# How common are non-blue eyes in pointed Persians/Himalayans?



## TranquilityBlue (Nov 13, 2014)

Hey guys! Just curious if anyone knows anything about this. When he was a baby, Jasper's eyes were bright blue like most Himalayans'. I've seen this in pictures the breeder showed me before I got him. When we first met, his eyes were sky blue. Not nearly as vivid as in his baby pictures, but striking in their own way.

Now, depending on the lighting I catch him in, his eyes look gold, green, or sky blue. It's absolutely wild, and unfortunately difficult to capture with a camera, which really brings out the green for whatever reason. My vet said he could end up with either gold or green eyes when she last saw him. To me, it still looks like it could break either way. However, I've noticed in the last few days that they are becoming super vivid again, albeit while retaining the mix of colors in his unique ratio. It's like their saturation is slowly being dialed up, if you know what I mean. 

All of Jasper's littermates, his parents, and his adult sister (who was returned to my breeder for behavioral issues - they spayed her and kept her as a pet since she was happiest living with them) had standard vivid blue Himalayan eyes, so he's unique in his family in having the off color, which I think is really interesting from a genetics perspective. I'm not sure if eye color is a single gene or multi gene trait, but I think it's cool that he seems to have unique pigmentation for the breed and I wondered if anyone knew more about this than me? Thanks


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## DeafDogs&Cat (Mar 27, 2013)

Pointed cats are a type of Albanism... I don't think they're supposed to be able to have anything except blue eyes. I'm probably wrong tho. Blue eyes in cats are not actually blue. They're diluted eyes due to albanism. I don't think there is an actual gene for blue eyes in cats.


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## Mandy and Ellie (Oct 22, 2013)

That is definitely interesting! I've always heard (and a quick internet search reaffirmed) that pointed cats are a form of albinism, so they all have blue eyes (really diluted eyes) like DeafDogs&Cat said. 

"Because of this restriction of pigment, pointed cat's eyes are always some shade of blue, because the top layer of the iris is not covered in another color, letting the blue show through. The back of the eye also lacks pigment, giving these cats' pupils an eerie red reflection in the dark, unlike a normally pigmented cat's green to blue shine."

But after browsing around looking at pictures of Himmies, I did see some that almost seemed to have a green hue to their eyes. 










I know nothing about genetics... but definitely interesting! 

My Persians both started out with blue eyes, then green, and then finally darkened to a deep gold color. But they're not pointed so that's a whole different situation haha.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

My first purebred cat was a longhaired Manx cat that was Odd-eyed white, with a blue eye and a gold one. Also white Turkish Angoras can be odd-eyed, or Japanese Bobtails which are usually spots of red and white or black and white. Also the breed Ojos Azules are red tabbies with blue eyes. 

Cat Eye Color | PoC


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## TranquilityBlue (Nov 13, 2014)

DeafDogs&Cat said:


> Pointed cats are a type of Albanism... I don't think they're supposed to be able to have anything except blue eyes. I'm probably wrong tho. Blue eyes in cats are not actually blue. They're diluted eyes due to albanism. I don't think there is an actual gene for blue eyes in cats.


I've read this online before. It's very interesting to me. While I have read similar statements (pointed cats cannot have eyes other than blue) I can turn my head 30 degrees and see a pointed cat with green gold eyes... so I think that might not be entirely true  



Mandy and Ellie said:


> My Persians both started out with blue eyes, then green, and then finally darkened to a deep gold color. But they're not pointed so that's a whole different situation haha.


Interesting. That seems to be somewhat similar to the progression that Jasper is going through. His eyes have shifted from vivid blue, to dilute (sky) blue, to dilute green-gold-blue, to a more saturated green-gold, although I can definitely still see the blue in different lighting conditions, especially in the circular area immediately adjacent to the pupil. 

I can't find much about Himalayans with non-blue eyes elsewhere on the internet, but I am curious as to how Jasper acquired this trait given that his parents and sister all had blue eyes! 



catloverami said:


> My first purebred cat was a longhaired Manx cat that was Odd-eyed white, with a blue eye and a gold one. Also white Turkish Angoras can be odd-eyed, or Japanese Bobtails which are usually spots of red and white or black and white. Also the breed Ojos Azules are red tabbies with blue eyes.
> 
> Cat Eye Color | PoC


Odd eyed cats are marvelous. Such a striking quality.

Thanks for sharing this link too! Depending on the light, Jasper's eyes range from Aqua Blue to Hazel to Yellow Hazel, with Hazel being the most generally observable of the three at this point... I can't wait to see what they ultimately end up becoming! I think a gold-eyed Himmie would be something to see


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## TranquilityBlue (Nov 13, 2014)

Update!

His eyes are definitely breaking gold. They're not losing any green or blue per say, but the amount of gold pigmentation seems to be increasing relatively:










I can't wait to see what color they mature into! :mrgreen:


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## TranquilityBlue (Nov 13, 2014)

I cannot find ANY Himalayans on Google images with this color. Many similar to the one M&E posted, but most seem to be greener or bluer than Jasper's by comparison. I'm really interested in the genetics behind all of this, because it seems eye color is trait-linked with color points; I have found pictures of Persians or domestics with Jasper's eyes, and I'm really interested in how he came to have them. I wouldn't normally be this curious, but one of my best friends in the world has a Himmy too, and his eyes are vivid baby blue as were those of all of the cats related to him that I met.


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## DeafDogs&Cat (Mar 27, 2013)

That's awesome! And really shouldn't be possible in a pointed cat lol


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## Smaughunter (Feb 14, 2014)

Wow! He is so striking. I was looking at pictures of pointed cats on google and as you said they are all blue or blueish. Dexter is a domestic lynx point and has very pale blue-gray eyes.


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## TranquilityBlue (Nov 13, 2014)

Thank you for the compliments guys! I try not to let all of it go to Jasper's head 

To further update on his eyes: the yellow/gold pigmentation is definitely filling out the most! It's pretty hard to detect any trace of blue except in very specific lighting now, and the greenish character they have seems to be fading. I still cannot find ANY pictures of Himalayans with this eye color.


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## DeafDogs&Cat (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah. He's certainly one of a kind! I would start asking breed clubs and the like. It's really very curious.


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## TranquilityBlue (Nov 13, 2014)

That's a good idea! I think I'll look into speaking with someone from a breed club to see if anyone knows anything more. The dearth of information on yellow/gold eyed Himalayans seems astonishing when I look down and see one laying between my feet


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## moondiamond (Apr 20, 2013)

What a seriously cute kitty!!!! I have a cat that has diamond eyes. Sure, most people call them blue and in the crackling, there are some lines of faint blue, but they are basically clear or void of color, that take on the light of what she is near. In perusing the Internet a couple years ago wondering what gives, I saw someone talking about diamond eyes. They are void of all color. Maybe your kitty has diamond eyes changing with the environment. Mine was feral until 4 weeks, but is called color point or Lynx point. I look forward to seeing his mature photos!


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## moondiamond (Apr 20, 2013)

He really is a gorgeous cat! His facial expression is precious!! His eyes look pale gold with some blue crackles.


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## TranquilityBlue (Nov 13, 2014)

vleavy said:


> He really is a gorgeous cat! His facial expression is precious!! His eyes look pale gold with some blue crackles.


Thank you! From both of us!  He is becoming more handsome each day. I'm very lucky to have such a special little guy. :kittyball

What you posted about diamond eyes... that's actually the closest anyone has come to describing his eyes, because their color is VERY dependent on the surrounding light. Thanks for that! If you still have it, could you post the link of the site you found it on? I would love to read more!

Thanks!


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## shaherbanosharjeel (14 d ago)

TranquilityBlue said:


> Thank you for the compliments guys! I try not to let all of it go to Jasper's head  To further update on his eyes: the yellow/gold pigmentation is definitely filling out the most! It's pretty hard to detect any trace of blue except in very specific lighting now, and the greenish character they have seems to be fading. I still cannot find ANY pictures of Himalayans with this eye color.


 My princess was with me for 13 years. Since she was a rescue I had no idea about her parents. But all her features were of a himalayan persian. Only her eyes were not blue. Had streaks of gold n green. I wish I found attach her pic. Can't seem to do it here.


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