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Eye Colours

General

Eye colour in UKC is not an exact science. The pictures used in the breed standards for eye and nose colour do not ask for an exact shade, but give an idea of the general range. To some degree, it is up to the individual judge to decide how "off" a shade needs to be to be considered a fault or even DQ.

For instance, if a breed is to have dark brown eyes, and a dog is shown with bright copper eyes, that could still be considered a range of brown, but a less preferred shade since it's not very dark. On the other hand, if the standard asks for dark brown eyes and a dog is shown with light amber eyes, that will be a fault or DQ (depending on breed) as it is quite a bit off the preferred shade. But overall, eye colour is a minor fault, unless otherwise specified. If a pet has an eye colour not listed in the standard at all, not even under Faults, it is a DQ.

Blue is a normally a DQ in breeds that otherwise ask for non-blue eyes, rather than a fault. There are some exceptions, however - make sure to check the individual standard to make sure what applies to a specific breed.

All petz with eyes of the same colour should have the same shade in both eyes. You cannot for instance have a dark blue and a light blue eye, or an amber and a brown eye. The pupil must be solid, pure black (244 or 39 in the default petz palette) in all petz. When using custom palettes, be careful to make sure that the pupil colour is pure black, hexadecimal colour #000000.

Blue Eyes in Catz

Unlike other eye colours, blue eyes only occur in cats when that cats has one of five specific genes: colourpoint, mink, Ojos Azules mutation, dominant solid white, and white spotting. Not every breed accepts these patterns, and each gene has slightly different expressions of blue.

The rules for blue eyes in catz are as follows:

  • Colourpoint: Pointed catz must always have two blue eyes of the same shade of light or dark blue.
  • Mink: Mink catz must always have two blue eyes of the same shade of light blue or aqua/teal.
  • Ojos Azules: Catz in this breed must always have at least one blue eye, regardless of coat colour.
  • Dominant solid white: Solid white catz may have one or two light blue eyes. As white masks all other patterns, solid whites may have two dark blue or aqua/teal eyes if the breed allows Colourpoint or Mink.
  • White spotting: Catz with at least 75% white spotting may have one or two light blue eyes. This means that only Harlequin white spotted catz or higher may have blue eyes - see the White Patterns doc for more information. Some breeds allow blue eyes with less white - see individual standards, or the list below.

A cat may not have one dark blue eye and one light blue eye. If both eyes are blue, they must be the same shade, even if they have a pattern that allows for additional eye colours (e.g. a colourpoint cat with high white spotting).

Relaxed blue eye breeds


The following breeds are allowed to have one or two light blue eyes on catz with at least 50% white spotting or more (bicolour pattern or higher).

Alley Cat
Black & White Shorthair
Calico
Don Sphynx
European Shorthair
Japanese Bobtail
LaPerm
Maine Coon
Minskin
Munchkin
Norwegian Forest Cat
Tabby
Scottish Fold
Scottish Straight
Sphynx

Blue eyes in Dogz

Blue eyes in dogs are rare (except for in merles and a few select breeds) - check the individual breed standard. Please note that dark blue eyes do not occur in dogs, and must be P-reg.

UKC Eye Colour Definitions

The swatches below and the petz palette index numbers next to them serve to provide largely as a guideline and hexing aid. As long as your chosen eyecolour fits within the range of the accepted colour per the breed standards, it does not have to be one of the index colours mentioned. These index numbers are in reference to the default petz palette - if using a custom palette, it is up to your discretion to pick an eye colour that fits within the range of the given swatches.

Colour Name Colour Swatches Default Petz Palette Indexes
Dark Brown Dark Brown Eye Swatch 50 - 59, 90 - 99
Brown Brown Eye Swatch 60 - 69, 50 - 59, 90 - 99
Copper Copper Eye Swatch 60 - 69
Gold / Amber / Hazel Gold Amber Hazel Eye Swatch 120 - 129, 100 - 109, 215
Yellow Yellow Eye Swatch 162, 165 - 166, 206
Yellow-Green Yellow-Green Eye Swatch 167 - 168
Green-Gold Green-Gold Eye Swatch 169
Green Green Eye Swatch 2, 130 - 139, 197 - 198, 217
Aqua Aqua Eye Swatch 6, 190, 191, 193
Teal Teal Eye Swatch 203
Light Blue Light Blue Eye Swatch or Alternate Light Blue Eye Swatch 152 - 158, 171 - 172, 175 - 179
Dark Blue Dark Blue Eye Swatch 144 - 149, 225
Light Grey Light Grey Eye Swatch 7, 173 - 174, 216
Dark Grey Dark Grey Eye Swatch 27 - 31, 119