Deaf Kitten?

Question

Thanks to a very good answer yesterday concerning an all white kitten of mine, we have learned that she is deaf. My next question, is how to care for her? I know she won't be able to go outside now, but other than that, what else won't she be able to do that normal cats do? How would I teach her right from wrong if she can't hear my tone of voice? Does anyone have a deaf cat, raised from kitten who would be able to help me out, or show me a website? Thanks in advance. She's about 9 weeks old.

Answer 1

i found the website listed below for you.

it's best not to let cats roam around outside anyway-- fleas, worms, illnesses (even if they are vaccinated, they can still contract feline leukemia, which is deadly). and a hearing cat can be hit by a car, as well as a deaf one... some people swerve just to HIT cats... unbelievable but true.

i hope you find the article below useful, and that you and your new pet have many happy years together!

Answer 2

I've been fostering and rescuing cats for a long time, and have found that a deaf cat is pretty much like any other cat: they smell food, use their paws to play and follow a fly around the house with their eyes. Having said that, their lack of hearing must be taken into consideration by members of your household, so that you can adapt to your kitten's ways. Never, ever, let her outside - she will be unable to identify any dangers.

There a few tricks I have learned over the years:

Stomp your feet when entering a room so that if she is asleep, so she can feel the vibrations. Or use a mini-flashlight and flicker it so she knows when someone is coming to her (if you use a laser light, NEVER point it in her eyes - it will blind her). You can also put a dab of perfume on your ankles so that she picks up your scent.

Cats actually use their sense of smell (which is about 40 times stronger than humans) and touch more than their hearing. You can use touch (massage, brushing, etc.) or treats to instill desirable behaviours and use as a reward.

Since she cannot hear "no" for undesirable behaviour and will ignore you, this makes her the same as every other cat. Reprimands simply do not work. If you catch your kitten in the act, she will only misbehave when you are not around. If you punish her later, she will not associate the reprimand with the crime.

If you want to prevent bad habits, set your kitten up to succeed in performing those behaviors you want her to learn so she can be rewarded. Set up her environment so that those behaviors you don't want her to learn are not rewarding.

I've attached a couple of articles on deaf cats which might be helpful. Wishing you all the best with your new baby.

Answer 3

You're right---this cat should never be allowed outside, for obvious reasons. But, other than this, her sense of smell is great and her eyesight is great. When you want her to get something to play with, or want her to jump up and be near you, you'll have to use the pointing system--where you point to what you want her to get, or point to where you want her to be. Cats are VERY intelligent and she will get used to this system by your own body language. Don't under-estimate her just because she's deaf. This is common in pure white cats---I have one, a Turkish Angora, although he is NOT deaf. However, she will do and be every ting that any hearing cat will do--just in a slightly different way. Good luck to you with this little girl--she'll be fine.

Answer 4

I have a deaf white cat. we understand each other very well. I raised him the same way I would raise a normal cat. A deaf cat can do everything a normal cat can do. I got my cat used to read my hand movements. If he does something wrong I move my finger up and down and he understands that he is in trouble and if I smile he will come over and start to purr.try to get your cat to understand your hand movements and your facial expressions. SHe will start to understand ad get used to it. I can be fun.

Answer 5

My cat is deaf and the only thing we do different with her is when she is bad we use a water bottle to teacher right frond wrong.And we used a laser light to teacher when we wanted her to come to us.
For the laser light cats look at it as a toy anyways.we would shine it on the floor in front of her and when it got her attention we would move it toward us and when she got to us we would give her treats. We did this alot.
Now when she see the laser light she comes running to us. other wise we do nothing different with her than with our other cats.And she is not allowed outside unless she is on her leash.
She does everything the same as our other cats. She does tend to be a little more leery than our other cats because she can't hear we usually don't see her unless it is just us in the house too many people scare her.
I hope this helps and good luck.

Answer 6

my friend has a deaf cat and she gets along just fine, however, they recently moved and the deaf cat got out (she wasnt spayed yet) and now she is pregnant and about ready to have babies anytime now ....she does practically everything that any normal cat can do and from now on she is super careful to not let her outside because any animal could sneak up on her and kill her

Answer 7

There is also a Yahoo Group for owners of deaf cats.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/deafcatsclub/

Answer 8

ur cat will be fine inside and to train him u might try to just i dont know hope u get a good answer and good luck dont give up