Will 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

"J" wrote

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???

BTW, I thought the name "Cookie" would be great for him!?

What do you think?

:O)

On Sun, 08 May 2005 09:23:29 GMT, "J" wrote:

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

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.

On Sun, 08 May 2005 09:23:29 GMT, "J" wrote:

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.

On Sun, 08 May 2005 09:23:29 +0000, J wrote:

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


From what I have read it is pure white, blue eyed cats who are deaf. MLB

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 is something genetical, the deafness being linked to the combination of dominant white fur and blue eyes. But it's not a rule all blue-eyed 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 for instance also is a pure white cat with ble eyes, but it's also a Siamese but only with pure white fur. And Siamese blue eyes don't have a thing to do with deafness. Besides, a kitten as young as that mostly does tend to have blue eyes, almost all kittens that age do. The eyes usually color later in life, after a few months. On my Bisou for example, I was stunned to find him having grey eyes when I got him at the age of eight weeks old. But he has the most stunning green eyes 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 him seeing you, and see if he turns around to see what that was. As for reassurance: I have a 13-year-old cat named Tibsy, and she's white with two black patches over her ears, a few black patches on her back and a black tail, and she's not deaf. She also had blue eyes when she was just a few weeks old, but they turned to yellow after a couple of months.
And "Cookie" for a name? Doesn't sound bad at all, but for a boy kitten? Quite frankly, I think it sounds a bit girlish. But that's just my opinion, of course. I personally like to give my kitties capricious, baroque names. For instance, I used to have this really big black cat with white feet and a white triangle on his throat, and his full name was Duffield Jones MacDuff (his call sounded like McEow, so hence the Scottish name). If you would like to find a funny and/or unusual name for any cat, try looking though books on completely different subjects, like interior decorating, astronomics or car-models. That always gave me great ideas.
Anyway, I wish you a long and happy time with your new kitten, no matter what name you may decide to give him!

"J" wrote in message
. uk...

"J" wrote

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???

BTW, I thought the name "Cookie" would be great for him!?

What do you think?

: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.

J wrote:
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 echo what everyone else says 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!

--
The 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

"J" wrote in message
. uk...
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.


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.


--
-Kelly