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If your cat never reacts to loud noises, doesn't come when you open a can in the kitchen, or never come to greet you when you get home, it may be that he has a hearing problem.
Cats are intelligent animals and that know how to adapt to different situations, so if they don't hear well, they try to compensate with the rest of their senses.This, together with your known independent character, makes it harder to detect whether a cat is deaf or is simply ignoring you.
Continue reading this PeritoAnimal article about how to know if one is deaf if you think your little friend has hearing problems. However, in case of any sign of deafness, you should take him to the veterinarian for examination.
Causes of deafness in cats
There are several reasons why a cat can go deaf though. the most common is that it happens with age in cats over 10 years old. Hearing loss, if not from birth, can be temporary or permanent.
Temporal deafness can be caused by an infection due to bacteria, fungi or parasites. It could also be that you have a wax plug or that a foreign body has entered your ear. If the problem is treated in time, there should be no complications and your cat will recover his hearing when he is cured.
Permanent deafness happens when there are problems in the cat's middle and inner ear, such as an infection, and they are not treated in time or because they have suffered serious damage. Also, neurological problems or cysts in the ear can reduce 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 in white cats light-eyed, although this does not mean that all cats of this color are deaf.
Deafness symptoms in cats
It is sometimes difficult to find out if a cat is deaf as they are very independent animals and sometimes they do not respond when you call them simply because they do not feel like it. They also adapt very well to their environment, so they make up for their lack of hearing with other senses.
The most common is that a deaf cat never reacts to auditory stimuli and only reacts when he touches you.
A symptom of deafness in cats is the volume of meowing, when they do not hear, they do not know how to control it and usually meow very loud. Also, sometimes stumble a little while walking, this is because having the ear affected can have balance problems. This problem may be accompanied by vomiting.
Tricks for knowing if a cat is deaf
If you want to know if a cat is deaf, here are some simple methods you can use to find out if it has little hearing or is simply a little more independent.
- If you come home and don't show up. Although they are independent animals, normally, when their owner comes home, they usually come to receive him. If he never shows up, it could be because he doesn't hear him coming.
- clap your hands when you are sleeping. When you sleep, move closer and start clapping your hands really hard. Normally, you wake up startled when you hear loud noises, but you remain immobile because you have hearing problems.
- Try the vacuum. Cats are usually very frightened by this appliance, however, those who are deaf and do not hear its loud noise like to play with it.
- If you open a can of food and it doesn't appear. Cats usually come to the owner whenever they open a can. Try to do it in a place where you don't see it and if you don't come you may never hear anything.
- Make sure you only hear from one ear. It's a little more complicated to find out if your cat is deaf in only one ear, but if you watch the movements of your head when trying to hear something, you may find it. If you only hear from one side, your little friend will move his head so that the good ear receives the sounds, thus discovering where they are coming from.
- make noise when you're distracted. Even the most relaxed cats react when they hear a noise to know what is happening.
- step hard around you. All cats should react to any of the above points, but if they only do so when walking hard around them, they may only react by the vibrations they feel on the floor and not by the sound. In this case it is possible that your cat is deaf.
Remember that if you have any doubts about your cat's hearing, you should go to the veterinarian. Then they can diagnose deafness, if you have it, and they will tell you the causes and possible treatment.
This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.