Could he be deaf?

I'm a little worried about one of my kittens... Sasha's little grey tabby boy, named Jack by his new owners. He's big and healthy and gaining weight... he has already bypassed his sisters in terms of weight, even though he was one of the smaller ones at birth. But I am worried that he may be deaf. Their ears are all opened (well, not Missy's kittens yet) and whenever I approach the box and say "hi babies!", all of the other kittens raise their heads and look toward the sound, but not little Jack. I can snap my fingers or clap right next to his head and he doesn't flinch. I banged on the box quite forcefully but not enough to shake it and everyone jumped a little... except for Jack. So either he's just not at all phased by the noises, or he's deaf. What do you all think? It's not a big deal to me if he's deaf, but I don't know how his new owners will react, they may not want him. That doesn't concern me either, he'll stay here until he finds the perfect home. Are there any other ways of telling if he can hear or not?

When i was a child my parents adopted a deaf cat. He was the most affectinate cat i have ever met. I remember we named him Snowy as he was all white. We discovered he was deaf by the fact that he used to sit on top of the television and found comfort in the vibrations. Also when it can to feeding him he never heard the tin being opened (Smudge is by my feet everytime i open a cuboard door ). He was kept as a house cat as he was deaf but he got out once and we found him Chasing his tail in the middle of the road. Car horns were beeping and he was none the wiser).

From what you have said i guess Jack could be deaf but he could just be a bit lazy and not bothered about saying hi. Good luck with him and i hope that if he is deaf his new family still love him.

Helen.

Maybe get him into a room alone, and get some real ineresting toys, and all, and try it? Maybe he is just unphased, like you said.. I don't know, Mika did that too, but she's not deaf, she was inerested in something else at the time. lol But, maybe take the kittens to the vet soon for a checkup, and then when you go ask the vet. I don't know how to tell. Good luck! Keep us updated!

There is a Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER) test that can be conducted on dogs and cats to determine their ability to hear. Not all vets will necessarily have the machine to do the test, but your vet should be able to help find someone to do it. I don't remember how expensive it is, but I don't it is too bad.
Best wishes. I agree that that deafness is not the end of the world. Many times other animals will recognize a deaf animal and help it compensate.

How old is he?

If he was white, I would be more inclined to say yes....but I wonder if he's just an oblivious kitten?

I agree with Natalie (White Cat Lover) that it's less likely that a tabby cat would be deaf than a white one. I had a litter with three white cats and they were probably about 6 weeks old before I could say FOR SURE that none were deaf.

Even so, there are just a few small things the new owners would need to do for him...The biggie is don't let him out - he couldn't hear cars/predators. Our deaf cat is more comfortable with at least one other cat around that he can cue off of. When calling them for dinner and such, you can switch the lights on and off, or stomp on the floor. Frankly, I forget most of the time that I have a deaf cat!

is it the same thing with humans if there prem they can have some problems , and one of them can be deafness? im saying this because there was a chance that these kittens were prem wasnt there? i dont know if that would make a difference of not , but it might?