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 cat lovers are happy to breed and get white animals. This color is quite rare, to get it with the help of selection is not easy, because the genes of dark stripes dominate the light. Therefore, even color in the white gamut is so highly appreciated by experts and fans of cats.

First of all, it is necessary to understand that the white cat owes its luxurious color to the genes of albinism. The albino kitten in principle has no color, the gene for albinism 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 feline kingdom are very rare. But blue-eyed albinos are found more often. To get a white kitten, you must reduce the cat with the gene of white color with the male of any suit. If you reduce a cat and a cat, in the set of which there is this gene, then the suit of kittens is indefinable, it can be any. As a rule, cats with such a genotype have eyes of bright shades.

The gene responsible for pegging gives white spots of a solid 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 spotted. Eyes can be different colors. People who turn white cats often associate them with features inexplicable from a scientific point of view. For example:

• white cat, crossing your path, bears luck, success, winning;
• a domestic cat of such a color should bring prosperity, monetary prosperity to the owners, but an alien cat who has come to your house, will bring, rather, a material loss;
• snow-white cats can not 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 frequently strokes the light skin of a pet;
• attaching kittens, it is recommended to give the cats to men, cats - to women.

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

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

The risk of deafness of a blue-eyed cat grows about 4 times in comparison with other colors. In addition, it is proved that cats with long hair are three times more often born deaf than short-haired. Deaf cats do not participate in breeding programs, they are rejected, but at home they can be started without any problems. The only caveat of care is that they absolutely cannot walk outside, especially without supervision, there are too many dangers for them.

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

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

• Foreign White. These representatives of the cat created by breeding in England in 1966, so their snow-white color - the result of human efforts. The progenitor of this cat is a Siamese cat. There are features:
  • color white, snow;
  • blue eyes;
  • this breed has no hearing problems;
  • the nature of the cats is very similar to the Siamese brethren.

• Balinez. This breed is a species of Siamese with long hair. He mutated naturally without artificial interference. Representatives of the breed were long considered defective, unsuitable by standard, however, in 1965 it was decided to register the Balinese as a separate line. There are representatives of all-white and color-point suits, when black spots stand out against a white background.

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

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

• Turkish van. Representatives of this breed have elongated wool, the main color is white, but there is a slight spotting in the zone of the head, tail, and extremities. Eyes can be a shade of green, amber or blue.

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

• Persian. This is a very popular breed, widespread throughout the world. Her representatives have long hair, thick undercoat, eye color may be the same or different.

• British Another favorite among cats, most often smoky-blue, but there are also snow-white cats. The eyes are most often blue. One of the most soothing breeds, such cats on 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 odd-eyed cats.

• Himalayan cat. A very effective representative of the cat, this is a species of Persian cat with color-point color. The main color is white with a creamy tint, with brown secretions.

• Devon Rex, Cornish Rex. They are almost hairless cats, their short fur is slightly woven. There are white individuals that are very expensive, as they are rare and in demand.

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

• Snow Bengal. A snow-white cat of this breed did not avoid a specific patterned color in the form of stains, spots. There are several subspecies of this breed:
  • sepia - on a brightly-lit warm background with light honey tint, dark patterns, aquamarine or yellowish eyes;
  • Mink - the base is snow-white, the pattern is bright, of a contrasting type, the eyes may be blue, gray, with a greenish tint;
  • Lynx is the whitest of all subspecies, there are almost no patterns on animals, bright bluish eyes, no hearing impairment.

And now we will consider not less status, but more budgetary breeds.

• Maine Coon. This breed has a long coat, a variety of colors, quite impressive dimensions. White color is quite rare, so it is very expensive.

• Norwegian Forest. Representatives of this breed are also quite large in size. Their coat is long, the 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 complemented by spotting in black or reddish tones.

• Neva Masquerade. Incredibly beautiful cat with long hair, white body color and smoky mask, limbs and tail.

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

• Japanese bobtail Cats can be with short or long hair, most often they are two-colored: white with black and reddish spots.

Since the snow-white color of cats, regardless of whether the breed is fluffy or shorthair, requires a special relationship, it is necessary to devote more time to caring for pets. They are kept in clean rooms, take care of wool, wash, do not let out for free range. In order for the animal to look spectacular and retain its perfect color, you need to carefully try. To do this, you will have to not only take care of the coat, but also properly feed your pet and organize its way of life.

One of the main grooming procedures - combing, it will have to teach the cat from the first days after the acquisition. Furminator is used for this, but this is if the wool is of elongated type. If you do not teach the animal to regularly comb, each event will be accompanied by violent methods, scratches. Long hair is combed daily, you can not run your hair, otherwise they will roll with mats.In addition, wool throughout the house will be provided to you. Combing wool that has been felled will be difficult and painful, so you should not allow this to happen if you do not want to cut the cat bald.

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

A very important moment in the care - manicure. It is necessary to cut the claws at least once a month or a little more, otherwise the cat will begin to scratch and injure itself. Use special tweezers purchased at an appropriate store or vet pharmacy. In no case do not cut the claws under the root, the edge of the cutting is the beginning of the claw capillaries, it is impossible to touch them. In addition, provide the cat with an opportunity to sharpen its claws, otherwise it will begin to spoil things and furniture in the house.

Eye care is also important because so many representatives of the feline suffer from rotting, tearing. If your cat is prone to this, you need to consult a veterinarian. Eyes can be washed, for example, with brewed tea, but do not forget that it dyes snow-white wool brown, so take care. This is especially true of animals that participate in exhibitions.

In addition, try:

• regularly and timely replace the contents of the tray;
• feed the animal well with balanced feeds; it is not allowed to feed from the common table and give cheap feeds that cause many diseases;
• once a quarter to carry out the prevention of parasites, worms with appropriate means;
• once every six months, the treatment of the animal from insects is superficial;
• time to do vaccination against rabies, infectious diseases;
• periodically show the animal to the vet.

Cultivation of snow-white animals is a rather problematic occupation, 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 acquired, but this may provide you with a surprise. After all, white is actually the absence of pigment, various suits are masked under it. Therefore, the kitten can be born completely any color or spotting.

It is extremely important to keep track of the pedigree, representatives of other stripes in it practically guarantee the dominance of pigment in subsequent generations. Experts say that there can be no absolute certainty in getting exactly white offspring. There is only one way to breed exactly white cats - to acquire a homozygous pair: a male and a female. This does not allow genes to be split in offspring, which guarantees the required color.

For information on how to care for white cats, see the following video.