• Question: Why do some people/animals have different coloured eyes? (For example, one blue eye and one green)

    Asked by annaclare to Aled, Ellie, Fiona, Kev, Willem on 12 Mar 2014.
    • Photo: Aled Roberts

      Aled Roberts answered on 12 Mar 2014:

      Hi annaclare!

      I’ve always wondered this! I have seen many a cat on the internet that have two different coloured eyes (usually one yellow and one blue!). It turns out, this happens due to the effects of melanin in the eye!

      This is a dark brown/black pigment found in the eye which causes light to scatter creating different colours. Almost all kittens are born with blue eyes (as the melanin helps to scatter blue light) and when they get older the melanin changes their eye colour by scattering different wavelengths of light! However sometimes this isn’t even across both eyes resulting in the different colours! From what I can tell… white cats are more susceptible to this as they have no pigment in their hair!

      Hope that answers your question! 🙂

      Just an update to this answer… It turns out there might be more genetics to this answer (which is why it is common in white cats!). A special gene known as the epistatic white gene or white spotting gene stop melanin from getting to the eye so as the cat develops!

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