Blue eyes in Felis catus: genetics and health impacts.
4 affiliations
- 1Independent Researcher, Ashland, OH, United States of America.
- 2Independent Veterinarian Practitioner, London, England.
- 3City St George's, University of London, St George's Hospital, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, England. [email protected].
- 4General Medicine, Grantham and District Hospital, Grantham, England. [email protected].
Abstract
Blue eyes and a colored coat are a sought-after trait in Felis catus. The dominant blue eye (DBE) phenotype arises from mutations within the PAX3 gene and is characterized by blue eyes on the background of a colored coat. Our review of the literature highlights the characteristics of four DBE variants, DBECEL, DBERE, DBEALT and DBEAGO, emphasizing their diverse phenotypic expressions, including blue eye color and white spotting to associated risks of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) across cat breeds. We also highlight breed-specific disorders arising from limited gene pools, and given pathological effects of inbreeding and posit that responsible breeding strategies must prioritize genetic diversity to improve animal welfare. As DBERE variants resulted in high kitten mortality, with homozygous variants predicted to result in prenatal lethality and heterozygosity associated with a risk of SNHL and continuing to breed with this gene cannot be considered ethical under German Law. DBEALT, DBECEL and DBEAGO heterozygote felines have not yet been shown to exhibit SNHL. We sought to categorize DBE variant effects on cats, understand if this is comparable to other species and explain further the mechanism between eye color and SNHL.
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BibTeX
@article{shatokhina2026blue,
title = {{Blue eyes in Felis catus: genetics and health impacts.}},
author = {Olga Shatokhina and Eleanor Curtis and Victoria S Foster},
journal = {Companion animal health and genetics},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1186/s40575-026-00159-0},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42919426},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Blue eyes in Felis catus: genetics and health impacts.
AU - Olga Shatokhina
AU - Eleanor Curtis
AU - Victoria S Foster
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
JO - Companion animal health and genetics
DO - 10.1186/s40575-026-00159-0
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42919426
AB - Blue eyes and a colored coat are a sought-after trait in Felis catus. The dominant blue eye (DBE) phenotype arises from mutations within the PAX3 gene and is characterized by blue eyes on the background of a colored coat. Our review of the literature highlights the characteristics of four DBE variants, DBECEL, DBERE, DBEALT and DBEAGO, emphasizing their diverse phenotypic expressions, including blue eye color and white spotting to associated risks of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) across cat breeds. We also highlight breed-specific disorders arising from limited gene pools, and given pathological effects of inbreeding and posit that responsible breeding strategies must prioritize genetic diversity to improve animal welfare. As DBERE variants resulted in high kitten mortality, with homozygous variants predicted to result in prenatal lethality and heterozygosity associated with a risk of SNHL and continuing to breed with this gene cannot be considered ethical under German Law. DBEALT, DBECEL and DBEAGO heterozygote felines have not yet been shown to exhibit SNHL. We sought to categorize DBE variant effects on cats, understand if this is comparable to other species and explain further the mechanism between eye color and SNHL.
SN - 3059-3255
ER -