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03 May 10 - 04:40 PM (#2899323) Subject: BS: Deaf cats From: McGrath of Harlow We've just worked out that the cat we've recently taken over from my father-in-law after his death is deaf. We'd been puzzled by a few things about her, and so has our existing cat - she always seemed very cautious and oddly unresponsive. We had been putting it down to her missing her customary pattern of life, and of course my father-in-law - but today we were checking how she reacts to noises behind her, and it's pretty clear she can't have much hearing. And that also explains why she has such an odd range of sounds. Now we'll have to adjust how we behave to fall in with her needs. Anyone else have experience with deaf cats? |
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03 May 10 - 05:00 PM (#2899337) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: Smokey. Mine's deaf, but he's also very old. Warn any visiting children against startling her, and don't let her out in daylight if there's traffic about - at least at night they can see the lights. Mine can hear low frequencies such as thunder or the rumble of my car coming home, but seems oblivious to anything above about 75hz. |
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03 May 10 - 05:04 PM (#2899341) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: Ebbie Even after they are quite profoundly deaf, dogs will still respond to a clap of the hands. Perhaps the same thing will work on cats? Good luck to you and your kitty, Kevin. |
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03 May 10 - 05:20 PM (#2899348) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: gnu I wonder if I should try sommat on my neighbour with the yappy dog. If clapping doesn't work, maybe a slap in the back of the head? |
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03 May 10 - 06:19 PM (#2899386) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: Sorcha Is she by any chance white? I wouldn't let her out at all. I'm sure she can feel vibrations....like floor stomping. Learn to use vibrations instead of vocals. I nearly ran over a semi feral deaf cat with a mower once....she couldn't even feel it coming, OR was so terrifed she didn't know which way to run. She stayed around for food for a few weeks, then disappeared. NO idea if she 'went onward' or a coyote/owl, etc got her. |
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03 May 10 - 07:31 PM (#2899430) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: Rapparee I thought this was about a rock band. |
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03 May 10 - 11:20 PM (#2899547) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: katlaughing OUr dog has gone deaf with older age, but can still hear if we yell really loudly, but only certain words. Not his name, Merlee, for instance, but he can hear "DOG!" :-) He was trained with hand signals, so we just have to be sure he can see us and, yes, he responds to vibrations, foot-stomping or pounding on the wall. I wouldn't use most of those with a cat, though, as I think it would startle and frighten them too much and, I would never let a deaf cat out. We don't let Merlee run loose out on the desert or wherever we might go because he just wouldn't hear if there were any danger. He has always stayed close-by, but not always looking in our direction, so it's just too risky. My hearing cats know some hand signals and they know what certain kinds of touches mean. I'd just try to be within the kitty's vision and be as calm and helpful as possible. It must be disconcerting to them. I know Merlee doesn't seem to understand sometimes, by the look on his face, just why he can't hear the neighbour dogs, etc. One last thing: have you had the vet check it? My son's cat seemed deaf and she is old, but it was just a lot of wax build-up. kat |
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04 May 10 - 12:19 AM (#2899567) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: Gurney We had a deaf cat once, white, as so many are. Deaf from birth, we think. He was a big, confident animal, and quite relaxed, but not around children. And he hated dogs, and attacked small ones on sight. The odd thing was, his ears moved around, just as a hearing cat's would. When he was young, we would throw balls of paper to get his attention, kept a supply on hand. He had a cat-door, but stayed mostly within fenced territory. Not necessarily ours. Like McGrath's, he had a weird range of meows. |
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04 May 10 - 08:08 AM (#2899709) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: Greg F. Letting a deaf cat roam outside at all is animal abuse & should be prosecuted. |
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04 May 10 - 11:51 AM (#2899833) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: maire-aine Kat said everything I was about to say. Have the vet check kitty out. Keep her inside and give her a place where she can keep to herself if she wants. You don't say how old she is, but I presume she's a "senior". She may hear some sounds in the lower frequency range. Keep your voice low, and speak up but don't yell. Good luck to you both, Maryanne |
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04 May 10 - 12:24 PM (#2899861) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: open mike my first thought was whether she was white...esp. with blue eyes (or maybe only one blue eye) they say if a cat has only one blue eye, the ear on that side is more likely to be deaf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odd-eyed_cat |
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04 May 10 - 12:34 PM (#2899869) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: frogprince So why would you all expect any kind of response from dead cats? Oh, you said.... Never mind. |
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04 May 10 - 08:14 PM (#2900197) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: McGrath of Harlow Luckily we've got a fair-sized garden, so she's able to get out safely. She doesn't show any inclination to go further at present. No she isn't white - got some black as well, but with a white head - and her eyes aren't blue. We'll get her ears checked in case it's just wax, but we don't think it is. One thing we've noticed is that she's very cautious about pushing open a door to go into a room - more likely to sit there till it gets opened for her. Gradually she's getting to be less suspicious of our other cat, who's been very patient in accepting that she isn't too friendly to him. He's used to having cats who treat him with affection, so it must be a bit confusing for him. But now she's become willing to eat alongside him, with individual plates. Thanks for the response. |
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05 May 10 - 12:56 AM (#2900313) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: Gurney Greg F, in my opinion, keeping any cat inside and not letting it out is animal abuse, and should be prosecuted. I don't like confining them under any circumstances, and nor do cats like it. Another opinion is that all cats should be banned anywhere near wildlife reserves, murderous little sods that they are. |
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05 May 10 - 06:39 AM (#2900451) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: McGrath of Harlow I can see that if you live in a city flat with no garden, and traffic all around, there might be good reasons not to let a cat out, even one with good hearing. But I don't think keeping a cat in circumstances like that is really a right thing to do. Actually I'm inclined to the view that an environment that isn't suitable for a cat isn't right for a human being either - and that doesn't mean no cities, there are plenty of ways of building cities that are fairly cat and human friendly. |
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05 May 10 - 07:22 AM (#2900469) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: Greg F. keeping any cat inside and not letting it out is animal abuse, Oh great, The cat-worshipping nutters are coming out. Fine, go ahead- & have fun with the endo & ecto parisites, various feline diseases (a good number communicable to humans, by the way), serious injuries they'll sustain from other animals & vehicles & etc. - not to mention the wonton destruction of other furry & feathered creatures the "murderous little sods" gratuitously kill. Sounds good to me! I'm sure the cats appreciate it, too. |
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05 May 10 - 08:23 AM (#2900493) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: Becca72 Speaking as a cat worshipper, I would never EVER let my cats out regardless of where we live. As Greg pointed out there are many more dangers than just passing vehicles. Housecats are perfectly content to stay indoors; it's the humans who think they feel confined and unhappy. |
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05 May 10 - 09:58 AM (#2900532) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: McGrath of Harlow I suspect there's a transatlantic difference about whether it's right to put cats under house arrest. As for "Housecats are perfectly content to stay indoors", I know our Josh would go spare if we tried to stop him going out. In fact he gets emphatic if we don't let him out speedily when he tells us. |
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05 May 10 - 10:26 AM (#2900547) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: Becca72 Of the dozen or so cats I've had in my lifetime 2 have been allowed out (my mother's idea - I was a child) and both died very young. The 3 I have now have never been out and all are well adjusted and extremely bright. Do you let your dogs roam the streets? |
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05 May 10 - 11:05 AM (#2900573) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: McGrath of Harlow Dogs is different. Very few cats would like to be taken for walks on a lead down the pub, for example. |
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05 May 10 - 11:19 AM (#2900582) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: McGrath of Harlow This is rather drifting from talking about deaf cats, but thread drift is part of the Mudcat experience. I've been thinking about my speculation about a different attitude to keeping cats indoors in the British Isles and the USA - googling around seems to confirm that. For example going by the spelling on sites discussing the issue of words that crop up such as neighbour/neighbor or centre/center. And here's a UK site I found where the writer takes this difference for granted: "Whether to keep cats indoors or out depends mostly on whether you're American or a Brit...there is a huge difference between the UK and USA... Americans it seems more or less expect to keep their cats in; the opposite starting point exists in the UK." That's consistent with my impression. Is it correct? Or does it vary in different places? |
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05 May 10 - 12:21 PM (#2900636) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: Greg F. Dogs is different. Very few cats would like to be taken for walks on a lead down the pub, for example. Dogs ain't different in that respect- its all in what the critters are trained to do. I've known plenty of cats who were just fine on a lead & WOULD have enjoyed awalk down to the pub. By the way, how much do your neighbors appreciate the catshit & catpiss in their gardens? And why should they have to clean up after you? |
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05 May 10 - 01:20 PM (#2900670) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: McGrath of Harlow No problem with them, or with us and their cats. Good for the soil. anyway. |
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05 May 10 - 03:34 PM (#2900750) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: Greg F. Oh, I believe ya, Kevin, but thousands wouldn't. OK, in general then: why should people have to clean up cat crap and cat piss from someone else's cat? Americans it seems more or less expect to keep their cats in... |
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05 May 10 - 03:38 PM (#2900753) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: Greg F. Ooops! hit the wrong button. To continue: Americans it seems more or less expect to keep their cats in... Is it correct? Not at all. There are plenty of irresponsible cat owners here in The States who let their cats roam to the detriment of their cats, their neighbors, and the local wildlife. |
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05 May 10 - 03:53 PM (#2900769) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: McGrath of Harlow That confirms the statement. Here I anyone who kept their cat in, unless they lived in a city centre, is liable to be seen as a bit strange and rather unkind. A different culture. How about de-clawing cats? Any vet doing that here would be liable to be struck off. |
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05 May 10 - 06:09 PM (#2900866) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: Greg F. De-clawing? Shouldn't be done. Period. |
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05 May 10 - 06:12 PM (#2900869) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity Maybe she just isn't listening! Teach it to read! GfS |
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05 May 10 - 06:15 PM (#2900873) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: Greg F. And Kevin, could you address: OK, in general then: why should people have to clean up cat crap and cat piss from someone else's cat? Thanks. |
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06 May 10 - 11:59 AM (#2901307) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: GUEST,leeneia If you want a healthy, affectionate cat, get it while it's young and keep it in your house. The statistics on the killing of birds by cats are appalling. A pair of birds works hard to raise fledglings, then a cat comes along and kills the naive young as soon as they leave the nest. In time, the adult birds die and there is no one left to continue the lineage. Why? Because the owner is too lazy or too silly to keep the cat where it belongs. Meanwhile, the cat is endangered by fleas, tapeworm, feline leukemia, cars, dogs, cat fights ... |
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06 May 10 - 12:01 PM (#2901312) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: LilyFestre We had a cat that became deaf when he was about 15 years old. His meows became louder and like your cat, he was unresponsive to soudns. After a bit, we learned to hear the difference in the tone of his meows...one for love, one for food, one to go out, one to come in....once we figured out the tones, everything was fine. :) Fester passed away last year at age 18. I still hear his meows from time to time! Michelle |
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06 May 10 - 10:31 PM (#2901721) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: maire-aine I've had four cats in my lifetime, and all four were indoor cats. They all lived long, healthy lives. One of them always tried to sneak out, but finally was willing to let me put a harness & leash on her, so she could go out and explore the garden for a while. My last cat lived to be 20, but was rather deaf by then. Since she was the only cat in the house, she seemed to take it in stride. One other cat that stayed around the house for a while (an un-neutered Tom) was always getting into fights. I took him to the vet many times to get patched up after he got into fights. One day he just never came home, and we never found out what happened to him. As for the difference between UK & US, I hadn't thought about that, but it makes sense. |
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06 May 10 - 11:01 PM (#2901751) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: CapriUni I once knew, briefly, a couple who had a deaf cat, that they'd raised from kittenhood. They'd given it a "name sign," and taught it to respond to hand signals. (the cat was a grey tigerstripe/tabby). Too bad you'd inherited this cat. It would be helpful to know how your Father in Law communicated with it (her?) |
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07 May 10 - 11:08 AM (#2902070) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: McGrath of Harlow ...why should people have to clean up cat crap and cat piss from someone else's cat? Because it's there. Like cleaning up- after pigeons. Part of the rich tapestry of life. And the same goes for cats killing birds or mice etc. And for the evident variation between the USA and other countries when it comes to keeping cats confined to the house. Our deaf cat right now is sitting by the glass waiting to go out for a brief walk round the garden to sniff the foliage. She's got no problem in letting us know what she wants. |
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07 May 10 - 11:34 AM (#2902085) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: Greg F. Q. ...why should people have to clean up cat crap and cat piss from someone else's cat? A. Because it's there. Like cleaning up- after pigeons. Part of the rich tapestry of life. Absolute bullshit. And self-serving bullshit at that. Its inconsiderate and irresponsible. If you cause someone else's property to be despoiled, that's criminal mischief & should be actionable. |
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07 May 10 - 01:39 PM (#2902170) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: McGrath of Harlow Would I be wrong to assume that you live in North America, Greg? It's evidently a different culture here in this respect/ Cats roaming free from garden to garden really is the normal way in the British Isles, and I believe in other parts of Europe, and always has been. If someone doesn't want a cat in their garden, it's up to them to make it catproof, rather than for a cat owner to stop their cat roaming. Quite a different situation from that which pertains for dogs. |
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07 May 10 - 06:23 PM (#2902372) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: GUEST,Eliza My three Siamese cats do wonders with the control of rats. We live in rural Norfolk, and last year a colony of rats began to be a problem, stealing the bird food and getting into my neighbour's house. I love all wildlife, but rats carry some very nasty diseases. During a two week period, nearly the whole colony was killed off. My two smallest cats were seen carrying a rat one at each end, like two men with a stretcher! They kindly brought the tails indoors, presumably as a gift. |
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07 May 10 - 06:51 PM (#2902397) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: Greg F. Quite a different situation from that which pertains for dogs. Why precisely? Shit is shit, no? Also, should I presume that you also throw rubbish onto your neighbors' properties and expect them to pick it up & bin it? Perhaps we should transfer this discussion to the "Neighbor From Hell" thread? |
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08 May 10 - 09:01 AM (#2902639) Subject: RE: BS: Deaf cats From: McGrath of Harlow It's also a different situation for horses and pigs and alligators. Different species have a different role in our various communities, and there are different expectations in regard to how they should be treated. I''m sure where you are living. Greg's assumptions about what is rights and wrong for cats is no doubt in line with the customs and laws of where he lives. Where I live I think they'd be seen as pretty unusual. That's just how it is. |