DBE& ODD EYED Programme

The difference is documentation. Every claim we make about our cats is backed by an individual result you can see.

• A confirmed variant, not a guess. Our line is built on DBE-CEL, identified individually by DNA testing (PetGeno) — not assumed from eye colour, pedigree or appearance. We know exactly which variant our cats carry, and we can prove it.

• A variant not linked to deafness in heterozygous cats. DBE-CEL is the best-characterised non-coding DBE variant, and has not been associated with deafness in heterozygous cats in the published research. We do not carry DBE-RE, and we do not combine different DBE variants.

• Hearing confirmed, not assumed. Our DBE cats are BAER-tested, so hearing status is established by examination, not by watching how a kitten behaves.

• Health confirmed across the board. Every cat is DNA-tested for 70+ inheritable conditions, with clear results, plus HCM screening.

• Individual certification for every kitten. Each DBE kitten le

Are DBE eyes the same as blue eyes in white or colourpoint cats?

No — they look similar but come from completely different genetics.

Blue eyes in cats can arise through several unrelated mechanisms:

• DBE (PAX3): a dominant blue-eye variant that produces blue or odd eyes independently of coat colour. This is what our line carries.

• Colourpoint (cs/cs, TYR gene): the Siamese-type pattern, where blue eyes appear only in pointed cats. This is a form of partial albinism affecting pigment — a different gene entirely.

• White and white spotting (KIT gene): dominant white and white-spotting alleles can also produce blue or odd eyes, and dominant white carries its own, separate risk of deafness.

Because these different genes can all produce blue eyes, appearance alone cannot tell them apart. A blue-eyed white or pointed cat is not a DBE cat unless it also carries a DBE (PAX3) variant — and the only way to know is a variant-specific DNA test.

DBE is a dominant gene, but expression is unpredictable. Statistically, there’s a 50/50 chance of inheritance — yet it behaves like genetic roulette. A whole litter may have DBE, or none at all. Some kittens can carry the gene silently (latent DBE) without showing blue eyes. The only reliable way to confirm DBE status is through DNA testing.

True odd-eyed cats (also called heterochromia) have two eyes of completely different colours — one blue and one fully pigmented (green, copper, amber, or gold). Each eye has only one pigment type.

Sometimes, you may see cats with sectorial or split-colour eyes — where one iris is partly blue and partly coloured. That is not true heterochromia. It’s called a mosaic eye, caused by pigment disruption or developmental irregularity. Mosaic eyes are considered a defect, not a desirable trait, and such cats should never be bred.

At IconicSX,  our breeding cats are genuine heterochromic cats — each eye carrying a single, stable pigment. Their difference is natural, clean, and genetically defined.

No. The DBE-CEL gene is not linked to deafness . Every IconicSX cat is BAER-tested (hearing test) to confirm perfect auditory health.

Because mixing them creates risk and destroys clarity. DBE (PAX3), white and white spotting (KIT), and colourpoint (TYR) can all produce blue eyes — so when they’re combined, it becomes impossible to tell which gene is actually responsible, and a cat could be sold as “DBE” without carrying a DBE variant at all. Dominant white also carries its own independent risk of deafness, which layering onto a DBE variant only compounds. We keep our DBE-CEL line genetically clear and identifiable, so every cat’s eye colour has a known, confirmed cause — and a DBE cat from IconicSX is genuinely, verifiably DBE.

No. DBE has variable expression, so it doesn’t always produce the same result. A DBE cat may have two blue eyes, one blue and one normally coloured eye (odd eyes), or just part of one iris blue (sectoral heterochromia). The shade varies too. Some cats carry a DBE variant without showing blue eyes at all — these are latent carriers, and they can still pass the variant to their kittens. This is exactly why appearance alone can’t confirm DBE, and why we rely on DNA testing rather than eye colour.

Because we don’t rely on appearance — we confirm it by DNA. Every DBE cat in our programme is individually tested at an independent laboratory (PetGeno), which identifies the specific PAX3 variant it carries. That result isn’t inferred from eye colour, pedigree or the parents’ status — it’s a direct test of that individual cat.

Each DBE kitten leaves with its own DNA certificate stating the variant identified and its zygosity, so you can see the evidence yourself rather than taking our word for it. A blue-eyed cat is only DBE if a test confirms a DBE variant — and for our cats, that confirmation exists on paper for every animal.