Hearing

[goldenkitty45]

If the kitten did not react to keys or pans, then I suspect he is deaf. One thing, do not wake him all of a sudden. The deaf kitten I had would not wake up when you walked into the room. So I gently wiggled the bed or patted a little near the kitten to wake her up. Otherwise they wake up and are more scared.

Does your kitten have a loud meow or "off-key" meow? Ours would sit at the top of the steps and scream till you came to see - then she happily came down the steps - she just didn't know where you were

 

[jack31]

Wow, I'm a little overwhelmed right now with Harley being at least somehwat deaf.

Yesterday Harley was hiding under the bed and the way he was laying there was no way for me to look him in the eye and by just calling for him he did not respond, after hitting the floor with my hand he looked finally. Definitely a sign to me that he can't hear.

Any other tips for living with a deaf cat--other than carefully waking him up?

Is he more likely to be timid or skittish?

He meows a lot and its a very different meow than Jack. It does seems to be a different pitch than Jack's.

Thanks for all the input and help
Leslie

 

[kluchetta]

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

If the kitten did not react to keys or pans, then I suspect he is deaf. One thing, do not wake him all of a sudden. The deaf kitten I had would not wake up when you walked into the room. So I gently wiggled the bed or patted a little near the kitten to wake her up. Otherwise they wake up and are more scared.

Does your kitten have a loud meow or "off-key" meow? Ours would sit at the top of the steps and scream till you came to see - then she happily came down the steps - she just didn't know where you were

LOL - Clyde loses us sometimes so he just yells his little heart out!

Originally Posted by Jack31

Wow, I'm a little overwhelmed right now with Harley being at least somehwat deaf.

Yesterday Harley was hiding under the bed and the way he was laying there was no way for me to look him in the eye and by just calling for him he did not respond, after hitting the floor with my hand he looked finally. Definitely a sign to me that he can't hear.

Any other tips for living with a deaf cat--other than carefully waking him up?

Is he more likely to be timid or skittish?

He meows a lot and its a very different meow than Jack. It does seems to be a different pitch than Jack's.

Thanks for all the input and help
Leslie

I have a totally deaf cat, and I think the best thing for him is having other cats around. He likes to use them to gauge if there is "danger" around. When it's time to eat, I stomp on the floor twice. If I lose him, I stomp on the floor and/or switch lights on & off. Like GoldenKitty, I pat the waterbed before waking him up. Oh, and I also notice that he looks at my face more than my other cats. Especially when we first got him - I think to tell if we were friend or foe. So I would smile and blink my eyes shut once or twice slowly to show that I was a friend. Don't be too overwhelmed. Remember he's used to it, but you are the one who isn't.

 

[goldenkitty45]

Teach him some basic sign language like a "come here" sign (curling your fingers to you), "no" (moving a finger from side to side). And reward with a treat when he comes to you.

Stomping on the floor or any kind of vibration you can make will help get his attention. I do agree that if you have other cats/dogs then the deaf one will be more alert to what is going on (this from a Turkish Angora breeder who deals with a lot of deaf cats in her whites).

The "off-key" meow is because he cannot hear himself

 

[buzbyjlc10]

Try not to feel overwhelmed

A big thing is he must be an indoor only cat (not sure if yours are or not)... he's in much more danger outside than a regular cat being deaf

Stomping on the floor/creating vibrations is the best way to wake him up or get his attention and other cats are a big help as well

As for sign language - you said you have some experience, but I'll add 2 links at the end of this of online ASL video dictionaries (ie: you click on an alphabet letter, then the word you want and a short video appears demonstrating the sign)... I prefer the ASL pro site (my ASL prof in college gave us that one)... my suggestion is keep it simple: single sign commands... for example: Oliver knows the sign "good" to mean "good boy" the 2 signs would be too much for him... you can make up your own signs of course, especially if 2 ASL signs are similar and could confuse him... some signs Ollie knows pretty well are: cookie (again the easiest to start with lol), food (to him means wet food since kibble's always out), fish (for tuna juice), no, sit, water, grass, ball, outside... now of course, he's still a cat and doesn't always obey haha, but I can tell he knows what I'm trying to tell him

Just be patient and consistent and you can still vocalize to him even if he is deaf

facial expression conveys alot, even to animals... smiling and the slow blinks are good "I'm friendly" communicators... give him time, he'll warm up to his environment and learn the routine in your house and I'm sure he'll be perfectly happy! Feel free to ask me if you want tips on the ASL, I plan to teach it to my future children as well regardless of their hearing ability - my uncle has done that with his 4 hearing children and it allowed them to communicate much earlier than kids that only know vocal communications

http://www.aslpro.com/cgi-bin/aslpro/aslpro.cgi
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm

 

[jack31]

My cats are indoor only cats!

We are still vocalizing to him--sometimes it feels stupid knowing he can't hear us but sweet talking is a habit you can't stop!

I will start trying the sign language. I by no means can communicate with a deaf person but have basic signs down from teaching children. I am even starting it right now with the two girls I nanny for (only 6 months old). We also use it with both of my hearing nephews. Thanks for the links though--I tend to forget the 'real' sign because with kids they tend to make the sign their own so to speak.

Leslie