Bulger the Deaf Cat

irish1967

Havent had a cat since I was a kid... 30 years ago so when a straggly looking dirty greyish white cat jumped on my window ledge 3 weeks ago I decided to give it a little bowl of milk. He's been here since !
Quite early on I realized he was stone deaf. Probably the reason he was dumped. OH was dead against an animal in the house so I sneakily fed him during the day and sometimes let him into the back porch for a little while.
Fast forward 3 weeks. Bulger has had cat flu ( Dam he cud drool some drool) but is all better now. Fur is white as snow. Sleeps in the house. Uses litter tray. Lays on my lap and dozes in the evenings. OH actually stroked him the other day !! ( never thought that would happen.
Sign language is starting to kick in now. COME has been mastered. As had NO and FOOD. you have to be very careful when approaching him from behind and waking him up can be hazardous if not done properly. He still gets out on his own to wander and brought home his first 'present' the other day. He never ventures out of our large garden and has been discovered up the large chestnut tree several times. If anyone comes across a deaf white don't be concerned about a cat with a disability as they make wonderful pets
Anyone else has a deaf white?

irish1967

BULGER
http://img688.imageshack.us/i/imagehsmy.jpg/

mymo

That's great, lovely looking cat too.
I would advise a trip to the vet just to check health in general, maybe get some wormer and see about neutering.
He looks in fine condition, hope he brings you many years of happiness.

Dixie Chick

He is a lovely looking fella! Well done to you for seeing he has a good understanding home.

lorebringer

He's quite the looker! Well done for taking him on.

One of my dogs is deaf, black and tan little old man so it doesn't really count wrt your question about others with white, deaf cats but is worth a mention! He has never had a problem with doing the same things other dogs his age do (he's a golden oldie rescue with bucket loads of health problems), sometimes it comes in handy (he is not afraid of the lawnmower or fireworks etc.) and he lives life to the full! The only main hindrance is that we can never let him off the lead, and if he pulls a runner out the front door he can't hear cars, us calling him etc, so we are wary of this. An animal with a hearing problem would never put me off, they just need to learn things slightly differently. Hope you have many years of fun with your guy!

TooManyDogs

I have a stone deaf white dog about the same size as a cat if that counts??

sunshine rose

I have a deaf white cat too! She's the best:D

Have her just over 7 years now. She was dumped as well. Tied up into a plastic bag and thrown into my aunts back garden:mad:
My aunt has a dog who doesn't get on with cats so we took her in, best thing we ever did:)

I find her very affectionate compared to any other cats we've had. You know the way its nearly always only when they want something that they're all over you?! But with her she just loves to be close to us and likes to greet us when we get home, she's curled up on top of me as I type this.:)

As for hunting, well she's useless!! The most she's ever brought us is a dead mouse that her sister dropped at the door. She just picked it up and landed it over to us:pac: Of course we praised her for her hard work!

And here's the lady herself:)

Delancey

Are white cats susceptible to deafness ?

sunshine rose

delancey42 wrote: »

Are white cats susceptible to deafness ?

As far as I'm aware the genetic make-up of white cats with blue eyes usually results in them being deaf. If they have green eyes they are usually ok though.

TooManyDogs

I know in dogs it's where dogs that shouldn't be predominantly white but are can often have hearing problems. Mine is a snow white JRT and deaf from birth. Dalmations with very few spots, solid white english bull terriers, merle collies often have problems too

Here's my girl

irish1967

Bulger has green eyes. But yes in bluedcwhites is a lot more common. In many cases if they have 1 blue eye they will be deaf on that side.

mymo

@Toomanydogs, is she packing for her hols?
Love the pic.

Dalmations were predominantly black originally, but were bred for the lighter spotty coat, which carries a deafness gene.
White cats with blue eyes aren't always deaf but do have a much higher chance of being deaf, I think its genetic also with them.
White cats are much more prone to skin cancer also, so be careful, they love to lay in the sun.
A deaf cat has much more chance of being hit by cars or injured by dogs that don't like cats, simply because they can't hear the danger.
She is a beauty, as are the other cat and the dog. My dog is predominately white(when washed) and loves the mud, so is usually cream or off white.

TooManyDogs

mymo wrote: »

@Toomanydogs, is she packing for her hols?
Love the pic.

Dalmations were predominantly black originally, but were bred for the lighter spotty coat, which carries a deafness gene.

Yeah, she just loves small spaces! And that's a carry on suitcase!!

I didn't know that dalmations were mostly black origionally, that's why I love boards!