We had an elderly cat (she was 18 when she finally passed away) who in her later years got quite deaf. We had to approach her gently as, if she couldn't see you coming (like when she was dozing in the sun) she would start quite violently when touched. She would then scold vigorously for giving her a fright. A wonderfully crotchety old granmother that cat was and I'm sure she thought we were all her children.

We currently have two elderly pets. A 14 year old Blue Heeler who is completly deaf and an 18 year old cat who, like the comment above, when asleep can't hear a thing. While it can at times be amusing just how deaf they have become it is also quite scary.

The dog no longer hears other dogs come up to him, vehicles moving around him or commands. It has meant the family have to have raised awareness around him and 'hear' dangers for him.

The cat is similar, once asleep she wouldn't hear a thing, or even if you walk up behind her when she's awake. The thing we worry most about though is when she is asleep in the sun in the front garden... she wouldn't hear another cat or roaming dog at all. They seem happy though and that's what counts the most.

My grandparents had an elderly cat and didn't realise it had gone blind until they moved their furniture around and the cat kept trying to jump onto where it used to be. They shifted the lounge back to what it was so the cat could go about its life...

Cats and dogs may go deaf and blind even, but they never lose their sense of smell. I'm sure once sight and hearing have gone, the smell sense goes into overdrive as a protective mechanism. Having had animals who have aged and lost their eyesight and hearing at the same time, it's the sense of smell I've noticed, which seems to compensate for the other two losses.

So like humans... loved the selective hearing. One thing that intrigues me is that despite these disabilities, pets retain their dignity. So sad but lovely about the furniture being moved back so the cat knew where it was...

I have a lovely old border collie cross who is over 17 and has been deaf for some time, although the level of just how deaf she is has caused great debate. Anyone opening a biscuit packet can swear that she isn't - while those of us trying to get through a doorway where she has a habit of standing, would say she is - very! Walking behind her is a problem, she doesn't know you are there, and because she has never been able to walk in a straight line, you just can't get past. Nudging her just makes her jump! She's also not got very good eyesight any more. We manage it mostly, she's very well trained and always walked well off lead but we now have to have her on the lead all the time as she can't hear any commands. Her sense of smell however is awesome, she sniffs every single blade of grass and can follow a scent for a long way, with long suffering human trailing on the other end of the lead. The biggest problem though is for us, she gives me heart failure when we come home and she is lying motionless in the middle of the floor, looking like she's dead. We shut the door, clatter the shopping bags, climb over her to get to the kitchen, then have to go and poke her to see if she is still breathing. And that makes her jump ....

My 6 year old cat was born deaf so she doesn't know any different but it doesn't make life any easier, I worry about her all the time! When she was a kitten she had flashing lights on her coller when out at night, we had makeshift speed bumps up our drive and we now have a sign warning visitors about her and to drive slow. I blow on her face gently when approaching her sleeping and that seems to give her less of a fright than touching her to wake her. She's good with smell and feeling vibrations. I just LOVE her!!