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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / May 2005Will the kitten be deaf?
Hi everyone, I went with my g/f to see a whole bunch of kittens (from three mom's, all same residence!) and decided on this little feller: http://www.flickr.com/photos/derien/12890617/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/derien/12890622/ (He's 4 weeks old) I totally fell in love with him because of all the kittens in the room, he was leaping and bounding like a crazy thing and didn't cower when I reached to pick him up like most of the rest did and he seemed friendly and confident. My g/f chose the only tabby of the bunch which was a week or more younger and the runt of the litter but a real cutie too. We pick them up on 3rd June. The thing is this: I live in the UK and I'd like my cats to be able to roam in the day and play outside together while we're at work if they want, but I have been reading that cat's with predominantly white fur and blue eyes have a good chance they are deaf. So, if the likkle white and black one was deaf I'd have to keep them both indoors. I'd love him still as much, but they'd have to be indoor cats then. Basically, I would like someone to confirm that because he has a black head/face, a bit on his back hip and a black tail, that his hearing should be fine and I can stop worrying as it's mostly pure white cats that suffer from deafness??? Many thanks. J > I went with my g/f to see a whole bunch of kittens (from three mom's, all > same residence!) and decided on this little feller: [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > be fine and I can stop worrying as it's mostly pure white cats that suffer > from deafness??? BTW, I thought the name "Cookie" would be great for him!? What do you think? :O) J Wrote: > "J" not@here.innit wrote > - [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > > :O) I doubt the little kit will be deaf, even though he may have blue eyes It is true that pure white cats with blue eyes tend to be deaf; this i something genetical, the deafness being linked to the combination o dominant white fur and blue eyes. But it's not a rule all blue-eye white cats are deaf; these cats just stand a higher chance of being it It also only counts for the "albino" blue eyes; a Foreign White cat fo instance also is a pure white cat with ble eyes, but it's also Siamese but only with pure white fur. And Siamese blue eyes don't hav a thing to do with deafness. Besides, a kitten as young as that mostl does tend to have blue eyes, almost all kittens that age do. The eye usually color later in life, after a few months. On my Bisou fo example, I was stunned to find him having grey eyes when I got him a the age of eight weeks old. But he has the most stunning green eye I've ever seen on a cat now. If you want to be sure about this kitten take a sound-test on him. Snap your fingers behind him, without hi seeing you, and see if he turns around to see what that was. As fo reassurance: I have a 13-year-old cat named Tibsy, and she's white wit two black patches over her ears, a few black patches on her back and black tail, and she's not deaf. She also had blue eyes when she wa just a few weeks old, but they turned to yellow after a couple o months. And "Cookie" for a name? Doesn't sound bad at all, but for a bo kitten? Quite frankly, I think it sounds a bit girlish. But that's jus my opinion, of course. I personally like to give my kitties capricious baroque names. For instance, I used to have this really big black ca with white feet and a white triangle on his throat, and his full nam was Duffield Jones MacDuff (his call sounded like McEow, so hence th Scottish name). If you would like to find a funny and/or unusual nam for any cat, try looking though books on completely different subjects like interior decorating, astronomics or car-models. That always gave m great ideas. Anyway, I wish you a long and happy time with your new kitten, n matter what name you may decide to give him -- Fritti > > I went with my g/f to see a whole bunch of kittens (from three mom's, all > > same residence!) and decided on this little feller: [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > :O) I think it is cute--and he should not be deaf at all. Bre you absolutely sure it is safe where you live for the kittens to go out alone? You will wait until they are a lot older before you let them out, right? I just cringe thinking about them getting hit by a car or killed by another cat or dog or a cat hater. >Hi everyone, > [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > >J It's pure white cats with blue eyes that tend to be deaf. If they have one green, and one blue eye, they usually can hear from the ear on the side with the green eye. The little black and white guy should be fine. I adopted a pure white kitten at a very young age, and I simply clapped my hands behind her, to be sure she could hear. She jumped! She had green eyes, but I wanted to know for sure. My white cat lived to 18 years old, but in her last year, she did lose her hearing. I doubt it had anything to do with her coat color; her hearing faded rapidly. At 17 year old, she was quite a senior citizen cat, of course. >Basically, I would like someone to confirm that because he has a black >head/face, a bit on his back hip and a black tail, that his hearing should >be fine and I can stop worrying as it's mostly pure white cats that suffer >from deafness??? For that matter, not all white cats are deaf. Our old white cat could hear fine. Cats with color and white coats usually are not deaf. > Hi everyone, > [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > J From what I have read it is pure white, blue eyed cats who are deaf. MLB > Hi everyone, > [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > J I echo what everyone else says re: pure white cats w/ blue eyes (or odd eyes) being deaf, or partially. Since you state that he's only 4 weeks old, his eyes have not yet changed color. Almost all kittens are born with blue eyes. At about 5-6 weeks, they start turning color, becoming a kind of dark turquoise colr, then either green or yellow. If you go to my Webshots page (ling in my sig), you will find 3 photo albums of Sir Weeble Wobblybottom, who was only a day old when I got him. Look at his eyes. They were blue when they first opened, now they are a bright yellow!  SignatureThe ONE and ONLY lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy former-blonde in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)© email me at nalee1964 (at) insightbb (dot) com http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep > Hi everyone, > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > didn't cower when I reached to pick him up like most of the rest did and > he seemed friendly and confident. <snip> > Basically, I would like someone to confirm that because he has a black > head/face, a bit on his back hip and a black tail, that his hearing should > be fine and I can stop worrying as it's mostly pure white cats that suffer > from deafness??? At 4 weeks old, all kittens have blue eyes. They will start to turn their permanent color at 6-8 weeks. Signature-Kelly |
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