7 Cool Facts About Cat Eye Colors
My cat Kissy had the most amazing eyes I’d ever seen: If I caught her with her eyes open on a sunny day, they were a beautiful sea-green that I could never capture in a photo. Most of the pictures I have of her, like the one below, show her eyes with a golden tone. But whatever color your cat’s eyes are, there’s an amazing story behind how they got that way. Check out these cool facts on cat eye colors:
1. Cat eye colors start with the iris
Cat eye colors start with the iris. Photography ©PatrikSlezak | Thinkstock.
The colored area around the pupil of the eye is called the iris. The iris has two layers, the stroma and the epithelium. Both of these layers contain pigment-producing cells called melanocytes. In the stroma, those melanocytes are loosely arranged, and in the epithelium, they are more tightly packed.
2. It’s all about melanin
This cat’s eyes have lots of very active melanocytes, hence, the dark copper color. Orange tabby cat, Photography by emilyart / Shutterstock.
The pigment produced by the melanocytes is called melanin. A while back I wrote an article on the genetics of cat fur color, in which I explained that melanin plays an important role in determining how dark your cat’s fur coat will be. The same thing is true with cats’ eyes: The more melanocytes there are in your cat’s irises, the darker their color will be. But cats don’t get brown or black eyes like people do; the darkest color you’ll see in a cat’s eyes is a deep, rich copper.
3. A cat’s eye-color intensity is linked to melanocyte activity
A cat with highly active melanocytes will have bright golden-yellow eyes. Photography ©graphixchon | Thinkstock.
When the melanin-producing cells are very active, a cat’s eye color will become more intense. For example, a cat with a medium amount of highly active melanocytes will have bright golden-yellow eyes, but a cat with a medium amount of less active melanocytes may have pale lemon-yellow eyes.
4. Purebred cats tend to have more intense eye colors
Bombay cat breed standards call for copper-colored eyes. Photography by Vecta / Shutterstock.
Because purebred cats are bred to meet a specific breed standard, which often includes eye color, breeders select for cats that have more intense colors or particular colors. For example, the Bombay cat breed standard requires copper-colored eyes; and the Tonkinese has aqua-colored eyes.
5. Blue-eyed cats have no melanin in their irises
This blue-eyed white cat has no melanin in her fur or her eyes. Blue-eyed white Persian cat. Photography by DONOT6_STUDIO / Shutterstock.
You know how window glass looks clear when you look straight through it, but it looks kind of blue or green around the edges? That’s because of the refraction of light through a clear surface. The same thing happens with blue-eyed cats: They have no pigment cells in their irises, and because the eye has a rounded shape, light refracts through that rounded surface and produces the blue eye color in cats.
6. There’s a connection between melanin and kitten eyes, too
Kittens’ eyes start out blue because their melanin-producing cells haven’t started working yet. Curious kitten by Shutterstock
Kittens are born with blue eyes because their melanocytes haven’t started working yet. As they grow, their melanocytes start to function and the true color of their eyes begins to appear. The adult eye color starts to appear between 4 and 6 weeks of age, and a kitten’s true eye color is usually apparent by the time he or she is 4 months old.
7. There is generally little relation between a cat’s fur color and eye color
Does fur color have anything to do with cat eye color? Not really. Amber-eyed calico cat. Photography by iidea studio/ Shutterstock.
Different genes control fur color and eye color, so the melanocytes in the fur may be much more (or less) active than those in the eyes. Thus, a black cat like my Belladonna has pale hazel eyes, but a purebred orange Persian may have dark copper-colored eyes. The only exception to this rule is white cats. Because the epistatic white gene is a dominant and masks other colors, white cats are statistically more likely to have blue eyes than random-bred cats of other colors.
Tell us: Is there anything else you’d like to know about cat eye colors? Ask your questions in the comments!
Thumbnail: Photography by ANURAKE SINGTO-ON / Shutterstock.
About JaneA Kelley: Punk-rock cat mom, science nerd, animal rescue volunteer and all-around geek with a passion for bad puns, intelligent conversation, and role-play adventure games. She gratefully and gracefully accepts her status as chief cat slave for her family of feline authors, who have been writing their award-winning cat advice blog, Paws and Effect, since 2003.
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38 comments on “7 Cool Facts About Cat Eye Colors”
You say they can’t have brown eyes? I have an orange tabby, a miniature one at that and his eyes are almond brown. They don’t look to be any other color but almond brown and even my friends that have met him state the same thing. Many ask do cats have brown eyes, and I tell them, he’s the very first one I’ve ever seen that look very much to be almond brown, not gold, not copper, not orange, but literally an almond brown coloring. Maybe I have a very unique kitty here, I just don’t know. But when he stares at you for an extended time with those “brown” eyes of his, it feels like he’s almost human staring at you. And he’s as vocal as a Siamese cat too. My other orange tabbies, 1 standard male and female, brother and sister, male has Amber/green eyes, his sister has orange eyes. Only the miniature has this unique looking almond brown eye color. Just know I’ve never seen a cat anywhere or in any pictures with the eye color this particular orange male feline has.
“Odd eyes” are called heterochromia iridium. It has nothing to do with the health of the cat. It has everything to do with what this article is about…
I recently got a kitten. We don’t know what breed he is, but his coloring is mackerel tabby. We think he’s about 4 weeks old. When he grows up, will his eyes stay blue? Or is there no way to tell?
Hi Emma,
Here’s some info on when kittens’ eyes change color: http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/what-age-do-cats-eye-color-change
My 2 year old orange tabby Charlie has beautiful turquoise eyes with a little bit of orange around his pupil. When he was younger, about 4 to 12 months old they were way more orange than they were now. No idea why!
This article says a cat’s eye color is not related to their color.
I saw one black cat on facebook with blue eyes and thought that was unusual. Is it?
is it true white cats with blue eyes are usually deaf.
Hi Vic,
This article provides some good insight: http://www.catster.com/cat-health-care/all-about-cats-with-blue-eyes
I was in Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War. When I was sent to Al Kharj, there was a Momma cat that allowed everyone to play with her kittens and when she looked at you during the night, her eyes were a pretty intense gold color. She wouldn’t let you see her eyes during the day for a few days. When she finally looked at me during the day, WOW! She showed her glowing blue eyes and just made my jaw drop all the way to the ground and bounce a few times. She was amused!
Yes, this cat’s eyes changed colors from day to night. She knew it, too, and used it to her advantage. I didn’t stay there long enough to find out if her kittens had the same super power.
wow i never knew that was even possible .
Has there ever been a pure black cat with blue eyes?
I have adopted a feral cat, 2 yrs old, no chip, pure white with one green eye and one blue eye. He is beautiful, not at all affectionate, won’t let me hold him at all. I love him to pieces. How can I clean him. His tail and hind legs are a mess. I can’t keep him in the house during the daytime since he is used to being outside, on his own for over two years. It would be cruel. I live in a sheltered area, only a couple of houses, few cars go by, only those whose homes are in the development. He stays in after his evening meal, and sits and looks out the window. I have a screened in porch and he goes out there and sleeps. I bring him inside when I go to bed. He tends to wind up in bed with me at some point. Gets me up at 5:30 a.m. I would prefer at least 6:30 am, I am retired.
Brenda, why would it be cruel to leave him in during the day? I’ve rescued cats for over 40 years, ages 7 mos to 5. My oldest rescued at 7 mos. is 19. I presently have 8 cats, 6 males and 2 females, and have had at the most 16 in my rescue days.
Your kitty will become more and more comfortable with you as it lives with you. Make sure you prove a litter box, plenty of water and dry and wet food. When your kitty is comfortable, I’d take it to a vet. Your rescue, needs to be spayed or neutered if it isn’t already, checked out for common kitty diseases (hopefully none!), and vaccinated.
Not all cats rescued are feral, but abandoned. I have two that have taken a while to be lap cats, one still will only be petted if he’s in your lap.
Many kitties prefer to be indoor kitties after being alone on the street for some time. So, it isn’t cruel to have indoor cats. Only 4 of my 8 go out side, and they are inside much more than outside. I never leave any out at all. I lived in a city before, and moved 3,500 miles with 11 rescues, 8 left now.
You have a keeper there! Do what you can to give him a furrever home. You have a special kitty rescue there!
Re:cleaning, there are wash type pads you can buy at a pet store, for situations like this when you cannot bath your cat (I’ve rarely have ever had to). You can wipe your guy down, when he will let you pet him. Have patience, it can take time with some. Trust is crucial for kitties.
We have a feral cat who is all white. She has one blue eye and one green eye. Her tail is more like a “half a tail” ending in a bit of fluff.
PS: she is now an indoor only cat, but is still feral…just safer
My cat has a violet-toned eye color. Is that possible or am I just seeing a pale blue?
none of the facts in here were good. almost everything was about melanin which is all related. THIS WAS BASICALLY ALL ONE BIG FACT
My cat has these beautiful amber eyes, nearly golden.
But he has such bad eye sight.. he can’t even see a treat laid out in front of him unless you point it out.
Cat’s eyes are geared to motion. Make sure that he sees that you are holding the treat, then drop it in front of him so he sees it drop. He’ll be able to find it then.
I’m still not clear about the distinction of eye coloring of cats…I understand the biological/scientific aspect of the coloring but does their {cats} eye coloring tell anything about their personality,behavior and/or traits? Did I miss this part or do we know?
My silver Bengal boy had beautiful copper coloured eyes. He was diagnosed with a photo systemic shunt , a congenital diagnosis, which diverted blood flow away from his liver. My vet provided me with information on the condition in which I found a suspected link between copper eyes and the condition. Unfortunately by the time we were able to get the diagnosis because of the rarity of the condition he was far too ill for surgery , which may or may not have been successful, so we had to make the dreadful decision to put him down. I would suggest anyone with a sickly cat with copper coloured eyes ask their vet to do a blood test to find out the level of bile in their cats blood. Chui’s was 10 times the norm.
that’s terrible I hope your kitty gets better <3
my cat was born with blue eyes and white fur and now he has gold eyes and coffee colored fur why the dramatic change and does anybody else have that answer iv’e been searching for?
Hi Michelle —
These articles might be helpful:
http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/cat-health-color-change
http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/what-age-do-cats-eye-color-change
No idea but i can imagine if it happens in humans it can happen in cats, too. I was born with blue eyes and blonde hair and had them for the first two years of my life then my eyes changed to hazel and my hair to brown by my third birthday.
My Himalayan cat has sort of two-tone eyes. Both eyes are the same color, but each eye is bluer nearest the iris turning yellowish as it progresses outward. Is this considered a sort of hazel?
I have a very light yellow tabby mix? , her eyes are almost as light yellow as her fur. Do light eyed cats see as well? Sometimes I wonder?
Which eye color shows that our cat is in good health.
I have 3 adult male cats with blue eyes. One is a grey and white tuxedo with bright blue eyes, an orange tabby with lite blue eyes and a grey tabby also with blue eye’s.
I have 3 adult male cats with blue eyes, one is a tabby, an orange tabby , and a grey and white tuxedo with bright blue eyes. I contacted T I C A but got very little interest. There is a strong possibility that I have some tabby kittens that will have blue eyes.
I have a litter of kittens who are 7 weeks old. This is the most unusual colors and eye mixures I have ever seen. One of them is gray with bright blue eyes. The others have yellow, or green eyes. One is the lightest silver with yellow green eyes. One is wolf like coloring black undercoat with silver and white hairs throughout. One is black white and silver with yellow green eyes
My cat is black and white- how does that work? So he has melanin in some
Parts of his fur but not in others?
Just FYI common window glass is green because of it’s chemical makeup, you can get glass in any color (or colorless) depending on the manufacturing process. However, opalescent glass appears blue via the same effect as with blue eyes! :)
I once saw a cat with odd eye colurs, and one was dark brown. The vet said it was nothing, and the cat looked healthy.
My cats, one (the black one) was born with blue eyes. Now her eyes are green, The other (black and white) had brown eyes. Her eyes turned copper and slowly they became yellow.
I have a pure white cat I adopted that has one gold eye and one that is gold a dark brown, almost black in places. She seems to see out of it well. I have never seen anything like it. Two different eyes and neither blue.
I have a black cat (her eyes are round like a Bombay) whose eyes also changed color when she was an adult. Her eyes became a lovely copper when she was a kitten, but but slowly turned to green as she aged. So strange!
When we first got Fin from Animal Control last summer, his irises were a deep, solid mustard colour, We never saw before on other cats we’ve rescued. Then, about a month ago, the solid yellow irises were replaced with normal ones, multi-coloured and more transparent. Does anyone else here experienced this phenomenon? Does it have to do with the fact that he was a stray and we got him as an adult cat? Thanks