Although the dominant white gene – the one that makes all white cats – is the one that causes most deafness in cats.

It is the gene that produces the solid-and-white coats as well and which occasionally produces odd-eyed cats and some deaf cats. The gene that causes them is the piebald or white spotting gene. And these cats also had white paws sometimes. And gradually through more genetic mutations tabby coats become solid colours and tortoiseshell coats and so on. Gradually cats with white socks became commonplace. People were attracted to them and they made sure that they bred to produce offspring and that the kittens survived. Thousands of years ago the first tabby cats with white socks would have stood out from the crowd and been regarded as special and different. What replaced it was selective cat breeding i.e. If these cats had been wild they would have died out through natural selection because white paws would have ruined their beautiful camouflage and they’d be easier to prey upon.īut as they were domestic cats living with people, natural selection, as invented Charles Darwin, did not take place. Genetic mutations occurred as is normal in nature and some domestic cats had white paws. So the domestic cat inherited their wild cousin’s coat. Image by skeeze from PixabayĪt the beginning all domestic cats were tabby cats because their wild cat ancestor, the North African wildcat is essentially a tabby cat.

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Tabby cat white socks