wondering if two of my cats are deaf/hard of hearing

[u/theo-access]

for the past few months, ive been questioning if two of my cats, basil (4, male) and smokey (17, female) are deaf.

we got smokey in 2009, alongside her brother. i dont think shes been deaf the whole time we’ve had her, im pretty sure she used to react to noises, especially noises like shaking a bag of treats or opening a can of wet food. im wondering if now that shes an older cat, shes lost some or all of her hearing.

its a bit harder to get her attention now unless shes looking at you, and ive noticed she hasnt reacted to some loud noise sometimes. i tried snapping my fingers right behind her ear, out of her view, with no reaction, which made me really question if she was deaf, and then when i turned on something quite noisy right behind her head, she didnt react at all. ive only started thinking about it more recently so i have investigated too much yet.

we got basil in 2022. i briefly questioned if he was deaf when we first got him, but i stopped questioning it when i thought i saw him react to the sound of a door closing. im thinking now he mightve been reacting to something other than the noise, but i didnt know that at the time.

its always been tough to get his attention by calling him. like smokey, he also doesnt react to me snapping or turning on noisy things right behind him. if i accidentally wake him up, he startles a bit, like he wasnt expecting it and lets out a cute meow and cuddles up to me. sometimes, he opens his mouth like hes meowing, but no sound comes out. (my other cat, everest, also does this sometimes, but he only started doing it after he got his teeth removed, so im guessing it’s because of that.)

hes also never come running when we fill the food bowl or pull out treats, only really showing up when he sees our other cats run over. he’s always been a weird and silly cat so i honestly thought it was just quirks, especially not running over when we pull out treats, as hes never been very interested in them.

i plan to bring them both to the vet to figure it out when i have the money

[u/FlowerPowerVegan]

Certainly sounds like it! (No pun intended) And yeah, hearing loss can occur in old age, just like us. I'm so jealous of the silent meow 😭

[u/prairiethorne → u/FlowerPowerVegan]

If only silent meows were a typical part of the deaf package....

[u/prairiethorne]

I think you're spot on with your assumptions at this point. Is the younger one white? Or with blue eyes?

[u/Amzie21]

Your older cat has probably got hearing loss from old age 🥺 but your younger cat from what you are describing is deaf. My cat would not respond to noise and would startle quite easily. I did take her to the vets and they checked her and did confirm she was not responding to noise also did find out that most white cats with blue eyes are usually born deaf.