My cat has become deaf!

[FergieTCat]

My cat, Diana, turned 15 this year and the poor thing has become deaf. I've clapped my hands right behind head and she can't hear a thing. My poor girl!

At least she is an indoor cat, and cannot escape to go outdoors (unless she leaves my apartment and runs down 5 flights of stairs.)

I still insist on talking to her, though. She is a very good girl and I tell her as much every day.

Getting older sucks for every species!

 

[CowboyCO]

My cat, Diana, turned 15 this year and the poor thing has become deaf. I've clapped my hands right behind head and she can't hear a thing. My poor girl!

At least she is an indoor cat, and cannot escape to go outdoors (unless she leaves my apartment and runs down 5 flights of stairs.)

I still insist on talking to her, though. She is a very good girl and I tell her as much every day.

Getting older sucks for every species!

Sorry for your pet's troubles. She's probably already learned to pick up vusual cues from you now. My experience with cats is that they are all at least selectively deaf...

 

[diznygirl]

I had a white cat that was deaf. I always talked to her.
We got along just fine for 14 years.

 

[TanyaLovesPooh]

I am sorry to hear about Diana, I would still be talking to her too. Good thing she is already an indoor cat.

 

[ckay87]

Our 13 year old beagle has gone deaf. Best thing that ever happened to her. She is so relaxed and stress-free now. No thunderstorms, no fireworks, no vacuum noise. She sleeps so soundly, too. I know it's different with a dog than a cat, but just keep in mind it's not the worse thing for a pet.

I do a lot of my homemade sign language with her and she gets it.

 

[HappyTrouble]

Our oldest fur baby will be 14 next month. He is a Choodle. (1/2 Chihuahua and 1/2 Poodle) He is deaf but is learning what my signals mean. It definitley does not slow him down. He is the smallest of our 3 dogs but he still rules the roost. His eyesight is also bad and he has lost about 1/3 of his body weight in the past yearand a half but he's not in pain and still enjoys being my 3rd child.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

My 15-1/2 year old cocker spaniel seems to be deaf, too. I can stand right next to her, yelling her name, and she doesn't respond. If you want her attention, you have to actually tap her on the shoulder (just like a human). It is kind of nice that she no longer hears the doorbell, but her sniffer still works - when the paper is delivered or my DBF comes over, the nose goes up in the air, twitches, and then the crazy barking starts as she goes running!

She's got some muscle weakness in her back legs, too. She mostly no longer jumps on chairs, although there's one she can still get onto. She sometimes stumbles going up the stairs, but the vet says she's still okay..."muscle weakness, happens to us all when we get old." Her heart is very strong, he says that's the important thing! It does stink to see her getting older, though.

 

[Kae]

My 14 year old German Shorthaired Points has beed Deaf for about 2 years. He bark ways louder because of it & know hand signs & taps on the butt-for at night in the dark.

Kae

 

[FergieTCat]

I'm glad I found some shoulders to lean on.

BTW, in case you were wondering, I did not name these cats Fergie and Diana (littermates). My brother did! He gave them to me shortly before Princess Diana passed away.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Aw poor thing. I would continue to talk to her. She can feel vibrations. So if you are holding her talk to her she will feel it.

 

[elan]

Our dog went deaf the last few years of her life. At night I'd flip the porch light on and off as a signal to come in. I talked to her all the time.