Cat with 2 different colored eyes (but not bi-eyed)

This isn't really a major health concern, its just something I have always been curious about. One of my cats has amber colored eyes that are blue in the center. I know sometimes cat's pupils can make the areas around their pupils look darker, but her eyes are 2 totally different colors.

I know, in humans, sometimes the melanin in the iris can start to degrade, causing the eye to change color or look bi-colored. But I'm not quite sure if that sort of thing occours in cats as well?

Anyway, here is my beautiful Kiwi!

Anyone have an opinion on this?

I think most cats have a color variation like that----darker near the iris, lighter around the edges. Hers are just especially striking .

Willowy said:

I think most cats have a color variation like that----darker near the iris, lighter around the edges. Hers are just especially striking .

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I had considered that. But I just think it's a bit odd that her eyes are both blue and amber? I've never seen a cat have such a variation of color in their eyes (without heterochromia of course).

That's a beautiful example of central heterochromia.

In complete heterochromia one eye is colored and the other blue, in central heterochromia the inner part of the eye is another color.

MingsMongols said:

In complete heterochromia one eye is colored and the other blue, in central heterochromia the inner part of the eye is another color.

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• mingsmongols
• Nov 14, 2016

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• mingsmongols
• Nov 14, 2016

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M mingsmongols

Oh wow, that's very interesting! I've just spent the last hour reading about central heterochromia. One thing I do find odd is that it is said to be linked to the white spot gene, but I'm not sure Kiwi carries that gene. She's a torbie, so as far as her coat goes, she's a bit of a mixed bag haha.

It is rare indeed but does happen. The white masking gene is just not very well understood. The blue is what lets you know that it's heterochromia. In cats with multiple colored eyes You'll see some with yellow that have green flecks or another color in their eyes but not blue. The blue is the color that shows up when the other color is 'masked'.

She's got white around her face that I can see. So torbie with white and central heterochromia. She's a rare girl indeed.

Check out purrbalds Hitler signature series to see a split odd eye with color. I think he might be the only one of his kind.

She's stunning by the way. I love her coat and her ear tufts. Very cute.

MingsMongols said:

It is rare indeed but does happen. The white masking gene is just not very well understood. The blue is what lets you know that it's heterochromia. In cats with multiple colored eyes You'll see some with yellow that have green flecks or another color in their eyes but not blue. The blue is the color that shows up when the other color is 'masked'.

She's got white around her face that I can see. So torbie with white and central heterochromia. She's a rare girl indeed.

She's stunning by the way. I love her coat and her ear tufts. Very cute.

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M mingsmongols

Thank you! We (my family and I) think she is very beautiful too The man who fostered her is a friend of ours and he had a very hard time letting her go. He kept telling my mom, "that one's going to be a looker when she grows up!"

We adopted her at 10 weeks and her eyes hadn't fully changed yet, so they were mostly blue. Our vet always compliments her on her eyes but she never told us why her eyes were like that.

I saw "Hitler" and WOW. His eyes are so cool!

Also, I've only ever seen 1 other cat with color that had heterochromia (complete heterochromia, mind you). And that's Venus the 2 faced cat. She's a very famous tortie with white.

Venus is definitely a medical mystery. Look at this guy. Not a bit of white on him, I don't know how that's even possible. Kiwi seems to have won the genetic lottery though. She's just got the right stuff in all the right places. Lol

Amber is my central heterochromia kitty! Amber and blue, just like yours!

As for the white spot gene, Amber is all black (hidden tabby in bright lighting), not even a white spot on her anywhere, but she might carry the white spot gene, she is part of a litter of three, one of her sisters is a tuxedo cat and the other is black with a white spot on her chest. She is also the runt of the litter, still looks like a kitten, when I found them I thought she was a lot younger because of her size and the partly blue eyes, but the others were bigger and green eyed.

Banana Queen said:

Amber is my central heterochromia kitty! Amber and blue, just like yours!
As for the white spot gene, Amber is all black (hidden tabby in bright lighting), not even a white spot on her anywhere, but she might carry the white spot gene, she is part of a litter of three, one of her sisters is a tuxedo cat and the other is black with a white spot on her chest. She is also the runt of the litter, still looks like a kitten, when I found them I thought she was a lot younger because of her size and the partly blue eyes, but the others were bigger and green eyed.

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• banana queen
• Oct 4, 2016

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• banana queen
• Oct 4, 2016

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She is beautiful!

She may have white on her paw pads. If any of her paw pads are pink, then she has the white spot gene.

Thank you

Nope, all of her paw pads are black. The only cat of mine with pink paw pads is Socks, my grey and white cat. The others have four sets of black toe beans each.

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Amber DOES have the white spot gene! Her sister Mittens took most of it, and Izzy took what was left, but Amber has it too. She has exactly four white hairs, on her neck, usually covered by the tag on her collar, but I noticed it now because she lost her collar and her new one doesn't have a tag yet.

Hi!!

I think this is what my 12 week old kittens have. They're siblings... is this just the normal development of kitten eye color, or will their eyes stay like this? It's kind of cool, but I would like to know more about it. I was struggling to identify their eye color and became intrigued when I found VERY few photos of cats with eyes that look like my kittens'

Kitten 1 - 1
Kitten 2 - 2

Wow I don’t think anyone will really see this because I’m pretty sure the most recent reply was in 2016. But I just got a new kitten and noticed that her eyes had two different colors and looked it up and found this. I think it’s so pretty and cool especially to see the different colors in other cats and I just wanted to share for someone who might see in the future