Forums » Smalltalk » I rescued a kitten

This is all so cool to read, and Brnd, it's so sweet of you to take in this poor little kitten! I'm not positive, but I feel like mute or deaf kittens aren't really 'high on the list' at adoption places. So the fact that you're ready to take the responsibility and the little bit of extra care is great!

I want more pictures whenever you can put them up! He's so cute!!

I thought that was only blue eyed white cats.

I don't think it has to have blue eyes. A general lack of pigment can cause blood vessels to not grow as well or large and blood does not get to inner ear as it should. Eventually the nerves in the inner ear die off from lack of oxygen rendering the animal deaf. I think its higher in light eyed animals because of the continued lack of pigment. Its also possible for a bi-eyed animal to be deaf on the blue or light eyed side only.

Good job, make sure the kitten has a good home. To all worried about the mother cat looking for the younger cat...I think its better this way, this way the kitten will be fine. If the cat was shy of humans perhaps its happen to keep the kitten so it doesn't turn out the same way.

ps: that kitten is adorable

Ivory is so cute!! Good luck raising the little guy! I hope you'll share more pictures as he grows up!

That little guy (I think I read it was a he, I just glanced over the first page) is adorable. Thank you for actually taking him in and giving him a home. It breaks my heart to think about all the strays out there.

If you've got any questions, feel free to pm me - I'm not a vet, but I did work at an animal hospital for a year and read a book on cats that was ... 2,xxx pages long.

Good luck with your new friend !

Nope. It's a genetic mutation that causes the deafness. The inner ear organ never fully develops, but research shows that there's never any stimulus received by the brain for sound when they're born deaf with an intact hearing organ. The inner ear organ deteriorates in the first couple of weeks and more or less 'withers'.

The gene mutation causes blue, green, yellow, or bicolored eyes most of the time. What f0x said is also correct, bicolored white cats tend to have hearing problems on one side only.

The genetic mutation is something to be compared to human gingers.

Did you know that fully white cats are actually not really white at all? They usually have the genetic code for a colored fur, but the mutated gene causes white to be dominant. So if we go on a technical level, white cats all have the genetic markup to be colored in some way, it's just that this color is suppressed by the mutated white gene.

nope.. but i had him for around 6 years and he never meowed , moved his mouth like he was but no sound at all.

http://imgur.com/a/kSN8P

More pictures! and thank you to everyone for your support!

I'm just so surprised this little guy is sooo comfortable with humans. The vet said it bonded to me pretty hard and, well, I'm kind of seeing it ._. it's adorable. The vet would set him down on the table, and he'd bolt straight for me only to be caught by the vet and cycled back to the desk over and over again. Kind of like letting a mouse run over your hands xD I had to step away.

Oh how I want to snuggle it! So cute and fuzzy! That was great of you to take the little guy in!

Oh man, he is so adorable

So this morning, I was awoken by the sound of this little guy's meow. Apparently just moments before, he had discovered my curtains (he'd been on the opposite side of the room all this time and hadn't explored just yet). Upon making this groundbreaking discovery, he decided to try climbing them and realized he couldn't lift his own weight, so tried getting off but couldn't. A single thread was hooked around his claw and he was just swinging with two legs on the ground xD it was so precious. Naturally I just unhooked the thread and let him roam some more.

(Warning: This part is not for the non-cat-owners and you probably don't want to hear about his bowel movements buuuut...) he finally made solid waste this morning, and couldn't pinch it off ._. wanted to know if this is normal...

Finally: yesterday we got one of his vaccinations and got this stuff for his worms (I think) that we had to hold his mouth open to drip inside. This morning I've noticed he's sneezing a LOT... is there any link between the two?

Dawwwr!! That's so cute!! He'll get into a whole lot more shenanigans like that. x3

(Highlight) As for his stool, if he had runny or soft stool before, he might not have been weaned yet and not have learned how to pinch it off yet. You may want to try mushy catfood with more water and try to leave kibble aside for now. Add a little bit of oil (olive or sunflower) to his food to get his stool a little softer again.

As for the sneezing, it can happen! Usually a vaccination doesn't set in so soon. You can try clearing his nose carefully, he may have something stuck in there that's causing the sneezing. As long as his nose doesn't get runny and his eyes stay clean and clear, it shouldn't be a problem yet. There a days when they just sneeze a lot. (Skipped your dusting chore, did you? )

If he keeps sneezing an awful lot in the next couple of days/gets a runny nose or eyes, go back to the vet. This isn't harmful though.

Thanks for all of the information Sanne. You're a real help ^^

It's hard to reply to people saying "You're an angel for taking in a deaf cat" etc etc ._. part of me wants to be like "oh stop..." and another is just like " do go on"

Anyway, we just got home and I didn't realize how hot it was going to get today. I keep my door closed so my dog doesn't come in and eat the kitty's worm-laden droppings, so the kitten must've gotten rather warm in here. He just went to sleep under my chair while I was gone. Now that he's up, though, he's in the mood to play lol while I was out I got a catnip toy (not sure if he's too young or not) and a laser pointer he can chase

Any other info would be wonderful

EDIT: Also, how'd you do the censored part?

I'm glad I can share some info!

Cats don't respond to catnip until they're sexually mature, it's usually around 8 months - 1 year or so. Dette didn't respond to it until she was that old, although it can vary by a few months. Just try it every couple of months and you'll find out soon enough.

Laser pointers are also excellent tools to keep your cat in shape!

You can make censored bits (they're called spoiler tags) by using this code:

Ahhh, that makes sense. All of it lol.

He spent the last hour or so chasing the laser, finally tuckered himself out.
Lol my friend Alex was over and was playing with the laser and the cat, and managed to startle the cat with it. Ivory was chasing the red dot from Hell and managed to wander toward a Coke 12 pack box. Next thing I saw was Ivory doing a crooked back-flip to avoid the flipping lid with said red dot. I laughed for hours xD


Also, why does he get so excited after using the litter box? And, need I worry about the human-transferable worms being carried to me from his paws?

I've noooo idea why cats get crazy after using the litterbox! Both of mine tend to go nuts for a few minutes before settling down.

As for the worms, the best way to avoid transfer is to scoop the litter immediately after he's used it and to wash your hands immediately afterwards. As long as you avoid touching your mouth or food/items that touch your mouth before washing, nothing can happen. Worm treatment works fast, so the worms should be dead by now.

I do advise you to clean the entire litterbox (dumping all the litter, cleaning it with bleach (make sure to rinse it with water first), rinse and dry before filling it with new litter) every two-three days for a week if you're still uncomfortable. He won't be able to have anything on his paws this way!

Thanks for everything Sanne I'm really getting the hang of this.

Last night, I went to bed right? Well I looked down and the kitten was acting like he was hiding from something (probably the flashlight I was using to see him) so I reached down and picked him up (after he tried running away from my hand backwards, much like the Exorcist girl) and set him next to me to pet him. Finally I set him back down and went to sleep.

This morning, I awoke to him curled up on my pillow next to me, sleeping there and it was the most adorable thing I've ever seen

By the way, as for the litter box, I use a liner and a box lid (he's too tiny to get into the actual litter box we have, it has a door and a cover and the door sits too high off the ground for him to jump in) so when I do empty the litter box, I'm just going to pull the liner up and over and carry it out like a bag