If your cat never reacts to loud noises, doesn't come to you when you open a can in the kitchen, or never comes to see you when you come home, he may have hearing problems. Cats are intelligent animals that know how to adapt to different situations, so if they don't hear well, they will try to compensate with the rest of their senses. This, together with its well-known independent character, makes it more difficult to detect if a cat is deaf or if it is simply ignoring us.
Continue reading this article on our site on how to tell if a cat is deaf if you think your friend is hard of hearing. However, if there is any sign of deafness, you should take it to the vet for an examination.
Causes of deafness in cats
There are various reasons why a cat can become deaf, although most commonly it happens due to age in cats older than 10 years. Hearing loss, if not from birth, can be temporary or permanent. Thus, we differentiate these two types of deafness in cats:
- Temporary deafness may be caused by an infection due to bacteria, fungi or parasites. You may also have a wax plug or a foreign body that has gotten into your ear. If the problem is treated in time there should be no complications and your cat will recover his hearing as soon as he is cured.
- permanent deafness occurs when problems in the cat's middle and inner ear, such as an ear infection, are not are treated in time or because they have suffered serious injuries. In addition, neurological problems or cysts in the ear can decrease or completely eliminate hearing.
On the other hand, there are cats that are born deaf due to the so-called deafness gene, the -w allele. This gene predominates among white cats with light eyes, although this does not mean that all cats of this color are deaf.
Are all white cats deaf?
Not all white cats are deaf, although it is true that many white and blue-eyed felines tend to develop deafness due to to your genetics. The dominant gene W presents, in turn, alleles that can influence the deafness of white cats, being the pure white, the one that comes from the union of two members with the same genetic endowment (homozygous) the most prone (WW). All the information in our article "Why white cats are deaf".
Behavior of a deaf cat
Sometimes it is difficult to detect if a cat is deaf, since they are very independent animals and, sometimes, they don't come when you call them simply because they don't feel like it. In addition, they adapt very well to the environment, so they will compensate for their lack of hearing with other senses.
The most common thing is that a deaf cat never reacts to auditory stimuli and only does so when touched. If you want to know what care you should give your cat if it has hearing problems, don't hesitate to read the article about caring for a deaf cat.
A symptom of deafness in cats is the volume of their meows, since they don't listen to themselves they don't know how to control it and they usually meow very loudlyLikewise, sometimes they wobble a little when walking, since having the affected ear can cause balance problems. This problem may be accompanied by vomiting.
Tricks to know if a cat is deaf
If you're wondering how to tell if a cat is deaf, here are some simple methods you can use to find out if your cat has poor hearing or is just a little more independent:
- If you get home and it doesn't show up. Although they are independent animals, normally, when their owner comes home they usually come out to greet them. If he never shows up, it may be because he doesn't hear you arrive.
- Clap your hands while he's sleeping. When he sleeps, get close and start clapping loudly. Loud noises would normally cause you to wake up with a start, but if you don't flinch, you could have hearing problems.
- Vacuum cleaner test. Generally cats are very scared of this appliance, however, those who are deaf and not they hear its loud sound they like to play with it.
- If you open a can of food and it doesn't show up. Normally, cats tend to come every time you open a can or bag of food. Try to do it in a place where he doesn't see you and if he doesn't come he may never hear anything.
- Check if he only hears in one ear. It is a bit more complicated to find out if your cat is deaf in only one ear although if you look the head movements your cat makes when trying to listen to something you may find out. If he only hears from one side, your friend will move his head so that the good ear is the one that perceives the sounds and discovers where they come from.
- Make noise when he's distracted. Even the most easygoing cats react when they hear a noise to know what's going on.
- It stomps around him. All cats should react to one of the above but if they only do so when you stomp on around you very loud, it may be the ground vibrations that are alerting you and not the sound. In this case it is possible that your cat is deaf.
Remember that if you have any questions about your cat's hearing you should go to the vet. There they will diagnose your deafness, if you suffer from it, and they will tell you the causes and the possible treatment.
How to treat a deaf cat?
If we talk about medical treatment, it should be noted that only those cats with temporary deafness will be able to recover their hearing. To do this, it is necessary to go to the vet to identify the cause of the loss and start the appropriate treatment for it. If the cat is permanently deaf, the damage is irreversible.
Now then, if we refer to the care of a deaf cat at home, it is essential to arm yourself with patience, since the animal must adapt to its new condition. To improve their quality of life, we will stop using words and sounds as means of communication, and will use gestures, through which we can also educate a deaf cat without problems. To do this, we will choose brief and clear gestures and relate them to situations, making the necessary repetitions and rewarding the animal whenever it responds appropriately. We will never yell at the cat or punish him, we must remember that he does not hear and this will only produce confusion, fear and rejection
