Mary Allen
A deaf cat does not always show clear symptoms of its deafness. In part, the signs of feline deafness depend on whether the furry friend loses its hearing gradually or suddenly. You can read about the abnormalities that could indicate hearing loss here.
Much like a blind cat, a deaf cat can partially make up for lost sense with its remaining sense organs. Therefore, cat deafness is often not immediately noticeable. There are a few hints though.
Deaf Cat: Possible Symptoms
A cat that is suddenly deaf and has lost its hearing, for example as a result of late or untreated ear disease, parasites, or injury, will usually show more noticeable symptoms than a cat that has gradually become deaf. However, even these signs are often diffuse and may indicate that other sense organs are no longer functioning or that something else is wrong.
A deaf cat that doesn’t hear anything from one day to the next looks noticeably confused and insecure. It may react irritably, seek your closeness more, or – on the contrary – withdraw. In addition, a deaf cat is usually jumpier than a velvet paw with intact sensory organs. You may also notice that your pet stops moving its ears when it should be hearing a sound. Sometimes the volume and frequency of meowing increase because the kitty can no longer hear her own voice. With gradual hearing loss, the same symptoms appear to a lesser extent, as your cat can more easily get used to the gradual cat deafness.
Why Feline Deafness is Hard to Spot
This gradual habituation makes it particularly difficult to recognize the symptoms of feline deafness. As a study by researchers at the University of Western Ontario a few years ago examined, deaf cats appear to use the regions of the cat‘s brain that would normally be responsible for hearing for other purposes. The capacities are, so to speak, redistributed to the other sense organs – a deaf cat can usually see better and has an even finer sense of touch than hearing cats.
Affected animals then no longer react to sounds and noise – for example by turning their heads or moving their ears in the direction of the sound – but can recognize visual signals better and feel vibrations more with their sense of touch. If you suspect your cat might be deaf, you can try making clicking noises next to their ears. You must neither see your cat nor be able to sense through drafts or movements that you are testing its hearing. If she doesn’t respond, there’s a good chance she’s actually dead.