White Marking Genes

This gene is what declares whether a cat has patches of white on their body and how much white shows. Some alleles declare where the white will form, but for the most part it can occur anywhere on the body and often irregularly. In some cases the gene can cause deafness as well. This gene is Dominant and represented by the letter “w.” Below are a list of the alleles:

Name	Symbol	Type	Description	Possible Complications
White Dominant	Wd	Dominant	Causes the cat to become completely white	Deafness
White Spotting	Ws	Dominant	Causes white patches to appear on the cat
White Gloves	wg	Recessive	Causes white paws to appear
No White	w	Recessive	no white appears on the cat.

Note: This is the only way to have white on your cat unless they are colourpoint, and it can completely mask other colours.

Genotype Guide

Genotype	Phenotype	Possible Complications
WdWd	Cat is completely white	Very high chance of being deaf
WdWs	Cat is completely white	chance of being deaf
Wdwg	Cat is completely white	chance of being deaf
Wdw	Cat is completely white	chance of being deaf
WsWs	Cat’s body is between 50% and 100% white
Wsw	Cat’s body is up to 50% white
Wswg	Cat’s body is up to 50% white and will have white paws
wgwg	Cat will only have white paws.
wgw	Cat will only have white paws.
ww	Cat will not have any white at all.

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_{Updated 28 March 2026 Contributors: Ebony Nightblade, Kitsufox}