Possible deaf kitten, or cream pointed?
Forums
Hello all,
I work in rescue and we recently picked up a Momma cat and her 4 babies that were a day old from our local shelter. They are happily secured by a local county humane society and once weaned, fully vetted, and socialized, will be available for adoption!
Currently, they are 2 weeks old, and we have... In addition to the mother, "Momma Marmalade,"
One female, pale colored calico. Her name is Badger, and she is gorgeous. Her dark spots appear to be a chocolate/blue color in various lighting, and her orange spots are very pale and creamy, like her mother (pale orange, solid cat with some banding in the tail).
One male, red/orange tabby. His name is Rudy.
One female, who to my delight and surprise, looks Siamese! Reading about the genes behind that appearance here I know now that it's due to the time it took for the body temp differences to manifest. I knew it had to do with body heat, but not why it was so slow to show. She started out a very pale, silvery color, solid... Now she looks like she will be a seal point. Her name was Nog, after Eggnog (not very fitting anymore, alas!)
And the last kitty is a little boy. He looked white at birth, but I didn't think anything of it because I've seen many white cats so it's not like horses where solid white at birth can indicate lethal white overo or anything... Today I learned he might be deaf if he is homozygous for white? My vet was inspecting them and I am heartbroken. A little girl and her dad were coming to meet him, Clause, tomorrow, and see if she was interested in adopting.
HOWEVER, I have been curious because it appears, that like his sister Nog, he has bands in his tail. Hers are of course seal/chocolate colored, but his are a pale creamy color. Does this mean he COULD be, instead of white and potentially deaf, a cream pointed cat with that "Siamese" pattern?!
I will post pictures later so everyone can see, and I'm also willing to let the site use them in the gallery as well :)
https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hph… < That is a close up of the particular kitten in question. I really want his ears to look pale cream tipped...
https://www.facebook.com/megan.maynard… < That should take you to the "family" album for the cats, including the Momma and 2 pictures of each kitten.
If you can see bands on his
If you can see bands on his tail it's a good bet he will be an orange or cream point. Especially since there is already a point in the litter. Most of the Deaf Whites have no color at all so you wouldn't be able to see faint bands on his tail.
Even then, not all of the solid white cats are deaf. Those with one solid colored eye tend to have normal hearing even some that have two blue eyes have normal hearing. They are just far more likely to be deaf.
Please keep us updated on how it turns out. Mama cat looks like a very sweet cat. I love the ginger kitties.