Deaf Cat in Multi-Cat Household

I have just agreed to take in (I must be crazy!!) a 2 year old white deaf cat. She was found at the back of a shop that had closed and taken in by someone who was going to keep her. She went for her spay and the vet told the new owner that this cat has to be kept inside. The lady realized this would be impossible for her circumstances, and after a search, guess who was approached! So she is arriving chez nous on Saturday.

I have never had a deaf cat before - none of my 4 white cats carried that gene. And I currently have 8 cats in the house (I swore I WOULD NOT HAVE MORE!!!) who do scrap among themselves sometimes, and who have a fairly definite hierarchy. Obviously I would love some advice from anyone who has been in this situation where some of the normal rules of introduction may not work.. and any tips on generally looking after a deaf cat - I am very vocal with my cats and all of them understand a large vocabulary, so I am going to have to change the way I tell them about meals, bed, not fighting etc.

We have 4 cats and one of them is deaf.  Snowy (deaf cat) has been with us the longest and was a shelter rescue.  Snowy has a history and a lot of issues... but, in the free range shelter, she was locked up in a crate, and the shelter said it was for her own safety as the other cats picked on her.  Since adopting Snowy, 3 other cats have joined our household.  There is only one she has an issue with, and that likes to bully her.  For the most part, Snowy is a tough cat, but our Calico has her terrified and Snowy usually holes up in the kitchen.  She gets along pretty well with the other two and they will try to run interference before an altercation begins, but once the hissing starts, they disappear.  Snowy lacked socialization when we rescued her, and though we made great strides, she still gets easily excited and forgets to use PAWS, not CLAWS when playing, with us, and I also think with the other cats as the two she plays with as they "test the waters" before engaging in play with her, and the play is usually short lived.  Good luck on introductions and how the deaf cat will fit into the heirachy.  I say its do-able.  8 cats is just a lot, deaf or not deaf, and a lot of how that works out will depend on the cats temperaments.

Okay, so one thing about Snowy when we first brought her home is she would be laying there happily gazing out the window and the next minute she would go nuts and tear through every room in the apartment, and then pretty soon she would be back chilling.  We determined this was normal.  Most animals can hear whats going on in the other room, if you are handling a treat sack, or opening drawers, or whatever, they can **** an ear and decide whether or not the noise is worth investigating.  With Snowy, and being new to the surroundings... and unable to hear, she had to investigate a LOT.  She doesn't do that so much now.  She knows our routine and could pretty much care less what is going on in the other rooms now. Snowy also likes to sleep in a cave.  Mostly she sleeps in her carrier, but drawers, in the box on the tower, or under the bathroom sink work too.  Deaf cats tend to sleep much more deeply that hearing cats and I think she likes and needs the protection from ambush.  Whether needing the extra security comes from her life before rescue or from being deaf I could not say.   We tried teaching her sign language and using gestures to communicate, but Snowy doesn't really care to communicate on our terms.  She will tell us when she wants to be fed, or if we forget to give her steam treatment for upper respiratory issues. but aside from that, she doesn't care much about communications.  Snowy is pretty spoiled - we rarely tell her no about anything, but when we do, deaf or not, she knows when we are saying no, and she does it anyway.  I think this is her personality and not part of being deaf.  Snowy loves car rides, she also likes the vacuum.  Actually, she is a clean freak.  She loves clean sheets, freshly mopped floors, all that stuff, except for when you put a clean blanket in her carrier - and for some reason, that ticks her off.  Snowy loves going for rides in a box.  I have a large paper box that I tied a string to, and she loves to be pulled around the apartment in it.  She also loves the kitty stroller we have for her.  But my final say on having a deaf cat is once you get used to each other, you will rarely be able to tell she is deaf.  We use our voice to talk to her, and she vocalizes back to us... its pretty funny, most of the time she has this dainty little pur, but if she gets alarmed by something she has the most pitiful wail, and it is LOUD. 

Good luck with your new cat, and bless your heart for taking in another baby from the streets.   

Thanks. That is helpful. I am worried about bullying as one my mine, a tortie, does try to ambush those she considers vulnerable.

Did you get your new kitty?  How are intros working out?

She has just been spayed and the people who found her are keeping her till the cone comes off. I will get her next weekend. Meanwhile I am reading up about deaf cats!

Are you finding anything interesting?  I will look forward to updates once the kitty is safe in your home.  We just love our little Snowy aka puffy cat.  I hope your love your new addition just as much as we do.

She arrived last night and so far her behavior has been totally normal. A little subdued at first, but very interested in all that is going on. I have put her in a large cage in the living room to get her used to the sights and smells and the other cats. Wellington has been touching noses through the bars. She does hiss and leap at Honey dog though, a shame as Honey is desperate to be friends. But I am sure that time will sort that out. Last night I left a small lamp on, and there was no crying, which really pleased me as that was something I had been warned about.

So here she is - she has been called Verone on her papers, not sure if I will change it or not.

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How pretty... glad she is doing good so far.  Snowy really doesn't cry much, she does walk around mumbling to herself almost like kitty whispers, its so adorable.  Mostly the only time she gets loud is if something freaks her out.  Would love to know what all happened to her while she was on her own... one day we were in  Pet Smart back by the big bin of litter where you can refill your containers and she started crying so pitifully... and then sometimes on walks she will see a shadow and literally "flip out" doing sommersaults and fur flying... and on two occasions, when she saw another cat... but most of the time she is really chill. 

I'm glad to see some comments about deaf cats in a multi-cat household. I imagine my situation is unique, and was wondering if you all could give me some tips to keep my deaf cats engaged and not bored.

I started with Persia, who I fostered, then kept. He is deaf, has a deformed iris in one eye, nystagmus, mega-colon, and recently had all but his very front teeth and canines removed due to stomatitis. The vet swears he's not an FIP baby, and I sure hope he is not. He's a mess, and reading him is a challenge somedays. Then, there was a litter of three outside that I managed, over about 3 months, to grab all three and bring inside, along with their mother. Dolly is deaf. She's a gray mackeral tabby. I can't touch their mom yet, so she's inside but feral. And I ran out of money to neuter her one son. (I know - bad mama.) So the inevitable happened, and son impregnated mom. I thought I was going to have a sad situation on my hands, but out came 4 beautiful babies. I decided to keep one, and it turns out SHE is deaf, as well. She's totally gray. So that's three deaf cats. THEN a momma cat showed up outside pregnant, and when they were about 7 weeks old, I was able to catch one of the five babies. His dad is my inside mama's brother. And I have a sneaking suspicion that HE is deaf, as well. He is 1/2 himalayan and 1/2 black/white tuxedo, but he himself has the himalayan coloring for the most part. He's a gorgeous little baby.

The oldest is two, the second one is 1 1/2, and the kittens are 13 weeks and 9 weeks. I have the mama feral inside, and 5 other hearing cats. Yes, 10. (And I finally glommed up the money to get the last boy neutered.

It's a zoo, yes, but a happy zoo for the most part. Do your deaf cats seem not to be overtly affectionate? Persia could care less, as long as he has cat treats and running water. Dolly loves to be petted, but isn't a lap-sitter nor a leg-rubber. The gray kitten loves to be petted, and I use that as a sign of approval. Do right, get petted. Do not so right, no petting. Tiny pretty baby purrs when I pet him, but we're still working out how to pet him without scaring him first. I'd love to have a lap-sitter, but so far none of the 4 seems inclined.

Any tips and tales you have, I'd love to read!