Can Black Cats With Orange Eyes Exist? Vet-Approved Explanation
By Adam Mann
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Whether it’s Halloween season or you’re just seeing a picture of an all-black cat, the most common eye color you’ll see in cartoons and most “spooky” cat images is orange. But it’s unlikely that you’ve ever seen a black cat with orange eyes, so do they exist, or are they all a part of our imagination?
The truth is that while it’s technically possible for a black cat to have orange eyes, it’s pretty rare. But why is this the case, and what color eyes do most black cats have?
Do All Black Cats Have Orange Eyes?
While it’s certainly possible for a black cat to have orange eyes, it’s far from the most common color. In fact, black cats almost always have yellow eyes. The reason is that the same pigments that affect the cat’s fur color also affect their eye color.
Cats have two kinds of melanin: eumelanin and pheomelanin. Eumelanin leads to brown or black coat coloring white pheomelanin leads to a yellow or orange coat color. Cats with blue or gray eyes lack pigment, and while little is known about eye color and inheritance in cats it is likely that other colors are due to the levels of each of these pigments, and possibly more.
Common Eye Colors for Cats
Orange isn’t the most common eye color for cats, but it’s not the rarest either. With that in mind, we’ve highlighted some cat eye colors that are a bit more common in cats of all breeds and colors.
Yellow/Amber
The most common eye color for cats is yellow and amber, and this is regardless of the color of the cat. However, not only is this the most common eye color for all cats, but it’s almost exclusively the color of eyes for black cats!
Hazel
Hazel is another common eye color for cats, and it falls just a smidge behind yellow and amber. It’s another color that black cats can have, but it’s far less common than yellow or amber.
Green
Green is the next most common eye color for cats, but it’s significantly less common than hazel, yellow, or amber. However, it is another eye color option that is possible for black cats, but it’s the rarest eye color for black cats.
Blue
Blue is a stunning eye color for cats, but because of the pigmentation that leads to black fur, you won’t find an all-black cat with blue eyes, although they are born with blue eyes that change as they age and melanin is deposited. Blue eyes are one of the rarer cat eye colors and are usually associated with lack of pigment in the coat. The notable exception to this rule would be the Ojos Azules cat; this new breed reportedly often has unique blue eyes which appears to be an inherited trait, even in dark coloured cats. Unfortunately, two copies of the blue-eyed gene appear to be lethal so we probably won’t see a lot of these cats around any time soon.
Copper or Orange
Copper and orange are two completely different cat eye colors, but they’re both equally common in cats. Copper eyes are a darker shade compared to orange eyes, but they both look stunning. You can find both copper and orange eyes in all-black cats.
Common Black Cat Breeds
While black is a fairly common cat color, having an all-black cat is a bit rarer than you might think. Some common cat breeds that can come in all-black include the:
But while these cat breeds can come in black, only one cat breed is always all black. That distinction belongs to the Bombay cat.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know a little more about whether all-black cats can have orange eyes, common eye colors, and cat breeds that can be all black, all that’s left is for you to try and find your own black cat with orange eyes! They can be extremely loving and make great pets, but they’re also pretty rare, so you might need to spend a bit more if you’re committed to finding this rare combination.
Featured Image Credit: kudla, Shutterstock
