Deafness in white cats...thoughts?

Hello Dear Friends,


I am not sure this is a medical question...


In the day that Sushi's ashes arrive, I fall in love with a very shy white deaf lady cat... Healthy otherwise, but deaf... As usual, I fell in love with the one that nobody wanted.

I have to confess that I am a bit scared of making the decision of bringing her home, as I know nothing about deaf cats... I am a very vocal person and that is the main connection I usually have with my cats... I sing with them, we dance, I do "vocal cuddles"... They hear my voice tone and they know what I want... How is this going to work? What will I need to do different? Will she understand my other very vocal and needy cat?


Does anyone have a deaf cat? I am a bit lost...


Thank you so much.


Love,

Sara

 

Hi Sara! Go get that sweet baby! I had a deaf white cat for 20 years. You just have to approach things a bit differently. Biggest thing is do not walk up behind her and pet her. Let her know you're there first. Before I figured out DC was deaf, when I'd pet him, he'd freak out. Later I realized that I was scaring the heck out of him often. If he was asleep, I'd lightly touch his front paw to wake him.

Decide on hand signs that you want to mean something and use it just like you use your voice. I always voiced the command too but that was for me, not him. First thing is decide what NO will be - mine was shaking my index finger back and forth. It doesn't have to be 'real' sign language, just something both of you understand. She'll be able to feel vibrations that you never realize is there - DC knew who was coming toward him by their footsteps across the floor. Air does carry vibrations - if he was close, even a hard hand clap would catch his attention - most of the time I used a 'foot stomp' to get his attention then gave sign. White isn't really a 'color' as such, it's part of the albino traits which also can cause deafness.

Their brain works just fine even tho' their ears don't - when DC did something that he knew was naughty and I'd tell him NO, he'd sit with his back to me so he couldn't see me say it....but he couldn't stand it for long and would sneak looks at me over his shoulder.

I had a leg up - I was also a deaf interpreter so already knew sign language. I even used it with my kids and still use it with my hearing animals. It's REALLY nice to correct an action from across a room, yard, etc without yelling....

 

Cats don't listen to us anyway, she will have an excuse for ignoring you The only thing I've seen with the deaf kitties that pass through the shelter is that they sometimes have a harder time with other animals in the home if the other animals are rowdy. They can be a bit mistrustful since they don't hear what is coming up behind them.

We haven't had a deaf kitty. When we got Sophia, a hot mess of a geriatric kitty, we thought she was both blind and deaf. She definitely was blind, but either her hearing improved as she got healthier or she just didn't care what we had to say to her when she first came home with us. At first we did as Squeaky and KT mentioned, we always let her know we were there before touching her, approached from the front and because she was also blind we let her catch our scent first too. After a while she got used to our scent and the vibrations of our movements in the floor and could usually tell when we were approaching before we got to her. Their other senses adapt and make up for the ones they are missing so you can hardly tell.

 

I had a white def cat named cloud. He was a big cuddle bug who loved to sit on the side of the tub & hang out while I had a bath. The only thing different I noticed with him is when he cried he cried loud since he couldn't hear himself. Cloud was a rescue kitty I got from a friend, I only had him for a few months before I had to give him back to my friend since my landlord wouldn't let me have pets

I think it sounds like he could use a good loving home & if your willing and able to give him that loving home go for it, you won't regret it!

 

My sugar-kitty Wynken is white & deaf and so is his litter mate Blynken. I've had them both since 2003 when they were babies. Such wonderful cats!!! As others have said, you will find ways to communicate and you will have an advantage that you can sneak up on them when they are sleeping and take cute sleeping photos like this! Deaf cats are not (seemingly) limited, at least not in their opinion! You do need to keep them safe from outdoor dangers like cars/outdoor threats as they can't discern danger in quite the same way as hearing cats. I don't let even my hearing cats roam outside, but it's just more dangerous for a deaf kitty. I think they have extra sensitivity (to vibration for example) that makes them unique and wonderful! Go get that deaf white sweetheart-you won't regret it!

 

Thank you all for your answers.
She is now ours and she will come to our home in late January, as I have to travel soon and I would like to be home too to welcome her...
Any other advice or literature you have for me, please feel free to share, as I welcome it all!

Love,
Sara

 

WOOHOO!!!! Oh I iz just SO thrilled! HUGE YARD DANCE! Welcome home sweet girl!!!! I can't wait to see pics Sara!!!

 

I've never had a deaf cat, but we do have special needs cat, Raku, whom we adopted through Siamese Rescue. He was born with a deformed front leg, but has gotten along just fine in his 13 years with us. It just makes me happy anytime someone takes in a cat with special needs.

By the way, we had a meezer named Sushi (1986-1999). She was small but ruled the roost with a steel paw.

 

I can barely wait...but I kinda have to... I want to be fully available! You will all have lots of pics here and in the facebook page... It is a promise!

@LaraB, our Cheeky Boy Sushi was also tiny...but dominant over my other cat Leonidas aka Chunky Monkey, who is twice his size... I miss him...

 

So happy a kitty found you! My sister has a deaf cat, and he was a "hearing cat" for most of his life; his deafness is a result of age it seems. He could be 15-18 yrs old - he was a stray so it is hard to know. Anyway, the cat seems to not really care that he can't hear. No distinct behavioral differences. A couple of mildly amusing differences - he still "talks" to her, but now instead of "talking" it is "yelling" - the volume is 3X louder!!! It drives her nuts sometimes but she loves him and just does whatever he is "asking" (demanding?!) her to do. He does sense the vibration of footsteps so he has adapted. Anyway, my point is, while you may not be able to talk to this kitty, you will find a million other ways to communicate, and I just love that you are adopting a cat that needs someone just like you!

 

Aw, bless!

.

 

Wonderful news, Sara! I wish you all joy in each other.


Mogs
.

 

I am really happy that we found our Baby girl! Her name is Freya!

As usual...Thank you all for your support!

 

That is so exciting! I actually have two white deaf cats the first we got as a kitten and she adapted very well with our other cats! The second we found as a pregnant stray (she had four babies, all white - two with green eyes, one with gold and one with blue, all can hear!!!!) at about a year old and she also adapted very well with our hearing cats.

Neither of them require any special care. I do find that the one spooks more easily, but that also depends on personality as the other is very laid back!

Enjoy your new addition!

 

What a beautiful name!

It has gladdened my heart no end to hear you sounding happier, Sara.


Mogs
.

 

Hi Sara,

Can't wait to see pics of Freya, so glad you found each other

 

Hi, Sara - What a wonderful story to warm the heart on a cold January day! Am so happy you decided to adopt your Freya!!!
May your New Year be full of joyful days with your extra-special, snow-white kitty!
(@Cara and Wynken - The minute I saw Sara's post, I thought of you & your adorable "snowball-twins.")

 

And such a beautiful picture of them.


,

 

Thanks Crittermom. Whenever I catch them sleeping like that, my heart just melts!

 

I'm the same way - especially when Saoirse is covering her eyes with her little paw when she's trying to nap during the day ... (((Saoirse)))

 

So glad you took her in! My mom has an all white, deaf cat. She taught her a few hand signals, like "wait" and "down." They can feel vibration so the vacuum cleaner feels like it's purring. Bonnie, my mom's cat, is always in a good mood...New Years and 4th of July don't phase her at all.

 

My cats aren't deaf but they were easily taught hand signals. Cats are very intelligent

 

When I was younger my parents had a deaf white cat.we didn't know for a long time that he was deaf.til one day he was asleep under the car and my parents pulled car out and saw him laying there and thought they had run over him but he was curled up asleep and didn't hear the car start to get out from under it.they started checking under car making sure after that.the vet checked him out and told us he was dead for sure.

 

Cats a very adaptable that's for sure.she will watch you and learn how you work and she will come up with a way to communicate with you and understand you they always do.when my cat miss kitty had her 3rd eye lid tacked over for 2 weeks before her entropion surgery she couldn't see but adapted quickly and since she could look at me and communicate with her face expressions and stuff she started doing a blipping sounding meow to let me know that she knows I'm there etc.she still does it now even though the tacks have been taken down.like in my previous message we didn't even know he our white cat was deaf.so glad you are taking her in.she needs a good loving home!

 

Such a neat story about Freya and you welcoming her into your home. I can't wait to hear how the first week goes. You are an angel.

 

Hi Sara! I'm so happy to hear about Freya!!! Can't wait to see pics! As well as teaching her some hand signs, do talk to her just like you would any other cat. She will come to understand your facial expressions as you talk, and feel the vibrations from your voice if she is near. Ooohh, I'm so excited for you!!!

Lucy