Deaf Kitten

Da Shins Kelly

So I got a new kitten and the more time I spend with her the more I think she is deaf. She's a very affectionate creature, and loves to be around me, but she's very slow to respond sometimes and often never responds when I call. It's not like she's ignoring me, it's more like she can't hear me at all. Any time I open the door to let her and my other cats outside, she doesn't seem to hear me opening it and calling them, and only seems to realise that I've opened it when the other cats run out. She just seems to have delayed reactions and it seems to be around her hearing, because she seems to react as soon as she sees it. My biggest worry surrounding this is that while I like to have the cats in the house with me, I like to give them their own freedom and let them out and about to do their own thing at certain times of the day and I let them outside to go to the toilet and such. There is a road down outside my house, and while it's not a very busy road, I'm concerned that if my newest kitten is deaf, that she'll be in serious danger of being killed. I just want to know if there's any definitive way of knowing for sure if she's deaf or if should even bother bringing her to the vet. Secondly, I'm just wondering if anyone here has experience in the care of deaf animals and if there's anything I should be doing to ensure she gets the best care possible.

Thanks!

KKkitty

Bring her to your local vet and get her checked out anyway. The vet can probably run tests to determine her level of deafness and inform you of any special care she needs. I hope everything works out ok for you OP

Zapperzy

Have you tried the 'ol tin opening trick? Mine has selective deafness yet if she's asleep upstairs with 2 closed doors in between her and me she can nearly sense a tuna tin opening before I open it.

mymo

One quick test is the bunch of keys test. (best done on tiled floor to eliminate the vibration in wood floors etc)
Watch kitten closely and when she is looking the other way and drop big bunch of keys, as they hit the floor watch closely for the jump or at the very least ear twitch. If there is none she is deaf, but bring to the vet to check.

TooManyDogs

I have a little deaf terrier, and my one rule is that she's pretty much never allowed off lead out of the house, it's simply not worth the risk. So unless you can keep yours in the house or at least secure an area outside your back door I'd be keeping her very close.

Don't depend on ear twitches to indicate ability to hear, my girl is stone deaf and yet her ears swivel like satelite dishes. She's very sensitive to air currents, smells, as well the reactions of the other dogs. She also barks which surprises people. Best to wait until she's sound asleep somewhere and make a sudden loud noise but be careful not to create any air current while doing it because you won't know what she's reacting to otherwise.

lubie76

If you let this cat to roam outside and she is deaf she will be killed...simple as. A cats hearing is its greatest survival sense (their daylight sight isnt great) and is paramount to warning them of dangers..dogs, traffic, other cats, machinery etc. I would get this cat checked and if you are right, start training her to be indoor only maybe building an outside enclosure in the garden as somebody else suggested.

There is cat harnesses and leads that you could probably train her to use if she starts as a kitten

Sigma Force

It's easy enough to test the hearing just clap your hands loudly near her (not too near as she will feel the breeze when you clap your hands) and if in doubt get the vet to check the ears to make sure there's no blockage or any infection causing it.

Is she a white cat? White cats tend to be more prone to deafness.

I had a white kitten and used a torch light to get her attention.

Would agree with the others to not let her roam, you can secure your garden (if it's a standard town garden) by putting up brackets at an angle and wire or netting or building a cat run if the garden is large. It's too dangerous to allow her to roam, or any cat tbh, she won't hear cars, people or dogs coming up behind her.

pushkii

I had a white deaf cat before and we let him roam around outside. He stayed about two years then disappeared :-( he was so affectionate and there was definitely something. "special" about him :-) he used to chase the second hand on clocks!! If you can at all try to keep the little kitten safe he will need a lot more looking after than the others but im sure it will reward you with its antics ;-)

EvesBlogg

I had two white kittens, one was completely deaf, we didnt realise at first, just thought he was a deep sleeper. It was fascinated by running water from a tap, and there was something special about him, everyone adored it. We kept him in as much as possible when we realised, but it didnt seem fair. We always worried so much about it when it was out even though we live in the country. We always worried that some of the neighbours or a passing car would be the end of it. He made it to about 1 year, in the end, it was some of our own family who ran over him, it was horrible. He had a free and enjoyable, albeit short life. It is very difficult to deal with. Keeping a cat housebound is not fair either. I hope your vet finds that it is not deaf, good luck.

TooManyDogs

pushkii wrote: »

He stayed about two years then disappeared

EvesBlogg wrote: »

He made it to about 1 year, in the end, it was some of our own family who ran over him, it was horrible.

I really just don't understand this attitude, as it is cats roaming have a much higher chance of dying very early but to let a disabled cat out is just horrendous. If I let my deaf dog out to run around and risk being knocked over people would think I was a monster. Cats adapt very well to being kept in the house or kept in a cat secure back garden so not to do so is lazy in my opinion.