auricular polyotia: done chimerism: done partial blindness / tunnel vision: done notes: you may see angelite be referred to as seraphim for the tunnel vision section that. is angelites old name ^^; / info auricular polyotia: what is it? auricular polyotia is a rare, congenital ear anomaly, with auricular polyotia; you can often see the cat having more than two ears. these ears are cartilage flaps or extra ear-lobes, and are non-functional. auricular polyotia is also commonly referenced to polycera. in which, polycera entails multiple cartilage cores or more malformations; and auricular polyotia is primarily used to refer to an extra flap near the cats normal ears. how does it happen? having four ears in a cat is typically thought to be a recessive trait, and often inherited when the kitten has a unique genetic mutation passed down onto them by the parents on either side of their family. this developmental mutation, alongside many others, typically form during embryogenesis. how does it affect the cat? auricular polyotia / the phenomenon of a cat having four ears can generally affect the cat via health risks during production (see the health risks section), however that is primarily the only adverse effect that it'll have on the kitten. otherwhise, this condition is completely safe and won't affect the feline; the only thing is that the extra cartilage / ear flaps aren't usable, so the cat cannot hear out of them. health risks? having four ears / auricular polyotia can pave the way for other major health risks in the kitten; many documented cases of four ears causing the cats to perish before they were even born due to inheriting more serious deformities. however, in moonglades case, she did not inherit any dangerous deformities, and nor were any formed before she was born. in her case; she has the four ears / the two extra cartilage flaps. if there are no serious deformities during the making of the kitten, then the extra ears themself oftentime pose no other health risk, and no other comfort-related issues to the feline. sources: https://thepurrfectguide.com/understanding-cats-with-4-ears/ https://www.foxweather.com/lifestyle/nashville-cat-four-ears-rescue-true-rescue https://www.nbcnews.com/science/cosmic-log/curious-about-four-eared-cats-flna6c10404847 https://eu.tennessean.com/story/news/local/wilson/mt-juliet/2024/08/12/meet-audio-the-rare-middle-tennessee-kitten-found-with-4-ears/74734520007/ https://petshun.com/article/can-a-cat-have-4-ears chimerism what is it? chimerism is a genetic phenomenon in which the kitten has two genetically different cell lines. these grow together, and can distribute throughout the skin, organs blood & reproductive cells. chimerism often shows in the fur of the cat; notable examples being cats with split coloured fur, aka one colour on the left of them, and another colour on their right. chimerism can oftentime be accompanied by heterochromia, but that isn't always the case. how does it happen? chimerism happens when an organism has cells from two different embryos. this can happen when two fertilized eggs merge during extremely early stages of development (ex, the morula & blastocyst stages), causing the formation of a kitten with two genetically different cell lines. chimera cats have two distinct sets of DNA (different from mosaicism), where an embryo develops mutations in a few cells. chimerism can be caused by either embryo fusion or tetragametic chimerism, however both entail early fusion of genetic material from two different individuals; forming a single organism. how does it affect the cat? as stated prior, chimerism can oftentime be accompanied by heterochromia, and the split-fur colour appearance. however, in terms of the world today, chimerism can generally affect genetic testing or breeding predictions. not every cat with chimerism has the split-faced fur; and not every cat with split-faced fur has chimerism. that is an important thing to take note of. alot of cats with chimerism are labelled as calicos or torties, however this is far from true. chimera cats can have sharply divided coat colours, are extremely rare, have two sets of DNA and are caused by fused embryos. it is extremely unfortunate that most chimera cats go untested due to testing for chimerism being expensive. true chimerism typically appears in less than 1% of cats; often making chimerism more alienated. visual appearance isn't a reliable source of telling if a cat has chimerism or not. chimerism is also a factor in some male cats having colourings exclusive to female cats; however, paradox is afab. a reliable way to test for chimerism is via blood & skin samples. health risks? in terms of health risks, cats with chimerism can face many health risks. this can include autoimmune disorders; as the two distinct cell lines can cause the immune system to get confused & attack perfectly healthy areas of the cat. cont in n&c
(examples of autoimmune diseases found in chimera cats are pemphigus foliaceus & systemic lupus erythematosus) chimera cats can also have risks when it comes to reproduction, often being infertile or facing reduced fertility. female chimeras often have a condition called pseudo-hermaphroditism, displaying both male & female characteristics of reproduction. overall, cats with chimerism have mixed reproductive anatomy, fertility issues & extremely confusing results on medical examinations. sources; https://iere.org/how-does-chimera-happen-in-cats/ https://scienceinsights.org/what-is-a-chimera-cat-causes-looks-and-lifespan/ https://cattitudedaily.com/what-is-a-chimera-cat/ https://www.catsmeowweb.com/archives/17792 https://wagwalking.com/wellness/do-chimera-cats-have-health-problems https://www.inspirecat.com/chimera-cat/ partial blindness / tunnel vision what is it? tunnel vision is a loss of peripheral vision. this makes it so that you cannot see the sides of anything around you; but rather, can only see what is infront of you. this is called tunnel vision because it’s oftentime referenced by those with this form of blindness to be only able to see in a tunnel formation. how does it happen? tunnel vision can be caused by a plethora of things. sometimes, tunnel vision can be due to eye or brain conditions; or maybe even temporarily induced via stress or anxiety due to the body overproducing adrenaline. tunnel vision can be measurable and permanent (in seraphims case, this is permanent); and caused by damage to the eyes, optic nerve or brain. temporary variants of tunnel vision can result from panic or physiological differences. examples of common causes for tunnel vision are: how does it affect the cat? this’ll affect seraphims ability to see; and it can result in seraphim having to adapt to their environment when it comes to hunting or battles. this is because of the loss of their peripheral vision. seraphim will have to constantly be aware of his environment, and rely on his hearing to hear for possible predators that are in places he cannot see without having to move his head; such as behind him, to his sides, above him or below him. health risks? tunnel vision can be caused by varying things, each having their own plethora of health risks involved. these causes of tunnel vision can also pose health risks; glaucoma (intraocular pressure damaging the optic nerves, gradually creates the tunnel-like view) retinitis pigmentosa (genetic disorder, rod cells in the retina degenerate, leads to night blindness & gradual tunnel vision) optic neuritis (inflammation of the optic nerve impairing transmission to the brain, causes tunnel vision) and there are also other conditions such as catroid artery disease & retinal detatchment that can cause tunnel vision. sources; https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/24435-tunnel-vision-peripheral-vision-loss https://www.specsavers.co.uk/eye-health/tunnel-vision https://www.verywellhealth.com/tunnel-vision-3421556 https://www.healthline.com/health/tunnel-vision