Anyone had a cat go deaf?
Discussion
One of my cats is not himself at the moment.
We’re currently living with friends while my house is renovated, so I assumed his “offness” was due to being uprooted to a strange house, but I’m wondering if perhaps he’s going deaf. Struggling to work out how to find out for sure though.
Anyone been through this? Does deafness change a cat’s behaviour/character? He’s usually so friendly but now spends most of the time under the bed in the room we’re staying in.
We’re currently living with friends while my house is renovated, so I assumed his “offness” was due to being uprooted to a strange house, but I’m wondering if perhaps he’s going deaf. Struggling to work out how to find out for sure though.
Anyone been through this? Does deafness change a cat’s behaviour/character? He’s usually so friendly but now spends most of the time under the bed in the room we’re staying in.
Gary C said:
dont know
but certainly I have had a cat ignore me to the point that i think its deaf (wife syndrome I think its called
)
When its not looking at you, make a hissing noise (never known a cat to ignore a hiss), if he doesn't react then you might be right.
I’ve been clapping etc in the last few mins, but can’t really tell if he’s ignoring me because he’s just generally scared/on edge at the moment. but certainly I have had a cat ignore me to the point that i think its deaf (wife syndrome I think its called
)When its not looking at you, make a hissing noise (never known a cat to ignore a hiss), if he doesn't react then you might be right.
I’ll keep trying, but he’s been fed and back to hiding under the bed now
UTH said:
Gary C said:
dont know
but certainly I have had a cat ignore me to the point that i think its deaf (wife syndrome I think its called )
When its not looking at you, make a hissing noise (never known a cat to ignore a hiss), if he doesn't react then you might be right.
I’ve been clapping etc in the last few mins, but can’t really tell if he’s ignoring me because he’s just generally scared/on edge at the moment. but certainly I have had a cat ignore me to the point that i think its deaf (wife syndrome I think its called
)When its not looking at you, make a hissing noise (never known a cat to ignore a hiss), if he doesn't react then you might be right.
I’ll keep trying, but he’s been fed and back to hiding under the bed now
only a hiss makes him turn every single time.
UTH said:
After some noise testing, fairly sure he’s not deaf.
So back to being unsure as to why he’s being off
Moving to a different house would have done it. Doesn't know the smells, where the danger could come from, where the safe places to bolt to are. Let him sleep and hide, next week will think everything is how its always been.So back to being unsure as to why he’s being off
Gary C said:
UTH said:
After some noise testing, fairly sure he’s not deaf.
So back to being unsure as to why he’s being off
Moving to a different house would have done it. Doesn't know the smells, where the danger could come from, where the safe places to bolt to are. Let him sleep and hide, next week will think everything is how its always been.So back to being unsure as to why he’s being off
UTH said:
Gary C said:
UTH said:
We’ve been here over two weeks. Still not loving it here.
Bugger, any other animals ?There is a 3 year old though....not sure he's a fan of small kids perhaps
We would be ignored for a week when we went on holiday, they are odd and our current cat legs it if a child is anywhere near.
Gary C said:
UTH said:
Gary C said:
UTH said:
We’ve been here over two weeks. Still not loving it here.
Bugger, any other animals ?There is a 3 year old though....not sure he's a fan of small kids perhaps
We would be ignored for a week when we went on holiday, they are odd and our current cat legs it if a child is anywhere near.
Of course then the worry is that with new floors, painting etc, our house won't look or smell like anything he recognises!
UTH said:
Although it's a bit of a shame if that's the reason, does also give me hope that there's nothing actually wrong with him and he'll be back to normal when we go home.
Of course then the worry is that with new floors, painting etc, our house won't look or smell like anything he recognises!
That won't help! Got his old basket? Maybe even just leaving an old worn sweater or dressing gown might help. They're scent animals. Of course then the worry is that with new floors, painting etc, our house won't look or smell like anything he recognises!
Evanivitch said:
UTH said:
We’ve been here over two weeks. Still not loving it here.
That's just a moment in a cat's timeline of discontent. Have you replicated any of his favourite spots from pervious home? High spots, low spots etc. Tried a Feliway to help?
And as I type he's actually downstairs with me, although not looking totally comfortable down here, but happier as the kid is at nursery right now.
Yes. Old cats, like 16,17+ often go deaf. Mine did.
If you notice them not reacting to their surroundings so much, that's more a sign of it. It's a gradual process and catches them unaware, I wouldn't expect it to cause any suddent behavoural changes.
Not sure what a bad move is like, only moved once and the cat absolutely loved it. Was the best thing that ever happened to him. He settled in immediately and was far happier and friendlier in his last 10 years than his first. I think a large part of that is because our old house was right on top of a park frequented by poorly behaved, off lead dogs, and so he would get chased a lot, while the dogs were on leads much more frequently at the new house.
If you notice them not reacting to their surroundings so much, that's more a sign of it. It's a gradual process and catches them unaware, I wouldn't expect it to cause any suddent behavoural changes.
Not sure what a bad move is like, only moved once and the cat absolutely loved it. Was the best thing that ever happened to him. He settled in immediately and was far happier and friendlier in his last 10 years than his first. I think a large part of that is because our old house was right on top of a park frequented by poorly behaved, off lead dogs, and so he would get chased a lot, while the dogs were on leads much more frequently at the new house.
Edited by GearKnob on Monday 22 March 22:28
Quick update: he seems much happier. He's spending most of his time downstairs with me now, and even in the evenings when the little kid is back from nursery he still hangs around albeit trying to stay out of the way of the noisy small human! So I'm very relieved to see he's happier, he even slept downstairs last night which was a surprise.
I do worry that when we move home in a couple of weeks it'll take him a while to settle back there given we'd only been there 5 months.
I do worry that when we move home in a couple of weeks it'll take him a while to settle back there given we'd only been there 5 months.
If you're going back to the same house, and his old favourite haunts are the same, he'll be ok very quickly.
We have a 17 year old cat who has been deaf and partially sighted for her entire life. It took us many years to work it out! She copes just fine, although our other cat treated her with utter disdain when we brought her back to give him some company (to the point we have to lock her away at night). He knew!
He's just left us, but we'll keep her locked in a room at night - she is so noisy at everything (from grooming to going to the loo) because she doesn't know she's doing it.
We have a 17 year old cat who has been deaf and partially sighted for her entire life. It took us many years to work it out! She copes just fine, although our other cat treated her with utter disdain when we brought her back to give him some company (to the point we have to lock her away at night). He knew!
He's just left us, but we'll keep her locked in a room at night - she is so noisy at everything (from grooming to going to the loo) because she doesn't know she's doing it.
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