Breeders’ testimonies · DBE tests
Blue-Eyed Siberian Cats and DBE: breeders’ test results
Only breeders who had their cats tested, with their name and the source
Blue eyes in a Siberian cat often raise one question: is it the DBE gene (Dominant Blue Eyes)? On this page, we only gather testimonies from breeders who had their cats tested. Each testimony gives the breeder’s name, the number of cats tested, the laboratory and the result, with a link to the source. It is published with its author’s agreement.
Chatterie de Nice · Testimonies gathered since October 2026
What is DBE in cats?
A question many breeders of blue-eyed Siberian cats ask
DBE stands for Dominant Blue Eyes. It is a genetic trait that can give a cat blue or odd eyes. A “carrier” is a cat that has received this trait from one or both of its parents. Researchers have been studying it since 2024, especially Professor Marie Abitbol, veterinarian and geneticist at VetAgro Sup (Lyon, France). What to remember:
- Blue eyes do not mean DBE. Many blue-eyed cats are not carriers, and science cannot explain everything yet. Read Professor Marie Abitbol’s study, 2026 →
- Nothing is guaranteed. A carrier may have ordinary eyes, and a litter may have no blue-eyed kitten at all. Read Professor Marie Abitbol’s study, 2025 →
- Mating two carriers carries a risk, as with two white cats: kittens may be born deaf. Read Professor Marie Abitbol’s study, 2024 →Read the study on deafness in white cats, 2022 →
- Six forms of DBE are known today. Researchers found three in 2024, one in 2025 and two in 2026. A test only recognises the forms already known, so a blue-eyed cat can test negative. In France, the laboratory Antagene offers a test for two of these forms. See Antagene’s DBE test →
This is why this page relies only on test results, not on assumptions.
Which testimonies do we publish?
A simple rule, so that every piece of information can be checked
- The breeder had their blue-eyed or odd-eyed cats tested for DBE.
- The testimony gives their name, the number of cats tested, the laboratory and the result.
- A link leads to the original source.
- The testimony is published with its author’s agreement and removed on request.
- Another cattery is only named with its agreement.
Nicole Kampmann: 20 samples tested for DBE
Testimony published in the Facebook group “Blue-Eyed & Odd-Eyed Cats” on 26 October 2026
| Breeder | Nicole Kampmann |
|---|---|
| Samples | 20, including 18 cats from her cattery |
| Blue-eyed or odd-eyed cats | 7, tested with their parents and grandparents |
| Analysis | 6 DBE variants, by Marie Abitbol |
| Result | No DBE carrier |
Her testimony
In the most cases it’s DBE. But some lines have traditional Siberians with blue or odd eyes. I have send in 20 swabs, 18 Cats out of my Cattery, of blue eyed, odd eyed cats (7) and their parents and grandparents and so on. They were tested on 6 variants of DBE by Marie Abitbol. None of them had it.
Nicole Kampmann, 26 October 2026
Nicole Kampmann adds that, according to Marie Abitbol, the origin of these blue eyes remains to be studied and has nothing to do with PAX3, the DBE gene. Her own hypothesis: a recessive trait, which would explain its rarity.
She also found, in French odd-eyed lines, the same ancestors as in other blue-eyed lines. These ancestors are cats from Chatterie de Nice.
Chatterie de Nice’s position
We have not had our cats tested for DBE ourselves. We do, however, carry out the DNA test required by the LOOF, the French cat registry, for kittens with a small white locket on the chest: a parentage test that checks their parents. Bicolour kittens do not need it. Many breeders told us that DBE tests offer no guarantee. What we know about our lines comes from our years of observation: nothing guarantees that a kitten will be born with blue eyes, nature decides. As with white cats, we never mate two blue-eyed cats together, nor a blue-eyed cat with a white cat: if there is a risk, we do not expose our kittens to it. We do not mix blue-eyed lines of different origins either. Our experience is told on the page Rare Siberian Bloodlines for Breeders.
We learned these precautions very early, from other breeders of blue-eyed cats. None of our kittens has had a problem of this kind. As with white cats, these rules take nothing away from the beauty of these cats or the interest of breeding them.
Our blue-eyed and odd-eyed kittens now live in France, Germany, Italy, Malta, Africa, Japan and America. Phoenix de Chatterie de Nice, for example, lives in Kyoto. Other kittens of ours live in Corsica and Monaco. This look is much loved in Asia.
The English website Messybeast, devoted to cat genetics, names Pavel de Chatterie de Nice, son of Omega de Chatterie de Nice, among the ancestors of blue-eyed lines in Russia and Italy. The site states that the origin of this trait has not been confirmed. In Pavel’s time, the DBE test did not exist yet. His grandson Yupiter Great Joy Ru, who came back from Russia to live with us, was tested there: he is not a DBE carrier. Read the Messybeast page
Questions and answers
Chatterie de Nice’s answers about DBE and its blue-eyed cats
Does Chatterie de Nice test its cats for DBE?
No. Chatterie de Nice does not carry out DBE tests itself. It carries out the parentage DNA test required by the LOOF, the French cat registry, for kittens with a small white locket on the chest.
Does Chatterie de Nice mate two blue-eyed cats?
No. As with white cats, Chatterie de Nice never mates two blue-eyed cats together, nor a blue-eyed cat with a white cat. It does not mix blue-eyed lines of different origins either.
Did Pavel de Chatterie de Nice carry DBE?
In Pavel’s time, the DBE test did not exist. His grandson Yupiter Great Joy Ru, who now lives at Chatterie de Nice, was tested in Russia: he is not a DBE carrier.
Where do Chatterie de Nice’s blue-eyed kittens live?
In France, Germany, Italy, Malta, Africa, Japan (Phoenix de Chatterie de Nice lives in Kyoto) and America.
