Why don’t cats have brown eyes? April 26, 2008
Posted by ourfriendben in critters, pets, wit and wisdom.Tags: blue eyes, brown eyes, cat eyes, eye color, human eyes
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Admiring the huge, adorable, clueless, seagreen eyes of our cat Linus the other day, it struck our friend Ben that, of all the cats I’ve ever known or seen (and trust me, I’ve been to my share of cat shows), I’ve never seen one with brown eyes. Orange, amber, yellow, every shade of green, blue, even violet (Liz Taylor, eat your heart out)—yes. But brown? Never.
As you all know from high-school biology, brown is the most common eye color. With very rare exceptions (usually among Huskies and Australian shepherds), dogs have brown eyes, though they range from near-black through chocolate to red-brown like our golden retriever Molly’s beautiful eyes. Cows? Brown. Horses? Brown. Guinea pigs? Brown. A quick chat with our friend Ben’s good friend Google puts the number of humans with brown eyes between 85 and 95%. So what’s the deal with cats?! If you know, please help our friend Ben out here.
Our friend Ben unearthed some fascinating data about human eye color while checking the stats for this. Our friend Ben’s eyes are blue, which as you’ll also recall from those high-school biology lessons is a recessive trait, so it can easily disappear if a more dominant color is present in either parent. But even so, our friend Ben didn’t realize that blue eyes are disappearing from the American scene until I read an article called “Don’t it make your blue eyes brown?” that originally appeared in the Boston Globe in October 2006. This article tracks the relatively abrupt and extremely steep decline in blue eye color in the U.S. over the past century, and gives some compelling reasons why it’s happening. The research was done by, of all things, an epidemiologist, which makes our friend Ben wonder whether I should now consider myself an endangered species or a highly contagious disease. Apparently, the highest percentage of blue eyes in the U.S. can now be found in nursing homes, and within another couple of generations, they may disappear from the scene entirely.
But this was only the beginning of the astonishing things our friend Ben turned up. Thanks to genetics, scientists have determined that all blue-eyed people are descended from a single ancestor who lived between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. Before the genetic mutation that gave him blue eyes, apparently all human eyes were brown. If you have blue eyes today, you also have this genetic mutation. Wow. In the millions of years of human history, 6,000 years seems like an eyeblink (if you’ll pardon the expression in this context). The authors of the study pointed out that blue eyes are as (relatively) common as they are today because the mutation was apparently a hit. By mediaeval times, blue eyes were considered a sign of beauty and fertility, and blue-eyed women were the most sought-after. Blue eyes had become a reproductive advantage.
And that’s not all. Scientists have found that, even today, blue-eyed men prefer blue-eyed women over all others, finding them far more attractive. Studies have shown this to be true not only in the abstract, where the men were asked to select women they found most attractive from a range of faces, but also in real life, where blue-eyed men choose blue-eyed partners much more often than partners with other eye colors. Not only do men with other eye colors not factor eye color into their choices, but blue-eyed women are also colorblind when it comes to choosing partners based on eye color: It isn’t a factor.
Our friend Ben would have simply thought these findings were somewhat curious had I not read on. You see, it’s been our friend Ben’s observation that people in general do tend to find people who look most like them to be most attractive. (Whether this springs from cultural conditioning or simple narcissism, I couldn’t say.) But the authors of this study threw a pitcher of very cold water on our friend Ben’s theory. They concluded that blue-eyed men preferred blue-eyed women because then they could determine their children’s paternity. That is to say, if a child born to a blue-eyed couple did not have blue eyes, then the husband was not the child’s biological father. So marrying blue-eyed women would give blue-eyed men a reproductive advantage in the Darwinian sense. (Of course, the men wouldn’t consciously be aware that this genetic imperative was driving their choice of mates.)
This was all very interesting, but it wasn’t the end of our friend Ben’s discoveries. Yet another article posited that blue-eyed people were considered especially attractive because pale irises allowed others to easily see when one was experiencing pleasure or excitement (in both cases, the pupil dilates). Because these are considered attractive and desirable states (remember those unfortunate women in Regency England who put laudanum drops in their eyes to enlarge their pupils and make themselves more attractive?), being able to see them confers desirability on the person whose eyes are, literally, telling all.
Our friend Ben was reminded of a conversation with a friend in grad school who claimed that he could never tell what our friend Ben was thinking because of my blue eyes. But of course our friend Ben found it much easier to “read” blue and green eyes than the dark eyes of my friend, and a lively debate ensued. In light of all this, our friend Ben would like to dispense a bit of advice: If you have blue eyes, remember that you may be giving away more of your feelings than you think. And if you have dark eyes, you may need to be a bit more demonstrative to let people know how you’re feeling.
One last thing: Blue eyes are not the rarest color. Green eyes are! Only 1 to 3% of the world population has green eyes, and as you’d expect, most of them live in Ireland, where the percentage jumps to 20%. But our friend Ben would bet that in the cat world, green is the dominant hue. It certainly is around here!
I have green eyes – my OH has blue eyes. I have orange eye cats, green eye cats, blue eye cats and a cat with one green and one brown eye. Sadly she is spayed, so you cant use her genes to change the cat population! Interesting post, reminded me of that Melting pot song from the 1960s/70s.
Hi Zoe! I always wanted a cat with orange eyes–lucky you! My parents and siblings all have green eyes, I’m the only throwback to my mother’s blue-eyed parents. And even my eyes look green if I’m wearing a green tee-shirt!
My cat is white with copper colored eyes. I know I’ve never seen a cat with brown eyes, and I can’t find any examples online. Interesting question! My eyes are true blue without any trace of other color.
My daughters both have blue eyes as well.
Lucky you–*another* orange/copper-eyed cat owner! Someday, I’ll have a calico or buff cat with orange eyes, I swear it. And you know, I’d never even thought about cats not having brown eyes until the other day. But it *is* odd!
We’ve only had one cat and his eyes are greenish- gold.
The rest of your post had me thinking about my dating years and the man I married. I am blue eyed, came from a long line of blue eyed folks. He is blue eyed with the same history. Hmmm?
I dated all different color eyed guys. The two brown eyed, olive skinned (Jewish and Italian) were what I consider to be beautiful. The other few men were all blue eyed and what I consider handsome. Interesting how I categorize them differently. Technically, my hubby chose me, as he is the one that proposed. Our kids all have blue eyes. Surprise.
Just to give you more food for thought—I watched a program on the Discovery channel about folks of different nationalities/races. The reason that one race thinks the other race “all look the same” is because there are certain markers that certain races use to differentiate faces. Caucasians (including European nations) use hair color and eye color as visual cues. Most people from African and Asian heritage have dark eyes and dark hair, thus making it difficult for caucasians to tell one person from another in a quick meeting. People of African heritage use other cues–shade of skin, distinct facial features and body features. Our cues are not their cues and vise versa. I ultimately believe that we are drawn to folks from our own village from ancient undercurrents. Unfortunately, we have brought along hatred of other villages because they don’t look like us. You think we’d be past that by now ;(
That’s fascinating, CeeCee, and of course the different cues make sense. The most beautiful person I ever saw was half Welsh and half Pakistani, with deep blue eyes, blue-black hair and dusky skin. Talk about a stunning combination! And yes, darnit, I *would* think we’d have moved on by now. I actually think the impulse to tan is an unconscious attempt to equalize skin color. Too bad those wretched dermatologists had to step in and bring back pasty white!
This was a fascinating post “ben” .. I hadn’t thought about cat eye colours on that level. Sophie has beautiful pale blue ones (Siamese influence) Emma .. when I first saw her I was struck dumb in love with her .. she looked like an ancient soul in a little kitten body .. I have had a few cats in my life , wonderful intelligent beauties .. but I have never felt that feeling as I did for Emma .. I love my cats dearly but that was the strangest meeting of souls I have ever encountered.
Right now they are both kittens with this thunder storm .. romping like KIDS ! haha
I have green eyes .. hubby brown .. son, in-between ? .. all of us with Celt blood .. so we are in the mix ? LOL
Great reading … thank you !
Joy
Thanks, Joy! And I felt that about Emma, too–I think you have something really special there!
I think every cat I’ve ever had has had green eyes. I love blue eyes in cats. MIL has a dog with one blue and one brown eye. I love eyes, they are the first thing I notice about people (and animals in general).
My Dad’s family is of Swedish decent so most have either blue or green eyes. Dad had blue eyes, Mom has brown, and I have blue-green. They seem to me somewhat hazelish, but no trace of brown, gray, or amber. They look more blue if I’m wearing blue, and more green if I’m wearing green. I think they’re one of my best features. Cheesehead and my kids all have blue eyes as well. Why am I always the oddball?
I love these kind of studies, I was going to teach hs biology before I had a couple of run-ins with undesirable classes and boredom set in. I still like to study science stuff though. Neat info!
Thanks, Cinj! And I agree, it’s not for nothing that they call the eyes the windows of the soul!
What a fascinating read!! Thank you. I am honored to say I have green eyes (but come from eastern european breeding). The other day, while teaching, I was wearing a green and white striped shirt and two students were whispering to each other, looking at me, and one was nodding. I asked “what’s the deal whackos?” (seriously) One student said how my green shirt really brought out my eyes. Automatic “A” for that kid! Or was I being flirted with?
Thanks, Benjamin! It really is amazing what’s out there on the web. Who knew?! And watch out for those students! You should check “Rate My Professors” and see if you have a hotness rating!
It is interesting, and perhaps a bit sad, about blue eyes being on the decline. My father, and one of my brothers, have blue eyes (and dark hair–a striking combo). My mom green eyes…me, greenish hazel, 2nd brother…brown. My dh has blue eyes (disputes theory of blue-eyed prefering blue-eyed?)…we have one offspring with blue eyes and one with green/hazel.
My cat (a Siamese) has beautiful blue eyes…dog (Lab) soft brown. I’ve had many cats and, you’re right, never one with brown eyes…always beautiful green, gold, orange or blue.
Well, *I* certainly think it’s sad, Lin! And yes, my mother’s parents and I have/had that blue eyes/dark hair thing going, too. I’ve always liked it. Eye colors are fascinating, aren’t they? I’ve always loved emerald, seagreen, hazel, amber, and red-brown (hot!) as well. Not to mention gold and orange cat eyes!
Very interesting, but what about hazel? Two of the monkeys have the most beautiful blue/green eyes you have ever seen. Mom has brown, dad has green.
All Manx cats have golden eyes to stare you down with.
Deb.
I found some very interesting comments on hazel eyes when I was researching this, Deb, but of course now I can’t remember which article they were in–possibly the one on eye color genetics, possibly the Wikipedia piece on eye color. Hmmm. If you’re interested, Google “hazel eyes” and let us know what you turn up! And yes, I too think blue-green eyes are beautiful. (And gold eyes, of course!)
Interesting article.
I have 3 kitties, 2 with greenish blue eyes and 1 with dark amber eyes.
My entire family has blue eyes: me, my brother, my mom, my dad, mom’s parents, dad’s parents. My fiance has green eyes so our kids will either have blue or green eyes. It’s pretty cool to think that my eye color is getting rarer. I hope we can pass it along pretty far.
I hope so, too, Jessica! Blue eyes forever!!!
Well, believe it or not, I adopted a stray kitten yesterday and she has cafe au lait eyes–very definitely light brown. It will be interesting to see if they change as she grows older. I hope not.
I was so fascinated with her eye color, I looked it up on the internet and came across your fascinating article.
Wow, Susun, if you have the techno-savvy (unlike us), please post a photo of your kitten so we can see her beautiful eyes, and let us know what you’ve decided to name her!
I actually have two kittens right now with brown eyes. They’re 2 months now, so who knows if they’ll change again.
Wow, Kristy, that’s quite a rarity! What color are they? Please let us know if they keep their brown eyes!
I have a two month old kitten with medium-brown eyes. Her mother had green eyes and her father had gray eyes. She was the only one out of her litter with eyes like that, and other than her eyes, she looks exactly like her mother (black with gold flecks and a black nose and paws). I googled cats with brown eyes, and this came up. I am also proud to say that I have blue eyes, so Apollany(my kitten) and I are both endangered.
Yes, it’s no fun being endangered, is it? Apollany sounds gorgeous.
Well, interesting reads! My own eyes are blue, just like my father’s; his mother’s (his dad had blue too, but ours all match the other side of his family exactly); and his grandfather and beyond… My two black haired sons have blue eyes. One has them just like mine and he came home in 1st grade saying “Ok…Just who is this Elvis guy? Everyone keeps saying I Iook like Elvis.” hahahaha! The other son’s blue eyes are almost more grey-green to the blue so it will be interesting to see if his paternal great grandmother’s green eyes show up after time. My daughter, she has chocolate brown eyes. I always joke to my son that those eyes are family heirlooms. I guess I was more right than I thought…especially if they are getting rarer.
Does anyone have a feel for how common deep amber eyes are in a kitten (3.5 months)? I have one from an adoptive situation and I have never seen such deeply ambered eyes. Wondered if it was more rare. She is not a pedigree or anything, just smart as a whip and gorgeous. Markings are black to deep charcoal/silver with white patches and white whiskers and ear tufts.
Elvis, eh? Oh no! As for deep amber eyes in cats, you usually see them in red cats, and sometimes in buff cats. Yours sounds just gorgeous—I think you’re lucky to have her!
I have green eyes and my cat has brown eyes, so I guess that the two of us are rareties in our own rights!
Right you are, Rachel!
ha, I came across this article also looking up brown cat eyes, because My kitten has brown eyes, interesting stuff eh?
and I myself have greyish green eyes…..
I hope her eyes stay brown
I hope they stay brown, too, Lex! That is so unusual!
As mentioned, I too were browsing for “brown cat eyes”, because it happens that my cat has brown eyes, but I’ve never actually seen any other cat with brown eyes – which made me wonder if there might be something wrong with him, similar to that of white cats with light blue eyes (often deaf).
Anyho, after finishing the article, I saw one error in Ben’s theory:
Genes are “not” dominant as previously believed. Black parents “can” get blond children with blue/green eyes. White parents “can” get children with black skin and black eyes.
This is not because the mother of the child cheated on her husband (although, in many cases, one would definitely suspect something), however this is most often due to their bloodlines.
For example: some of the more arabic oriented countries, where the templar raiders crossed, children are still today born with blue eyes and blonde hair even though their parents are very very dark.
As an additional note: Eye color often creates illusions of personality and properties. For example, green eyes often creates the illusion of high intelligence – so men attracted to intellectual women often strive for those with green eyes (note: by their subconsciousness)
By the way, I have dark blue eyes, all the women I’ve been with has had green eyes, but I’m mainly attracted to asian women – So I’m personally considering all this just mumbo jumbo
Thanks for all these insights. How fascinating! I hadn’t heard that about green eyes being linked to high intelligence. Wonder if I should feel jealous now because I have blue eyes but my parents and siblings’ eyes are all green?!!
We recently had a litter of cats born to a Female “Snow Shoe” (all Black except with Gloves and Go-Go Boots on the back.) and the Father was a n unknown Stray. We picked the female up, freezing in the Winter and she had Five Kittens on Easter Morning. She has GOLD eyes. All Five of her Kittens have Lovely BROWN EYES! Also Interesting, The Kittens are a really bright, clean looking WHITE except they seem to be waring hats with “Tabby” markings, and a similar “Coat” on their backs, also marked like a Tabby. The rest, all bright White. The coats and hats are a light Grey. The Kittens are nearly adult at this point and there are no signs that the eye color will change, they are a beautiful Brown. We had NEVER seen a Brown Eyed Cat before, which is why we came upon this site. Apparently, it does happen, but it must be VERY rare!
Wow—a whole litter! They sound gorgeous!
my rescued black cat had beautiful brown eyes like mine as a kitten, which is why i was drawn to him. sadly, they changed to yellow in a matter of months. i do believe we are attracted to what we find in ourselves, myself having brown eyes and black hair.
i still love him despite the yellow eyes, though.
Good point, Sarah! And I certainly think it holds when admiring the appearance of other people, especially of the opposite sex (at least if we like our own coloring)! I’m so glad you’ve had your beloved boy since he was a kitten. Those are special times together!
hiya i have a female black cat with brown eyes she is 6 months old i hope they dont change as she is very beautiful thought i would just let you know
How wonderful! I hope she keeps them, too!
I have a set of twin kittties, 5 months old, evidently, they are fraternal. Although they both have grey coats, there is one green-eyed boy and one brown-eyed girl! I too have never seen or heard of a brown-eyed cat, so I looked it up and found your interesting article. Perhaps brown is a new genetic emergence in cats? That would be an interesting study, no?
I think that’s an interesting theory and an excellent idea, Lili!
My one-year-old tortie tabby has light brown eyes–about the same color as coffee with milk. (And sometimes the sunlight will make them iridesce the most beautiful green.) I suppose her eye color is really a mix of normal black-cat green and orange-cat orange, but solid brown is what it looks like.
Come to think of it, why don’t you ever see cat eyes with an obvious tortie pattern?
Your tortie tabby sounds beautiful, flashdark! Hmmm. I wonder if there are any cats with differently colored eyes, say, one green or gold and one orange, much like Border collies or huskies with one blue and one brown eye? Certainly I’ve never seen one!
I just found this while looking up brown eyed cats because I have one. I have a plain black kitten that was taken from a litter of unexpected kittens. The mother has copper eyes, and the father is unknown (probably green eyes). I thought my kitten’s eyes were particularly pretty, but I didn’t know why until a friend saw him and said “I’ve never seen a brown-eyed cat before!” His eyes are a subtle mix of dark green and orange. However in most light they simply look soft brown, sort of like caramel.
Personally, I come from a long line of green-eyed people on both sides. Not surprisingly, I married a green-eyed man. Although I’ve dated people with a range of eye-color I will admit that when I see green eyes I tend to think “pretty.” I don’t know if it’s because of my genes, or because I tend to like things that are uncommon. I think it may be partially the latter, because I particularly like my kitties eyes too
Your kitten sounds beautiful, blueelm! My own mother, father, sister, and brother all have green eyes (I’m the only blue-eyed one in the family), so I know how pretty they are. Mysterious, too! There always seems to be a bit of intrigue lurking behind those green eyes…
I have a white cat with brown eyes. I came across your blog while researching cats with brown eyes because we have never seen one either until now. If you would like to see a picture let me know.
Thanks, Jenna! Your cat sounds beautiful!
why does my cat have brown eyes?
Sounds like you just lucked out, Jennifer! You’ve got a real rarity there!
I have a 6 mo. old black kitten that looks like it has brown eyes – I call her Brownie. She looks so unusual! The other 4 cats (black) that are around are all green eyed – Brownie is the only cat with the brown eyes – she has yellow tabby sisters with golden eyes, and black sisters with the green.
What a beautiful litter, Debbie! They all sound lovely in their own ways. Brownie must be delightful!
I googled brown-eyed cats because we have a 4 month old kitten with brown eyes.he is gray with white stripes on his top side and has a white belly with gray spots.His fur and eye coloring are something we have never seen before.He is totally hyperactive and always getting in trouble but provides us with hours of entertainment! It was really nice to find this very interesting article;and also the comments.It’s nice to know we don’t have the only brown-eyed cat in the world!
Thanks, Kelly! Your kitten’s markings do sound very unusual, and he sounds like tons of fun. What did you name him?
This was really interesting thanks for the read. I have two cats and i was wondering too why i have never seen a cat with brown eyes.
And to all you blue eyed people don’t worry. I myself have a theory. I think blue eyes are coming back. I have noticed alot of women where i live having kids that are blonde hair and blue eyes and you would not expect that with their traits.
Interesting theory, Samantha! I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!
I have a Maine Coon Cat with brown eyes..first time I have ever seen brown eyes on a cat myself.
Maine coons are my faves, Michele! And I’ve still never seen a cat with brown eyes. You’re lucky to have one!
Blue eyes and blond hair are a result of a mutation from inbreeding – kind of like a lesser form of albinism (a lot of albino populations from every race are inbred). They serve no evolutionary advantage except maybe aesthetic preference (at least not in modern times when people can dye their hair, wear colored contacts and even have surgery to change their eyecolor). It has been proven that people with light hair and eyes are genetically weaker and less fit to survive (which would explain why there are less of them and they are recessive). If evolution is true, then people with dark hair and eyes are genetically stronger and more adaptable. I’m pretty sure nowadays people don’t need to rely on eyecolor for paternity, science is far beyond that. Most likely, blonde hair and light eyes is comparable to flat feet – most people don’t have it, it is kind of a mistake, and they serve no purpose.
If our purpose here is to survive and procreate then the vast majority of dark eyed, dark haired people are winning; thus proving that light eyed, light haired people are genetically inferior.
Light eyes can be beautiful sometimes in the right light, otherwise they look cold and unfriendly. I once dated someone with very pale blue eyes and in certain lighting it looked like all she had was a tiny black pupil (kind of like Data from Star Trek) because her eyes were so light and it scared the shit out of me. I prefer brown eyes because they look very sweet, warm, and innocent.
You’ll get no arguments from me that brown eyes are dominant because they’re more successful! As someone with both blue eyes and flat feet, I guess I’d definitely make your genetic loser list. (Though I will say I’ve never had a problem with either and have never understood why flat feet are considered a drawback.) I had an interesting conversation with a guy I dated in grad school who had gorgeous red-brown eyes. Like you, he said he could never look into a light-eyed person’s eyes and tell what they were thinking (or feeling). He was the first brown-eyed person I’d dated and I was having the same problem with him! I guess it’s just a question of what you’re used to. I find it easier to assess the emotions of light-eyed people precisely because it’s so easy to see their pupils and whether they’re expanding or contracting. But I find all eye colors beautiful, though I’ll confess to a preference for dark hair like mine.
I have green eyes, my mom’s are blue and my dad’s are hazel-brown. I just got a kitten today, and he clearly has brown eyes, but I read somewhere that it is because they are changing from his kitten eye color to his adult eye color. I hope they stay brown though, the color of milk chocolate.
I hope they stay brown, too, Jamie! Milk chocolate eyes sound beautiful!
My cat has brown eyes and I can post a picture to prove it.