Coat Color

Albinism (Discovered in Oriental breeds)

Alternative Names: Pigment absence

Albinism (Discovered in Oriental breeds) Photo

The Albino (Discovered in Oriental breeds) variant results in white fur, a pink nose, and pale blue eyes.

More Info

Did you know?

A similar and very rare genetic variant causing albinism has also been identified in random bred domestic cats.

How it works

Two copies of this variant will result in albino coloring.

Health implications

Unlike that of Dominant White coated cats, the albinism variant in cats has not been associated with higher instances of deafness. However, it has been associated with increased light sensitivity and higher susceptibility to sun damage and skin cancer. These cats tend to fair better when kept indoors and away from prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. Albino cats may also be a bit clumsier as the lack of pigment within the eyes can interfere with depth perception, vision tracking, and focusing the eyes.

Technical Details

Gene TYR
Variant Deletion
Chromosome D1
Coordinate 45,898,772

All coordinates reference FelCat9.0

References & Credit

Credit to our scientific colleagues:

Lyons, L. A., Imes, D. L., Rah, H. C., & Grahn, R. A. (2005). Tyrosinase mutations associated with Siamese and Burmese patterns in the domestic cat (Felis catus). Animal Genetics, 36(2), 119–126. View the article