I think my new Kitten is deaf?

[smallbluejellybean]

I rescued this kitten from a busy road. He was very sick and nursed him back to health. He is bright eyed and bushy tailed now.
I have noticed if clap my hands or call him his ears do not react. I talked to the local vet on the phone and he told me to clean his ears out - which I did, with no improvement.
Is there any handicap for him if he is deaf? He is the sweetest little thing.

Funny question: Can cats learn sign language?

 

[Dar]

take him into the vet and have the vet look at his ears.. there may be an infection which is affecting his ears... or maybe a parasite

 

[Chickie'sMoma]

what color is the cat? i've heard that white cats with fully blue eyes can be deaf. if they have even the slightest bit of green in them they could hear you, unless he had some head trauma.

 

[the simple life]

I had a deaf cat when I was a teenager. It was fine except for it would get up and deliberately knock things off of the bureaus or counters and the stuff would smash but she couldn't hear it so it didn't startle her like it would other cats so she continued to do it.
Other cats would learn not to do it because of the noise but not her.
In the middle of the night she would come in my room and bat things off of my bureau and wake me up.
Is your cat white by any chance? Not sure if this is true but the vet told me back then that white cats with blue eyes are more prone to being deaf, why I don't know or even if its accurate.

 

[smallbluejellybean]

The vet saw him when I first got him. His ears were ok, just a little built up with dirty wax, but the openning was clear.
He is light ginger and white, and he does have blue eyes.
I really don't care if he is deaf. Just was wondering if he will need help with anything around the house since he can't hear.

 

[smallbluejellybean]

Here is a little photo;

P.S. his name is Peanut

 

[teach1rusl]

Well..I would have a vet confirm your suspicions. But other than not hearing you calling for him, I wouldn't think there'd be any problems. If he IS deaf, I'd consider making him a totally indoor cat, because he won't be able to hear cars, dogs, etc. You may have been joking a bit, bu cats are very smart, so I'm sure he could learn some simple (sign) commands if you worked w/a really desirable treat of some kind... How nice for that kitty that you found him!

 

[smallbluejellybean]

Thanks, but I am more lucky to have found him - great little guy. The photo above was when he was still getting over his sniffles, he now about double that size in a week and half.
He is an inside cat anways. He gets along with my old dog and retires happily to the laundry every night. He doesn't meow much, but his pur is like a buzz saw and goes most of the day.

 

[the simple life]

He is very cute!

 

[fldiver97]

I adopted a young cat, formerly feral. She is deaf. She is quiet, learned to get quite vocal in the kitchen when I am not fast enough fixing their breakfast. As the OP described, Missy tends to knock a lot of stuff of the counter and shelves. She does not get on the kitchen counter though. She seems to 'understand' a few signs....I wag my finger and shake my head and she knows that she is doing something I don't approve of. Of course it only works when the little stinker looks my way. She gets along great with my other cats and my big dogs. It did take a while for her to figure out the 'routine' in the house. She is stricty indoor as she would not be able to hear anything that could be a danger to her. I did not know that she was deaf when I had her in (medical) foster care. She had a pretty big surgery for a tumor. The vet did not know it either until I brought her in for a check-up and described what I had noticed. Missy is not white/blue-eyed though, she is a little tabby. And completely deaf