Deafness and raising kittens?

brinnan

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Hello! I just brought home my new foster cat about 4 days ago from a kill shelter. She is a beautiful Russian Blue who was found as a stray. She is also VERY pregnant. The xray shows six kittens that are due almost any day now. She tested positive for roundworms, but FIV and FLV negative. She is in a bathroom with lots of boxes and beds for her to rest in and prepare for her kittens-- and to avoid the other cats in the house.

Over the past few days two things have become apparent. 1) She is probably the most affectionate cat I have ever met. She is SO grateful to be out of the shelter, and she will climb my legs to get into my arms. She just purrs and purrs. She is calm when we go to the vet, she sees the other cats, and when we are in the car. She's really wonderful. 2) She appears to be deaf. She doesn't notice me opening the door to her room, dropping things, etc. She does notice when I turn on the lights or bang on the ground. While she is a gorgeous gray with green eyes (in my profile pic), I still think she is deaf.

Does anyone have an advice for a deaf cat having kittens? Do they typically know the kittens are hungry/cold/whatever? I know usually mothers listen for the mewing. Also, has anyone ever had a cat recover hearing? I wonder if an old infection or something caused this.

Thank you!
 

ldg

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Welcome to TCS! :wavey: WHAT a love you are for fostering this beautiful girl! :hugs: She sounds like SUCH a sweetheart.

I don't know about deafness and being a mom... but our little Flowerbelle is deaf, and it doesn't seem to affect her at all - other than being FAR less scared of most things than the other cats. :lol3:

I suspect she'll manage just fine using her other senses. :nod: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes:

It would be wonderful if you'd keep us posted!
 
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brinnan

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Thanks! My own gals and every other foster I've had were already spayed, so this is a bit strange for me. The vet said that if we spayed her this late, the kittens would have to be euthanized, since it was really too late to do a spay-abort. So it looks like we're having kittens! She really is a fantastic little gal-- and she's extremely boney and skinny outside of her giant belly. It is so strange to me to have a cat who doesn't respond to the sound of a can opening! I open the can, and the other cats downstairs start crying from hearing it, but Luna just goes on sleeping, purring, or making biscuits on my legs.

With your deaf baby, do you find him to be clumsy? With Luna, I can't tell if she is just clumsy because she is 50% giant belly, or if her ears/lack of hearing are causing her to have bad balance.
 
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ldg

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Probably the pregnancy. Our Flowerbelle was a little... "off" at first (also a rescue baby). But that, I'm pretty sure, was because we had to have one of her eyes removed, altering her depth perception. :nod: She can hear certain frequencies, so we know she wasn't born deaf (we can "call" her by making a kind of clicking noise with our tongue and cheek).

No... deaf kitties aren't usually clumsy. I'm pretty sure that would be being preggers. :nod:

The only thing that might be affecting her balance would be if it's due to her ears being blocked up with gunk or infection. They checked her ears? Otherwise, the one thing those of us with deaf cats have noticed is that they universally seem to enjoy "gravity." Meaning.. they love pushing things off of stuff. People with deaf kitties tend not to leave stuff they don't want on the floor on tables and counters. :lol3:
 
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brinnan

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Also, I'm fostering her for an organization where we do a lot of our own outreach to find forever homes. Does anyone have any advice for finding an adopter for a special needs cat? While her deafness might not be a big deal or affect her much, she will still be considered special needs since I will, of course, disclose the deafness. Just like FIV+ babies-- they really aren't special needs, but are still classified that way.
 
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brinnan

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Otherwise, the one thing those of us with deaf cats have noticed is that they universally seem to enjoy "gravity." Meaning.. they love pushing things off of stuff. People with deaf kitties tend not to leave stuff they don't want on the floor on tables and counters.
What cat doesn't enjoy gravity?? My two girls are always knocking things onto the floor! They love watching things fall as they go down the counter item by item. Ah cats, but we love them so much still!

Luna right now can't even get onto a counter to knock things off! She barely makes it 5 steps before she flops onto her side.
 

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I would have to have her tested and her ears checked for infection before I assumed deafness.  It happens, but it's not too awfully common.  Does she "talk" to you at all, and at a normal volume?  Most deaf cats are very noisy, and meow at what would be inappropriate volume.
 
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brinnan

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I'm having her tested when we go in next week for roundworm treatment #2 (gosh I hope the kittens wait long enough for that). I do try things like snapping my fingers behind her head, and she just doesn't react at all. Her ears and tail don't react like most cats to noises, either. And she is always so startled when she realizes I've entered the bathroom.

She does meow a greeting and when I try to leave. It is a loud meow, but I wouldn't say it was the loudest I've heard. It is louder than average for sure, though. Considering she was stray, at a shelter, and obviously has been through a lot, I wouldn't think an ear infection is out of the question. But would that really affect both ears so completely? Plus, her ears look good-- healthy, no dirt, no mites, etc.
 

ldg

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IMO, you'd see gunk if that were the issue. And I agree - she'd hear something. The vet told us Flowerbelle wasn't deaf - he snapped his fingers behind her head, and she turned. I think she "felt" it - or it hit that frequency she can hear. One thing is for sure? Flowerbelle cannot hear the vacuum cleaner or other loud noises. She also definitely has ESP when it comes to food. :lol3:

And while Flowerbelle does bellow at times, usually she has the sweetest trills and coos, and at normal volume. :nod:

If you have a hand held vac you can use in the bathroom, I'm guessing that 's a sure-fire way to tell if she's deaf or not.
 

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Most deaf cats are white, often with blue eyes, it would be most unusual for her to be deaf but I guess anything is possible.  However plenty of deaf cats raise a litter successfully, and also live as pets with no special requirements.

You say she was tested +ve for roundworms...  Was she treated for them?  And for fleas?  The usual treatment in the UK for roundworms and tapeworms is Milbemax, which according to the data sheet is safe for use in pregnant and lactating cats:

http://www.vetgb.com/vetgb_pdfs/milbemax_b1fc_vetgb.pdf
 
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brinnan

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She is mid-treatment for roundworms and we checked her up and down for flea dirt-- even rubbing her with alcohol pads to see. She didn't have any flea dirt at all, and I've noticed no scratching, so we are not treating for fleas. She got her rabies shot, too, but all other vaccines we're holding off on until after kittens are weaned. The spay is holding until then, too. But she's getting her second dewormer on Tuesday (have to wait a week for the second dose, I guess). Unfortunately, that might be too late to keep the kittens from being infected. Fingers crossed,,,

I know most deaf cats are white with blue eyes, which is why this is so weird! Luna is definitely blue/grey with green eyes. She is SO sweet. I swear, I have met a lot of cats in my lifetime, but very few who are as affectionate as her. She really doesn't seem to hear anything at all, though. When she first wasn't waking up unless I touched her, I thought it was just because she was so exhausted from the whole being stray/being in a noisy, crowded shelter in a tiny cage/being huge, pregnant. and hungry thing. I just don't think that's it. Loud noises don't even make her ear flick or her tail budge at all. She doesn't respond to cans opening or treat bags rustling unless she can physically see them. She doesn't react when I enter the bathroom and loudly close the door, but when I turn on the lights, she jumps up and looks for me. I have fostered several other cats in that bathroom, and they have all always waited at the door when they heard me walking up the stairs. My brother also tried holding his hand behind her head and snapping his fingers-- she just purred away while staring into our faces. That's another thing-- she watches faces a lot! Much more than normal cats. I think she looks for cues by watching eyes.

 
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brinnan

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This morning she is definitely anxious, and she is open mouth breathing. She comes over to be to be pet, but then she retreats behind the toilet. She won't go into any of the boxes or beds I've made for her. Ugh. I hope this isn't too early :(
 

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I'm thinking that the roundworms are going to be a problem in the kittens, too.  In fact, humans can be infected, and it's very serious, so you'll want to take precautions.  Too bad she didn't find you sooner!

Keep us posted; this is certainly one we're going to worry about.
 

angels mommy

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Awwww, sound like such a sweetie. So glad you have her. Good luck with everything. can't wait to see picts of the new kittens when they come! I hope they are born healthy & are o.k.   
       

  Keep us posted.
 

StefanZ

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Brinnan, is it OK to move this tread preg and kittens?

You surely belong there, and nobody here had any suggestions on hearing diseases.

Good luck!    *vibes*
 

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We totally agree - you are awesome for giving this beautiful mommy-to-be a home!!! Imagine the fun you're gong to have when you the kittens are born!! Always ask your vet if you have ANY doubts!! Good luck XXXX
 
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brinnan

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Brinnan, is it OK to move this tread preg and kittens?

You surely belong there, and nobody here had any suggestions on hearing diseases.

Good luck!    *vibes*
Certainly! I'm sorry about that. I hadn't seen the separate forum when I posted. My apologies.

The labor this morning appears to be false or not fullblown at least. Luna now only pants when I leave the room (and when I peak back in, she is sound asleep and looks fine). I think she has already figured out that I won't leave when she pants! I did call the vet, and she said that she really thinks we have another week before labor, but we shall see...
 

StefanZ

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We had lately - currently! several forumites where the moms had some premature contractions, in a couple of cases almost like a labor, way more than some twitches - we were praying it was not labor yet. (kittens dont stand premature delivery well,  worse than human babies),

Later on they delivered in due time, had healthy kittens and mom well.

So it seems to be fairly common. Not just happens sometimes with premature contractions - but is even  common.

Im speculating now. It may perhaps be some trick of Nature for exercising of these muscles.
 
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brinnan

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Luna and I went to the vet tonight. She got her second roundworm treatment, and I asked them to check her hearing. They confirmed that she has no hearing. Her outer ears look great, but when they looked deep inside, they said she has ear mite eggs. Worse, though, she has two massive ear infections that have caused huge inflammation. It's possible that after treatment she will regain a little hearing, though it is also possible that the ears are permanently damaged. Still, they said she must be in huge pain, and this will help that a lot! They said imagine if your ears just itched constantly and were so swollen the canals were blocked. Of course, she charmed the socks off of everyone-- purred, made sweet eyes, and rolled over and let them examine her and give medicine. What a sweetie!
 
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