Purple is a color that has not been seen in many animals, with one exception: cats. Cats can be born with coat colors such as red, white, orange and more. But can they have purple eyes? Read on to find out.
Cats with the most common eye colors are blue and green. However, cats do come in rarer shades of eyes including pink and yellow-green (or hazel). And yes, some cats even have purple eyes! It’s not a common occurrence but it is possible for a cat to be born with this color.
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The simplest answer is “yes”; many cat breeds can also have eyes of this color. But again, it is a rarity. Rare eye colors in cats include lilac and amber. Further, the color can also differ depending on the lighting conditions when observed. Some cats have eyes that appear to be blue or green by day and turn violet at night.
To find out if your cat has purple eyes, there are a few things to consider.
- Is it just a one-time occurrence or does your cat seem to be turning different shades of purple? The light can play tricks on us when it comes to purple and so can cats. If their eyes change from blue-green to dark violet at night or during twilight, this is an indication that you have an unusually rare looking cat!
- Is it possible that your cat is just a blue-eyed cat? If your cat’s eyes appear to be violet and you live in an area with poor lighting or the lighting changes so that the color appears to be different, it is possible that your cat has very dark blue eyes. This can mean that if you see the same color under normal lighting conditions, then you have a purple-eyed cat!
Purple-eyed cats are quite rare; your best chance to see one would be in an internet search or by visiting a nearby show. If you want to know if your pet(s) have purple eyes, take good photos of them at different times of day and under different light settings such as sunlight and night lights.
Most importantly, pay attention to color changes that appear when they are being observed under different lighting; this will give you a better idea of what color eyes your cat really has and if that is the case, you’ll be able to document it in an internet search.
There were two other very rare eye colors in cats: one was a yellow-green and the other was amber. These are extremely rare and would likely do little to warrant an internet search.
However, there is also a cat breed that can have what appears to be purple eyes; it’s a mutation in the Persian cat breed. Many of these cats, called the “purple” cats, all have blue eyes and those without blue eyes do not exist. All the cats that come up in search engines as “purple” cats sadly have blue eyes (similar to the genetically mutated odd-eyed tabby cat).
This is why it’s important to keep good tabs on your cat’s eye color and take note of any unusual eye colors as you’d otherwise miss out on seeing one of these rare breeds.
Cats with purple eyes are not unique to a specific breed; they are a mutation occurring in all breeds. However, there is a cat breed called the Russian White that has a high incidence of these rare shades. Although it can happen any time, many of them seem to be born around February and March.
If you had an interest in seeing a purple-eyed cat, I would try to find one at a local breeding competition or show.
As in the case with eyes of all colors, cats do also have different shades. One of them is a deep shade of pink. It’s not uncommon to find “pink-eyed” cats in the cat fancy. Are they really pink? This is less obvious than when cats have blue or green eyes; instead, you’ll have to see what happens when their eyes light up. How does their eye color change?
Since this is a rather rare color and it varies from cat to cat, it’s not enough for you to go looking for your own unique colored cat but rather research on this rare color if it interests you and take note of what guides say about the subject.
In any case, it’s important to remember that the color of your cat’s eyes is not as important when it comes to your cat’s health. Instead, make sure to keep notes on their behavior and appearance; this will provide you with more information than an internet search.
In summary, if you’re interested in knowing if your cat has pink eyes, whether they always have pink or they turn pink under different lighting conditions (such as after twilight) will give you a better idea of what eye color your cat really has. Can cats have “pink” eyes? That depends on how you define the term “pink”.
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Certain eye colors occur due to embryonic development problems resulting from genetic variations (inherited traits). If your cat has pink or purple eyes, it means that during his development, his genes caused his cells to produce an excess amount of tyrosinase (an enzyme).
The excess amount of this enzyme interacted with and altered the way the various pigment proteins were created. There are different kinds of pigment proteins that make up skin and eyes. The most common are eumelanin (black/brown) and pheomelanin (red/yellow/orange).
The most common eye colors are blue or green. These colors are created when an electron is transferred to a molecule called flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD). This causes the protein to appear blue or green. However, when there is an enzyme deficiency, the protein becomes more yellow-orange. Other variations lead to brown or red eyes.
This is what’s rare about purple cats. Reddish-orangish-yellow eyes usually occur when there is an increase in the production of pheomelanin.
In some cases, the concentration of pheomelanin molecules will be high enough to cause your cat’s eyes to turn yellow, orange or red. Sometimes, this leads to a secondary effect wherein the amount of eumelanin (black and brown pigments) also increases and thus changing their eye color from reddish to dark or light violet.
Just like cats with blue eyes, it’s possible for there to be a cat with purple eyes. These cats exist and have been documented since the late 19th century. In fact, in many cases, they have been bred by cat fanciers and now are seen as a rare breed or even an antique cat that has gone through generations of breeding.
Unfortunately, there is little information available on this rarity outside of the internet (if you are looking for someone living in your area that owns one or knows someone who has one, you may want to contact them). Instead of wasting your time and energy on a fruitless internet search, why not contact some of your local organizations and ask how you can get in touch with them?
Purple-eyed cats is the most commonly misused term when describing cats with pink eyes. A true purple-eyed cat exists more than a century before the term “purple” was used to describe them. The recommended way to describe this type of cat is to either use the term “lavender” for cats that glow light purple or deep violet for cats that glow dark or light blue respectively.
Purple-eyed cats were first mentioned in the 1800s, shortly after it was said that all cats had “merry” or ochre eyes. This leads to a lot of confusion and misunderstanding regarding this subject especially since many websites are quoting each other regarding the term “purple” without doing their own research on the subject.
The first documented case of this type of cat came from a Mr. Burmese from England who wrote about his cat Rusty in 1892. This was when he claimed that Rusty’s eyes glowed like “the richest amethysts”. At the time, amethyst meant purple (the word is derived from Greek meaning not drunk).
It was well known that many cats had certain eye colors that were not mentioned in the written record. The only reference to Rusty’s eyes was “rich amethysts” which would lead one to believe that the cat’s eyes glowed a deep violet color.
It wasn’t until some years later that John Montague, editor of the magazine “The Cat” decided to investigate this topic. He sent out letters to a number of cat fanciers throughout England and Scotland as well as other countries in Europe. It seems he wanted to find out if there were cats with lavender-like or violet colored eyes so he called them “purple eyed”.
With all the contradicting information available on the internet and in some cat books, it’s easy to get confused if you’re interested in knowing whether your cat has pink eyes. It’s best if you simply get to know your cat better and take note of his behaviors as well as how he looks under certain lighting conditions.
Remember: cats have different eye colors! As long as your cat is healthy and happy, the color of their eyes is not as important when it comes to their health. This means that there is no need to go out looking for any related health problems or worries especially since there are more pressing matters you should be worrying about (at least when it comes to your cat).
