hearing impairments.

And now we will consider no less status, but more budget breeds.

• Maine Coon. This breed is distinguished by long hair, a wide variety of varieties of suits, quite impressive dimensions. White color is quite rare, therefore very expensive.

• Norwegian Forest. Representatives of this breed are also quite large in size.Their coat is long, color options are diverse, including white, which is very much appreciated.

• Manx. The main distinguishing feature of the breed is the absence of a tail. Snow-white color among cats is common, sometimes it is supplemented by spotting in black or reddish tones.

• Neva Masquerade. Incredibly beautiful cat with elongated hair, white torso and smoky mask, limbs and tail.

• Exot. It is often called a Persian cat for sloths, since the hair of this cat is much shorter than that of a Persian. White suits are rare, therefore expensive.

• Japanese bobtail. Cats can be with shortened or elongated hair, most often they are two-tone: white with black and reddish spots.

Since the snow-white color of cats, regardless of whether the breed is fluffy or short-haired, requires a special attitude, it is necessary to devote more time to caring for pets. They are kept in clean rooms, they take care of their hair, they are washed, and they are not allowed to walk free. To make the animal look spectacular and maintain its perfect color, you need to try hard. To do this, you will have to not only take care of the coat, but also properly feed the pet, and organize his lifestyle.

One of the main care procedures is combing, a cat will have to be trained in it from the first days after acquisition. A furminator is used for this, but this is if the wool is of an elongated type. If you do not accustom the animal to regular combing, each action will be accompanied by violent methods, scratches. Long hair is combed daily, you can not run the hair, otherwise they will roll up with tangles. In addition, wool throughout the house will be provided to you. It will be difficult and painful to comb out the hair that has fallen off, so you should not allow this if you do not want to shave the cat naked.

• small - for the ears and head;
• medium for limbs;
• large - for the abdomen, back, tail.

A very important point in the care is manicure. It is necessary to cut the claws at least once a month or a little more often, otherwise the cat will begin to scratch and injure itself. Use special tweezers purchased at the appropriate store or veterinarian. In no case do not cut the claws at the root, the border of shearing is the beginning of clawed capillaries, they should not be touched. In addition, provide the cat with the opportunity to sharpen its claws, otherwise it will begin to spoil things and furniture in the house.

Eye care is also important, since so many cat representatives suffer from rotting, tearing. If your cat is susceptible to this, you must consult a veterinarian. Eyes can be washed, for example, with brewed tea, but do not forget that he dyes snow-white wool in brown, so be careful. This is especially true for animals that participate in exhibition events.

In addition, try:

• regularly and timely replace the contents of the tray;
• feed the animal well with balanced feeds; you can’t allow food from the general table and give cheap feeds that cause many diseases;
• once a quarter to carry out the prevention of parasites, helminths by appropriate means;
• once every six months to treat the animal from insects superficially;
• timely vaccination against rabies, infectious diseases;
• periodically show the animal to the veterinarian.

Breeding of snow-white animals is a rather problematic task, which has its own nuances with almost every breed. For example, for breeding Persian cats, a pair of absolutely white representatives of the breed is purchased, but this can also give you a surprise. After all, white is actually the absence of pigment, a variety of colors are masked under it. Therefore, a kitten can be born completely of any color or with spotting.

It is extremely important to track the pedigree; representatives of other stripes in it practically guarantee the dominance of pigment in subsequent generations. Experts say that there can be no one hundred percent confidence in obtaining precisely snow-white offspring. There is only one way to breed precisely snow-white cats - to acquire a homozygous pair: male and female. This does not allow genes to break down in the offspring, which guarantees the necessary color.

See below for more details.