Albino kitten?

[lakooda]

My polydactyl tabby cat recently had a litter of 5 females. All were various shades of tabby, while one was pure white. As she's grown, I've noticed that her nose, ears, tail and all four legs are beginning to shift to a light grey. It reminds me of a Siamese. She's long haired with vibrant blue eyes. I know that when they're kittens, they will have this 'baby blue' until they mature, but her eyes are a brighter blue than the rest. I also noticed a red tint would reflect in the light. I'm not sure if she can be classified as albino, cause she's slowly shifting colors in certain areas. I once had a cat that was born pure white, and as she grew, she faded to black. The vet has never heard of that happening. She was literally, pure black, although she was born pure white. Sadly she ran away some years ago, but I'll never forget her. Has anyone else ever had a cat like that? Born white, turned black? I'm getting off topic. Any insight on my white fluff ball?

image.jpg

• lakooda
• Jun 12, 2013

And here's a second image of one of her sisters, see the difference?

image.jpg

• lakooda
• Jun 12, 2013

 

[natalie_ca]

She doesn't look albino to me.

Albino cats are very rare. They are different from ordinary white cats. They are born lacking pigmentation of the skin, eyes or hair. The reason their eyes are pink is because without pigment, you can see blood vessels through the pupil of the eyes.
 

 

[callista]

Isn't the pointed ("Siamese") pattern technically a form of albinism? Not the kind without any pigment altogether, but a subtype that causes just the points (the cooler parts of the cat's body) to darken.

You should take regular pictures as the kittens grow up. We can always use more cuteness 'round here and you will probably get to see her points darken as she gets older.

Do keep Momma indoors until she can be spayed--I've heard that it's entirely possible for a mom cat to end up with a second litter on top of the first, and that would just be exhausting, plus mean more kittens for you to try to find homes for. Cats are very, very fertile (but you probably know that already, seeing as yours has gotten herself knocked up once already!). Once her milk dries up and she can be spayed, she'll be less likely to have that drive to escape outdoors and find herself a tom and saddle you with another litter!

The kitten's sister seems to be a brown tabby. The tabby coat will show up if the cat has genes for it, because it's dominant. Your cat is carrying the "pointed" gene, but it's probably covered up by a tabby pattern like with that second kitten. Maybe the tom was a pointed cat too, or else he was just carrying the gene. Either way, this particular kitten got two genes for that pointed coat, and so expresses the pattern. The Siamese cats were the ones who first introduced the pointed pattern into the cat population, so it can be said that your cat has a distant Siamese ancestor.

The kitten's eyes will probably stay blue. Her siblings' eyes may darken into green, yellow, copper, gold... the usual tabby eye colors.

Aha, yes:

Wikipedia, "Point Coloration"
Point coloration in cats is a form of partial albinism resulting from a mutation in tyrosinase, an enzyme involved with melanin production. The mutated enzyme is heat-sensitive; it fails to work at normal body temperatures, but becomes active in cooler areas of the skin.[1] As a result, dark pigment is limited to the coldest areas of the body, that is, the extremities. Pointed kittens are born white, since the womb is uniformly warm. As the kitten ages, the cooler areas darken while warmer areas remain cream to white in color. Points are not limited to solid colors or dark colors. It is possible to have a red (orange color) or fawn (pale warm gray) point. It is also possible to have a tortoiseshell or tabby point. This coloration is also sometimes called colorpoints.

 

[denice]

I think she inherited the pointed gene, probably a Siamese somewhere in the background.  I don't know much at all about cat genetics.  If mama cat wasn't specifically mated to one male the kittens could have different fathers which would explain only one pointed cat.  She could simply be the only one exhibiting the gene.