Deaf Mute Cat

[Firedispatcher]

Has anyone have a cat that is a deaf/mute? If so could you post or email me your helpful tips?

Kellie is 3 years old and she has been a deaf/mute since birth. She does everything by following the other cats in the house. She does use the litter box on her own, but everything else she is a follower. She is not a cuddler, she seems to advoid human contact, unless she is in season.

Email address is [email protected]

Thanx in advance

Paul

[slick]

Hi Paul and welcome to Pet Talk. I'm sorry no one has answered your thread yet; I've had no experience with a deaf/mute kitty.

May I ask you a question: what do you mean by "in season"?? At 3 yrs old I would think she would be spayed by now.

[Corinna]

Welcome Paul . I don't know about cats. I did raise a deaf dog.

[moosmom]

I'm sorry I don't have any advice on deaf cats. But I DID do some research on Yahoo. Here's what I found...

http://ds.dial.pipex.com/brini/whtdeaf/advice.htm

http://www.messybeast.com/disabled.htm#deaf

http://www.petpeoplesplace.com/Care/Cats/004/06d.htm

I hope these help!

[Firedispatcher]

Thank you for all that you have done. I did check out the sites on yahoo.

With the deaf dog did he/she live a normal life? Was there anything special that you had to do for him/her?

The question about "In Season". No she hasn't been spayed yet. With all of our girls we have waited till they were 5 years old, before we have them fixed. Someone told us that if you wait the females keep their instincts of grooming better and are less aggressive. All of our guys had been neutered at a couple of months old, so we do not have to worry about accidents,and none of our Guys/Girls are outside cats. We do give the supervised free time outdoors for a couple of minutes to give them fresh air and it is only in our back yard, which is fenced in.

Any more help is greatly appreciated.

[Firedispatcher]

You can read more about our little family at

mywebpages.comcast.net/firedispatcher/family.htm

Hope you enjoy them.

[tatsxxx11]

Hi Paul, and welcome to Pet Talk Bless your heart for caring so for little Kellie I've never cared for a deaf kitty, but have friends who have had deaf and blind dogs. All lived incredibly rich and full lives! I wish I had more on hands advice, but this Deaf kitty care article had a lot of great info. My vet's always said that unless you tend to breed your dog or kitty, they should be spayed/neutered by 1 year for a host of health/safety concerns. She may be a bit less affectionate/distant due to her not being spayed. Is she an indoor or outdoor kitty? Perhaps she's just feeling a bit lost in the crowd right now? Does she get a lot of one on one attention? I know that's not easy to do with my crew of 5! I'm off now to check out your family! Please check back with us and update us on Kellie! Again, welcome to Pet Talk, Paul and Kellie!

[Firedispatcher]

With not having kellie spayed. We have talked it over with our Vet, and she was OK with waiting until she is 5yrs old

Thanks for the site.

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

Hi and welcome to Pet Talk.

I have a Deaf cat (alough he is not mute). Our vet thinks he is deaf as a result of abuse, and was probably not born deaf.

The article on "Deaf Kitty Care" has some useful advice.

I have also joined a Yahoo Group called "Deaf Cats Club" - just go to Yahoo goups and search for it (sorry I don't know how to link to it).

A couple of things I have found helpful:

Start to communicate with a deaf cat as as soon as possible with hand signals. They can learn basic commands. Connor Knows "down" (when he has to get off a table or worksurface); "no" (if he has to stop doing something) and "go" (this commend sends him to his sleep place - if he is getting out of hand and needs a time out - just like kids).

I wave my hands in the air to get his attention (like imitating a windmill), and then give him the signals. I also blow gently on him if I approch him from behind or if he is sleeping - this wakes him up more gently than touching him.

Also if he is upset, or wants some luvvies, I hold him against my chest and throat, as I think he can understand from the vibrations that I am trying to communicate with him.

I was not able to use a squirt bottle with Connor as it totally freaked him out (dont know his history but he WAS abused, and some things just make him go nuts!).

I guess you just need to figure out what works for your cat best! Try the Yahoo group as well - all the members are deaf cat owners, and owning a deaf cat presents a unique set of challenges, so help and sympathy from other people in the same situation help a lot.

With regards to the comment that she does not like human contact, I have a similar problem with Connor, He is not a lap cat by any means, but does enjoy human contact on his terms. I have found that by taking him into a room on his own, and giving him some one-on-one time, he is now more affectionate and snuggly.

One other thing to consider - make sure Kellie has a special "sleep place" preferably in a corner and up high if possible. (Connor has a bed on the top shelf of our utilities room). Deaf cats get very jumpy when they are "sneaked up on" - even although unintentianally, both by the humans and other cats in the house. Connor seems to sleep more deeply and more relaxed when he is in his corner and nothing can catch him by surprise!

Bless you for giving Kellie a loving home. I would love it if you would post more about your cats (both deaf and hearing).

Hope to hear more about yourself and your cats soon.

Julie

[Firedispatcher]

Thanks Julie.

Did you check out their site? If not this weekend I'l be updating it to be as if they are telling their own life stories.

The only hand signal that Kellie know is I clap my hands when I want her to come in from the screened in deck area.

[Corinna]

Pandora was the dog . She had a wonderful life , she was a great mom as pups got older we but bells on the pups as they liked playing hide andattack mom. To teach her we used vibrations ,tapping the floor and other items.

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

Hi Paul,

I just had a look at your site - it is great!!! I'll check back again to read the kitties stories!

Julie

[Laura's Babies]

Giz, who is about 6 months old was spayed last month and she has totally changed since she was spayed. Before, she didn't like to be helded but now she has turned into a lap cat that loves attention. Amy , who has always been sweet also got even sweeter.

Bless you for not passing up a handicaped kitty! They are so easliy passed over because everyone wants a "perfect" cat. Amy has neroulogical problems where her back legs are very weak and she can't do things a normal kitty does but she is a very sweet, cute baby and we all love her. I think your baby will get sweet once it gets use to her surroundings and gets the feel for everything around her. It'll just take time and for someone to keep working with her. It took Amy about 5 to 6 months to get use to her handicap and her limits and once she did, she has amazed me. Every day I see her learning as she grows up. Give yours time to mature and see how that helps..

[Kirsten]

Welcome to PetTalk, Paul!

Just saw your website, and your kitties are so sweet! And Kelly is such a cutie pie!

I don't have experiences with deaf cats, but I see Julie had some good advice for you and Kelly.

One question: Do you keep Kelly indoors only? Because outside, there would be too many dangers for her when she cannot hear them.

Kirsten

[Firedispatcher]

Hi everyone I just redid the website. This time where the Cats tell about themselfs. It tells the same things, but if the cats were typing it.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/firedispatcher/family.htm

Thanks everyone for your input and I hope you enjoy the website.

Paul