Senior Cat Looks Behind Her Whenever Spoken To.

[Shawn-SEA]

My oldest will be 19 in October. In 2015 we started noticing behavior that indicates she's experiencing diminished hearing ability. The symptoms are mild, sometimes leading us to think she's also become a professional selective listener. I estimate that she still has more than half her hearing, but it may be certain frequencies that have faded. It's very easy for her to not hear us coming home or getting up in the morning.

One thing that has me curious is how she'll turn one ear or the other and start to look behind her when we talk to her, especially when we talk a little louder. Is it possible that hearing issues can cause a cat to mistakenly sense that sounds are coming from behind, even when they're clearly from right in front of it?

 

[Ms. Freya]

From experience, I think it's possible. I know a number of older cats will pick up the habit of yowling at night as their hearing diminishes. I know as our Cotton aged, he became very easy to sneak up on - I think he just didn't hear us around the house anymore. He also became a very deep sleeper.

It might be worth mentioning to your vet, just to be sure it isn't an infection or hearing loss caused by something other than age, but I think it's possible they can mistake sound placement.