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Cat experiencing intermittent & recurring HEARING LOSS

SusanPi

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Jan 16, 2023
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My cat Fifi is a 13 year old female spayed Russian blue, weighing 11 pounds.

BEAM
She is more nervous now because her hearing is so poor but normally she is very outgoing & affectionate & loves being petted & loved & admired. She purrs easily. The more affection & attention she receives the more she blooms. She likes to be in close contact with us when sitting & lying down. Now she startles when she sees us because she can't hear us enter the room. She can't hear us approach her from behind unless we clap our hands or speak VERY loudly. She is a medium energy cat, & responds readily to invitations to play. Her appetite is very good. Fifi is very food motivated & will do her repertoire of tricks willingly for treats. Fifi's approach to life is "Every day is a good day."

She is fed grain free Nulo canned food, mainly chicken & turkey but also turkey & fish. She doesn't ask for table food, but will eat a little grilled chicken if offered. She likes kibble but we try not to give her kibble very often. She loves treats, Trader Joe's "cookies" & Wildly Natural & freeze dried chicken or tuna flakes. She is fed twice per day & gets 1/2 of a 3 ounce can which she insists isn't enough! If she were allowed to free feed she would be obese. Her sense of smell is excellent & she is always looking for food. Sometimes to entertain her I'll hide 5 or 6 treats in a room for her to find. She loves this game & like a good detective usually finds every one. Her general health is excellent.

She is vaccinated. She has never had a problem with vaccinations.

Fifi was the 4th & last cat we added to our family. We found her 13 years ago in a motel parking lot in the dark. We were concerned for her safety & she allowed us pick her up. She purred immediately when we held her. The vet said she was in good health & about 4 months old. She is now our remaining cat. Our oldest lived to 19 years & 8 months.

Her only previous health issues were cystitus & a bad tooth. She had cyctitus maybe 7 years ago (& maybe once since) with no evidence of bacteria. The vet said it was very likely stress induced. (I believe she gave her a homeopathic or naturopathic remedy which we used as directed.) We were surprised at the diagnosis because we didn't see signs of stress at first. We did have a very bossy alpha female cat who would smack Fifi just because she felt like it or glare at her to make her uncomfortable. Fifi sometimes left her food bowl when Moonlight glared at her. We then fed Fifi separately & gave her extra attention & monitored Moonlight for bad alpha behavior & the cystitis resolved.

She had a tooth that needed to be pulled maybe 3 years ago in her lower jaw, the one next to the canine. It went well. The decayed tooth was found when she had her teeth cleaned without anesthetic. Th technician alerted us & recommended we see the vet about it. The technician said Fifi was a pleasure to work with.

Now for the problem. We have been house sitting with Fifi for the past 3 years. She travels very well in the car. She readily adjusts to new places where we care for other cats, dogs & sometimes farm animals. Once she has carefully smelled everything & explored her new surroundings & looked to see if there might be any pet food available on the floor, she settles in. We usually keep her confined until we assess whether & when she should meet the resident pet(s). This process has worked fine over time because she is so adaptable & calm & unaggressive. My husband Julian & I spend time with her daily & it's our habit to all cuddle together in bed at night when she purrs & purrs like the happiest cat in the world.

Things changed this summer beginning with a sit for a very boisterous 40 pound mixed breed dog who didn't have any experience with cats but definitely wanted to meet Fifi up close. There was a child gate in front of the bedroom door where she stayed which both of them could see through. Billy would gaze at Fifi through the gate & she would keep an eye on him. Thinking back, we probably should have kept the door shut so she would feel safer, but it was very hot at the time in Seattle & the house did not have AC in the bedroom. Fifi made it through 2 weeks with only one chase by Billy. Then followed a week of calm at a friend's place on Whidbey Island in Washington. Fifi had been there many times & was very comfortable there & got along fine with our friend's sweet chihuahua mix. Then we did a sit for young dog & 2 cats. Again it was extremely hot. The dog was a 90 lb golden retriever & even though he lived with cats, he was too intimidating & wanted to get too close to Fifi for her to be comfortable. We again kept her in a bedroom, but sometimes the door didn't close properly & the dog or cats would pay an unwelcome visit. We didn't have a routine Fifi could count on or our normal bedtime cuddle because it was so hot we changed bedrooms or slept downstairs. Only later did we realize what how much the lack of routine & togetherness, & not knowing if the dog or cats were going to barge into her quarters were affecting her. At the very end of the very hot month long sit she started vomiting & having diarrhea. Our host's vet kindly agreed to see her. As we described our living situation, we all concluded that the likely culprit was stress. He gave her a shot for the vomiting & a dose of something else I don't remember to help calm her. He said if she continued to exhibit signs of stress to give her another dose the next day. The sit was over the day we saw the vet & we went right to a motel to spend the night. With a change of scene, lots of loving attention & no unpredictable dog or cat visits the diarrhea stopped & she was her usual calm happy self the next day. Another month long sit followed. We kept her totally separate from the very sweet cat we were caring for who was unaggressive, but interested in who was living behind that door in his house. At the end of the sit, we noticed that Fifi didn't hear us when we entered the room & closed the door quietly as we usually do. We would walk up to the sofa where she was sitting & she would startle to see us. We thought it was because the room was carpeted & didn't fret about it. There too we deviated from our normal routine of sleeping together because again it was very hot & we had to leave our bedroom door open which allowed the resident cat access so Fifi had to sleep in separate quarters. They were spacious & comfortable & right next door to us & she seemed content there. We made sure she got attention during the day & sometimes we would watch tv in her quarters sitting happily together on the couch. Everything seemed to be okay to us. But maybe not to her.

A few days later we started a new sit for an elderly harmless golden retriever & again Fifi was in a room with a barrier that the dog & Fifi could see each other through. In a day or 2 we noticed she couldn't hear us. She would howl sometimes as if she were lost. It seemed to happen so fast. I was devastated. She had just turned 13 in October & in all my experience with cats I had never seen one lose its hearing so rapidly. I got an appointment with her vet as soon as they could see us which was some days later. I also found someone who did Reiki on pets as well as people. By the time we met the Reiki practitioner the sit had ended & Fifi could hear perfectly again! The Reiki practitioner couldn't find anything amiss & said she was in great shape energetically. She was back to her old self. We didn't follow up at the vet's because she had no symptoms & it seemed pointless .

Then the hearing loss occurred again under the same sorts of conditions: stress followed by hearing loss. Then her hearing gradually came back.

At the moment she's experiencing yet another longer period of hearing loss, startling when we enter a room if she doesn't see us right away. I am very distressed again thinking that THIS time she won't recover & we'll have to change our lives & stop house sitting because it's harming Fifi. Even keeping her separate doesn't seem to be enough, even with a nonagressive animal in residence who doesn't threaten or growl. This time she hasn't improved yet although she CAN hear me make the loud-ish kissing sound I make to call her, but can't hear me call her name loudly.

One more observation: Once she she picked a fight - highly unusual - with a sweet cat we were sitting for & they had to be separated. My husband & I were shouting at them to stop & Fifi kept going after the young neutered male who was not doing anything offensive except living in his own house. I grabbed a broom to put between them so she wouldn't hurt him & I pushed her with it. Finally they stopped & Julian was able to pick Fifi up & put her in our bedroom. She was visibly upset & I was very remorseful that I had gone after her with the broom. I apologized profusely while she lay on the bed almost in a state of shock. I kept stroking her & apologized & explained that I couldn't let her hurt the sweet cat who lived there & had been gracious enough to allow her in his house. We were there to take care of him & keep him safe & we couldn't allow her to beat up on him. Then I suddenly remembered I had some Bach rescue remedy & I gave it to her immediately. After the 3rd dose, she recovered her composure a little. When she recovered enough to get up groom herself & look for food, I gave her one more dose & we all crawled into bed. I think now that stress had probably been building in her over time & erupted in the attack on poor Felix who had the misfortune to be there. Fortunately he was unhurt & showed no malice or fear the next day. I felt very guilty & blamed myself for not realizing what was going on.

My question is what, if anything can be done to help Fifi who has been such a trooper & never complained. How can we make her more comfortable? (We do plug in a multicat Feliway when we go to new places.) Is there a homeopathic remedy for fear or stress that would help her? Has anyone ever heard of a cat losing its hearing due to stress? Thanks for your help.


Sorry I can't figure out how to include pictures. I can't seem to do it from my computer.

@ Dr Jeff
@ Dr Christina
@ Dr Sara
 

Dr. Jeff

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Hi Susan-

Thanks for making your first (wonderfully detailed) post.

I'm super sorry to hear about Fifi's sudden deafness episodes.

I read through it once, and will ponder it then read it again before replying again.

In the meantime, I wonder if her BEAM (and especially energy and appetite) changed at the times of her sudden deafness?
 

Dr. Jeff

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Joined
Feb 23, 2017
Messages
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Hi again Susan-

Fifi sounds like a super sensitive girl and may be easily affected by stress (as seen with her cystitis).

This could make her extra susceptible to physical changes secondary to external events (like your other kitty glaring at her).

One important consideration is that her energy balance is key. Not any physical symptom (like cystitis, hyperthyroidism, deafness, or even cancer).

IMHO, almost every physical symptoms is secondary. There may be a physical trigger, but it is the energetic effect the trigger has that is what is really important.

This relative individual sensitivity to stressors (whether a vaccine or a loud noise) is called her susceptibility (or the likelihood of getting sick when exposed to a trigger).

For example, two kitties can board in the same facility that has an upper respiratory breakout and even though they are equally. exposed to the bad bug, only one may get sick.

The kitty who got sick was more susceptible.

I think the BEAM and energy articles explain this a bit better:



The strategy I advise is to focus on building and preserving vitality (energy). while mindfully monitoring the physical stuff (by journaling, and having exams, diagnostic tests, etc.).

Energy building starts with the food you feed and her happiness:

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Fresh (vs. canned or dry) food has the highest vitality/energy.

Perhaps with freeze dried hearts used for lots of small happy meals or to play the hunt for teats game. Increasing her happiness will also help decrease her susceptibility and increase her resilience.


Perhaps start there to make her more comfortable, schedule an HMDM call and let us know if she's had any exams or tests in the past few months.
 

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