We Rescued A Deaf White Cat
by Elisa Black-Taylor
(USA)
Deaf White Cat "Annabelle"
We rescued a deaf white cat last week. Her name is Annabelle and she should be dead.
Let me explain. Earlier the previous week my daughter and I decided to do a few more rescues. We chose Jane, a beautiful calico and Coral, a DLH gray and white tabby. We were their last hope as I'd asked Andrea, the rescue coordinator at GCAC, to inform me when their time was up. She confirmed them to me on June 3rd.
Later that same day I received an emergency email from Andrea asking if I'd mind taking a deaf white cat. She enclosed a photo and explained a rescue had fallen through on Annabelle and she would be euthanized unless confirmed to a rescue.
I politely sent her an email back that I would only take her if no one else came forward. When I mentioned Annabelle to my daughter Laura, Laura pitched a FIT! You see, my daughter has been wanting a deaf white cat. I'd forgotten her mentioning this to me a few months back. Something about them fascinates her.
So Annabelle was scheduled to be spayed on June 6th along with Coral and Jane and I could pick the three of them up that evening. Poor Annabelle had really messed her white fur up with diarrhea. We had to clean her as best we could as she couldn't have a bath so soon after spaying.
Jane is a wonderful cat. She hangs out with my daughter and I and even sleeps with us. Coral isn't happy. There's simply no other way to say it. We saved her from euthanasia, but Coral wants a home and people of her own. We're trying very hard to get her placed as she only comes out to eat and to go to the litter box.
Annabelle is awesome. There's simply no other way to describe her. She wears a blue collar that matches her eyes. If not for that collar I'd confuse her with Diana, one of our white Angoras.
Annabelle loves it at our house. The barking doesn't get on her nerves as she can't hear it. She slept under my daughters bed her first night of freedom. On the second night she joined Laura in her bed after spending a little time on top of the TV and looking out the window.
My daughter read to knock before entering a room as she would feel the vibrations and not be startled. Annabelle knows hand gestures. All either of us has to do to call her over for some petting is turn our palm up and motion for her to come over. She always comes.
In the beginning Annabelle wasn't too fond of our kitty romper room. After a week in our home she's settled in nicely. As you can see from the photo, she has beautiful blue eyes. They're not baby blue or royal blue, but some color in between.
To us she's gorgeous. How and why did anyone give up a deaf cat? We don't understand. She's beautiful, kind, healthy, well-mannered. The list goes on and on. I just don't get it!
A few days after her rescue I decided to look her up on the GCAC website to see if she'd been placed in the "rescued" folder. I also wanted to see how old she is. Annabelle is the only rescue who hasn't come with an information sheet. That's because she should be dead. She is listed in the "rainbow bridge" album. She's only a few years old. Practically a baby! I don't know how Andrea pulled it off, but Annabelle is getting a second chance at life with us.
Coral and Jane will move on to their own families. Our deaf white kitty is staying. She's happy with us and that's all that matters.
Do any of you have deaf cats? Is there anything we should know about them other than to be kind?
And will someone PLEASE tell me it's all right to talk to a cat that can't hear me. My daughter keeps laughing at me but I can't seem to stop. I talk to cats. It's just who I am.
Elisa
