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New Furbaby!


me-barbie

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Three weeks ago, my niece started volunteering at a local no kill cat shelter in the city. This little white odd-eyed angora type guy was brought in, found playing in traffic on a very busy street and filthy. She fell in love with him right away and convinced my sister to apply to adopt.

Karen passed the adoption background check but there was a 2 week hold in case his previous owners came to claim him. Followed by another week in kitty jail until the vet could snip him and give him his shots.

I asked when I saw the first photo is he deaf on the blue side? Hayley had no idea what I was talking about. There were clues though. The shelter kept his cage covered, otherwise he never stopped singing the song of his people, (as long as humans were in sight). When I met him, I noticed he did a LOT of visual searching. I snapped my fingers behind his ear on the blue side, no reaction.

Odd eyed whites, esp angora types (even non purebreds) tend to be deaf on the blue side.

Shelter Baby came home yesterday. He has yet to stop purring, he is so delighted, and slept most of the night on my niece's head.

But he does not respond to any noise at all. He goes ape when he *sees* someone though, purring and meowing away, and he responds to vibrations. Gives a surprised little mew if he is petted from behind.

So he will have to be trained a bit differently, and he will NOT be leash and harness broken, and he will NOT be allowed outside.

But dang he is CUTE!!!!

He also soothed some sadness. On Monday. Hayley's old cat Hobbit passed away in her little cat bed, next to Hayley's bed. She had severe anxiety (was on kitty prozac) plus she was getting very sick. She actually had been scheduled to be taken to the vet that day and put down. Far better, given her anxiety that she just went to sleep, in her own bed, next to her preferred person and in her own house....and never woke up.

http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&album=6854

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...Far better...that she just went to sleep, in her own bed, next to her preferred person and in her own house....and never woke up...

That's really not a bad way to go. So what will the white furball be named?

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Barbara, do you know if the deafness occurs with the one blue eye? I have met several blue-eyed cats whose hearing seemed quite adequate, but not one with only one blue eye.

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Yes Holly, deafness is common in odd eyed whites, esp if they are male. Usually the hearing loss in unilateral, and is on the blue eyed side.It's a genetic trait and a sensorineural type of loss. Common with the Turkish Angora and Turkish Van, our little Finn man is likely not a pure bred, and his deafness seems to be bilateral.

In show cats, the deaf ones will be considered pet quality (as they make just fine pets) and not bred from, as it's a dominant trait.

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Thank you for that info, I was curious about the genetics and if it were related to his fur color. Several of the feral cats we used to get at our Havana house had blue eyes, but they were mostly tabbies.

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Guest Sculptor

Very cool!

sweet baby. my daughters white cat is also deaf and gets along famously. He gets to go outside a lot. I know how much it hurts to lose our four legged children. Hug your niece. I am still reeling for the death of my Angel Cat.

I lost a really sweet dog last Dec who was only 3-1/2, of a wierd one called Fibrocartilagenous embolism- an embolism in the spine caused paralysis in the rear, after an MRI and more, and 8 weeks of trying with rehab it was clear he was the 1 in 3 dogs who don't recover from this :(

In April I found Jenna, named after the character in the animated film "Balto", she's 4-1/2 months old now.

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I lost a really sweet dog last Dec who was only 3-1/2, of a wierd one called Fibrocartilagenous embolism- an embolism in the spine caused paralysis in the rear, after an MRI and more, and 8 weeks of trying with rehab it was clear he was the 1 in 3 dogs who don't recover from this :(

In April I found Jenna, named after the character in the animated film "Balto", she's 4-1/2 months old now.

Lost one of my border collies the same way. She was so confused by what was happening to her.

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What a lovely story! So glad Finn has found a loving home! I had to laugh when you said Finn spent most of the night sleeping on your niece's head - sounds like my daughter's cat! :D

And Jennie is beautiful! My husband's family had St Bernards for years.

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With a sensorineural hearing loss tho. the semicurilucar canels (I can't spell tonight) are usually intact so balance isn't usually an issue. The loss is in the cochlea.

perhaps he is just a doofus? :bigwink:

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My sister and niece have learnt they canNOT eat/drink around Finn. He goes nuts, pawing and grabbing at the glass/fork/plate, yowling

I NEEEEEED THAAATTTTTT!!!!!!!!!

at the top of his furry little lungs (after all, HE can't hear how loud he is!)

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