Research overview: hearing, white coats, and congenital deafness in cats

A well-known link in feline sensory biology connects white coat color, blue eyes, and congenital deafness. This overview surveys the association between the dominant white gene and inner-ear degeneration, in which affected cats, especially white cats with blue eyes, may be born deaf in one or both ears because the cochlea fails to develop normally. The same developmental pathway affects pigment cells needed for normal inner-ear function, linking coat color to hearing. The survey discusses how deafness can be unilateral or bilateral and how it is assessed, including with brainstem-response testing. It frames this as an example of pleiotropy, where one genetic factor influences both pigmentation and a sensory organ. Understanding the white-cat deafness link is important for welfare and breeding, and it illustrates how the development of the auditory system is intertwined with the biology of pigment cells.