All cats have beautiful eyes, but there’s something special about a blue-eyed feline. Below, discover 13 cat breeds with blue eyes, from the well-known Siamese and Persian to lesser known breeds with sapphire stunners, like the Tonkinese and Khao Manee. Whether you’re a cat lover looking for a new furry friend or just want to find out more about your kitty, you’ll definitely learn something new about these blue-eyed beauties.
Siamese
Photo: iStock.com/Vital Hil
Possibly the best known of the blue-eyed cats is the Siamese. There are some variations within the breed (mainly differing in head shape), but all sport the same vivid blue eyes, have short hair and are considered a colorpoint cat, having cream- or light-colored fur accented by darker colored extremities, which for the Siamese can be seal (dark brown), chocolate (lighter brown), blue (a cool gray) or lilac (a pinkish gray). Known for being talkative, Siamese cats are social creatures and love to strike up conversations with their humans.
Balinese
Photo: iStock.com/aleishaknight
This breed can easily be mistaken for its short-haired cousin, the Siamese, and for good reason: The Balinese began as a long-haired mutation of the Siamese. Cats of this breed have the same bright blue eyes and slender build, but the contrasting markings of their long, silky coats are more muted in color. Also like the Siamese, they’re vocal kitties, although Balinese tend to have softer voices.
Persian
Photo: iStock.com/Vadimborkin
Persian cats have expressive faces with their adorable smushed snouts and large eyes that can range from deep blue to blue-green to copper colored—or odd-eyed, meaning one of each. Their fur is fluffy and thick, and comes in a wide variety of coat colors, including: solid (white, black, red, cream, lilac, and chocolate), tabby, calico, and multicolored (for example, tortoiseshell). They tend to be very sweet, quiet and generally less outgoing than some of the other blue-eyed cats on this list.
Himalayan
Photo: iStock.com/ecuadorplanet
Also known as the Himalayan Persian or Colorpoint Persian, the Himalayan breed’s unique appearance came from crossing the Siamese with the Persian with the goal of developing a long-haired Persian with the distinctive coloring of a short-haired Siamese. That’s why Himalayan cats bear a striking resemblance to the Siamese, including those signature deep blue eyes, although these longhaired cats come in a wider range of colors.
Birman
Photo: iStock.com/Vadimborkin
Sociable and affectionate, the Birman is yet another colorpoint cat with vibrant blue eyes. These kitties might be a good option if you don’t want a lot of noise because they’re usually pretty quiet, speaking softly in a “chirping” sound. Birman cats have medium- to long-length coats which, according to the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA), come in “a rainbow of colors,” including chocolate, seal, blue, lilac, cream, red, and tortoiseshell. Their fur is so silky and soft you’ll want to cuddle with them all day long.
Colorpoint Shorthair
Photo: iStock.com/CarlSalonen
To the untrained eye, the Colorpoint Shorthair might be mistaken for the Siamese. Don’t feel bad if you confuse them, though, because the two cat breeds are nearly identical, just with different colors. The Colorpoint Shorthair was developed when breeders crossed a Siamese with a red tabby American Shorthair to produce a kitty with red points. This breed can have a wide range of other colors as well, like solid cream, blue lynx, chocolate tortie, and a dozen more. And like the Siamese, the Colorpoint Shorthair has the same striking blue eyes—and same penchant for talking!
Javenese
Photo: Vicki Howell via Cat Fanciers’ Association
From the parent breeds of Balinese and Colorpoint Shorthair, the Javanese sports a silky, medium-length coat with a number of colorpoint shades, including lynx, tortoiseshell, red, cream, fawn, smoke and cinnamon. Javanese cats have a long triangular head with wide-set ears and a fluffy, plumed tail that looks kind of like a feather duster. These blue-eyed charmers are affectionate and people-oriented, communicating when they have something to say, and using a variety of “voices.”
Ragdoll
Photo: iStock.com/CasarsaGuru
Ragdolls are large cats (reaching up to a whopping 20 pounds!) with beautiful blue eyes and semi-long, plush hair. Their coats have colorpoints in shades of seal, chocolate, blue and lilac. Though Ragdolls are big, they’re typically pretty low energy and are happy to curl up on the couch with their pet parents. In fact, they’re so docile that they go limp when you pick them up—like a ragdoll—which is how the breed got its name.
Snowshoe
Photo: iStock.com/Mik122
The Snowshoe breed was developed by crossing the Siamese with the American Shorthair, resulting in darker colorpoints and a tuxedoed appearance, but with—you guessed it—the same big blue eyes. These small- to medium-sized, short-haired felines are very active, athletic, and smart, making them easy to train. And here’s a fun fact: Unlike most cats who avoid water at all costs, Snowshoes love splashing around in the water.
Turkish Angora
Photo: iStock.com/Agata Fetschenko
Beloved in their native Turkey, Turkish Angoras have silky hair which is longer around the neck and a slender, graceful appearance that the CFA calls “ethereal.” Their large, wide ears sit atop a wedge-shaped head with blue eyes that can range from sky to sapphire. But not all Turkish Angoras have blue eyes—the breed can also have green, green-gold eyes, or even two different eye colors.
Tonkinese
Photo: iStock.com/Sally Hinton
Tonkinese cats have a rounded head with high cheekbones and wide, aqua-blue eyes that are hard to resist. They’re medium-sized with an average build, neither slender nor stocky, and they have short, fine hair that lies close to their body. These blue-eyed kitties have colorpoints in shades of platinum, champagne, natural, and blue. The Tonkinese breed comes from the Siamese and the Burmese, and it was the first pedigreed cat to display the aqua eye color.
Khao Manee
Photo: iStock.com/gopfaster
The Khao Manee, also known as the Diamond Eye cat, is an ancient breed from Thailand and was considered to be the luckiest of cats. Their wide, almond-shaped eyes can be any shade of blue, green, or yellow, and they sometimes display one eye of each color, which sparkle against their all-white, short-length coats. Khao Manees are curious and intelligent felines who love socializing. They can be pretty talkative, too, so be ready for a lot of kitty conversations.
Ojos Azules
Photo: iStock.com/micsmt
Ojos Azules means “blue eyes” in Spanish, so it’s no surprise that this rare breed possesses a beautiful aqua eye color. The Ojos Azules breed reportedly began with a blue-eyed feral cat in New Mexico in the 1980s, and the International Cat Association (TICA) officially recognized the breed in 1991, though it has since been removed from the registry. This breed is so rare that there were only 10 known Ojos Azules in 1992 and it’s unknown how many, if any, exist today.
*The above photo is only an example of what an Ojos Azules cat could potentially look like, given that it is unknown if any exist today.
Blue-Eyed Cat FAQ
Q:
Why do some cats have blue eyes?
A:
Did you know all kittens have blue eyes? It’s due to a lack of pigment in the iris which doesn't develop until 6 weeks of age, according to Dr. Michael Salkin, DVM, a veterinarian for JustAnswer.
Some breeds continue to have blue eyes even into adulthood due to a genetic mutation that affects pigmentation. “The presence of blue eyes in cats is linked to the presence of the white spotting gene, which can inhibit the development of pigment in the iris, resulting in blue eyes,” explains Dr. Zay Satchu, DVM, co-founder and Chief Veterinary Officer at Bond Vet.
Q:
Are all cats with blue eyes deaf?
A:
The short answer: No, not all cats with blue eyes are deaf. But blue-eyed cats are more likely to be deaf than cats with darker eye colors—particularly completely white cats, according to Dr. Satchu. That’s because the gene that’s linked to hereditary deafness in these cats also causes a white coat and blue eyes.
Up to 75 percent of all white cats with two blue eyes are deaf, according to Dr. Salkin. They can still make excellent pets and lead rich, healthy lives—with some specialized care from you, of course.
Q:
Are cats with blue eyes blind?
A:Nope—you might be confusing blindness with deafness (which, as we mentioned, actually does happen more frequently in white blue-eyed cats). Dr. Satchu says that a cat’s eye color basically has nothing to do with blindness. Cats with blue eyes have the same chance of becoming blind as kitties with other eye shades. Whether or not a cat develops blindness depends on a whole bunch of other things, like injuries, age, and medical conditions, Dr. Satchu explains.
Q:
How rare are cats with blue eyes?
A:Blue eyes are a standard trait for certain breeds, such as the Siamese and Ragdoll, so they’re considered common in those breeds, Dr. Satchu explains. But it can be less common in other breeds. So basically it just depends on the type of cat you’re looking at.
If you’re looking for a new furry member to add to your family, any of these cat breeds with blue eyes would make a fantastic (and beautiful) companion for you. And once you have your new feline friend, you’ll need a name that fits their personality—and we have over 200 cat names for you to browse.
Expert input provided by Dr. Michael Salkin, DVM, a veterinarian for JustAnswer, and Dr. Zay Satchu, DVM, co-founder and Chief Veterinary Officer at Bond Vet.
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