Care for a white cat

If we are going to talk about the special care for a white cat, we must begin by differentiating it from an albino cat. The latter has a genetic alteration where, after the mutation, we have a generally white cat with blue eyes or one of each color. The differences with the white cat are few but there are.

In this article we want to show you what the care for a white cat, what we must take into account and what not to have a successful coexistence and a healthy and happy feline.

Differences with the albino cat

Not all white cats are albinos! This is the first thing to emphasize in order to understand the differences with albinos and “normal” cats. The coat of the albino cat is always white, but the coat of the white cat can have spots of other colors. There are also total targets that are not albinos.

The white cat may not have blue eyes or one of each color as, normally, the albino has them. But it is not a rule but something that normally happens. On the other hand, the skin of white cats is not usually a pale pink like that of albinos, it can be in some cases that have some albino descendant, and we do not know it, but it is not a fixed characteristic as in albinos. But for more information, do not miss our article about the care of an albino cat.

His coat: white

Like the black cat, it masks a great mystery, since most geneticists do not consider it a real color. It could be said that it is a gene called W, which covers not only the actual color of the cat, but its possible spots. In cats with a lot of white, this gene is abundant unlike the S gene, which is responsible for the colors in our cats.

In order for the child or children of a litter to be born white, one of the parents must be white. This particular gene is known among geneticists as “epistatic”, since it hides any color likely to appear in the feline. In some puppies a gray or reddish spot may appear on the head, which, as they grow, disappears.

Eyes of the white cat

Another difference to keep in mind with albinos is that allows the entire color palette when it comes to eyes: blue, green, yellow, gray, etc. While the albinos, as we said in the introduction, only blue or bicolor. In this sense, within the care for a white cat, if his eyes are of a rather dark color, we should not worry. On the other hand, if they look more clear tonalities, as it happens with the albino cats, we should pay attention to the type of light that we have at home, since they do not support the very intense lights.

Skin care of a white cat

With regard to the largest organ of the body of our feline, we must pay special attention, as in albinos. There are albino cats that do not have pigmentation neither in the hair nor in the skin, and white cats that only in sectors of their body have this abnormality but, in both cases, they require special care to avoid the appearance of pathologies like the one that we detail to continuation.

Among all skin diseases, we have the actinic dermatitis as the most common, where, not having these pigments that protected the skin of our cat, the ultraviolet rays penetrate directly causing this disease and can reach cancer. It produces a deep burn in the cat, chronic, after exposure to the sun. It mainly occurs in ears, nose, interdigital spaces and lips.

As symptoms we detect: constant pruritus and in different parts, tip blood or ear pinna, scabs on different parts of the body, loss of hair and / or areas with changes of color in the coat due to vasodilation caused by the inflammation of the area.

As a treatment, there is nothing better than prevention. Try our little feline Do not be in the sun without sunscreen and, much less, in hours of high temperatures in summer. This advice also applies to cats with white nose and ears, or red cats. Sunscreen can be for humans but free of zinc oxide. Anyway it is always good to consult a veterinary specialist.

Squamous cell carcinoma

I think the word speaks for itself, skin cancer. It is the most frequent complication in animals with the dermatitis named above that was not treated in a timely manner. The most common location is ears, face and nose. It is a ulceration of the skin and deformation of the face. It can continue advancing to the lungs, lack of appetite of the animal and, finally, its death if it is not attended to in time.

We must be attentive to prevention and visit the veterinarian whenever we have doubts on these issues. Everything is very fast and we can come to regret it. In particular, I have dealt with animal homeopathy with great success, we just need to know the moment. For more information, do not miss our article on homeopathy for cats.

Deafness in white and albino cats

Both the white cat and the albino suffer from it and, therefore, when we talk about care for a white cat, it is essential to take this condition into account. Some time ago it was associated with white cats and blue eyes, but nowadays this theory has been discarded, since there are white cats with blue eyes that hear normally and others with totally deaf green eyes.

The origin of this abnormality is not known exactly but it is believed that it is associated with the nervous structures of hearing during its formation and the lack of pigmentation in the hair. Within its care we have the exits to the outside that must be watched, since they are easy prey because they have diminished their defenses and, therefore, Cats with deafness should not go out alone to avoid accidents. But inside all the negative we have that they are very playful and affectionate, calmer, with very low nervousness thanks to that they are not disturbed by the world that surrounds them. Check our article about deaf cat care and find out everything to offer the best quality of life to your cat if he suffers from this condition.

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