Just a little appreciation post for deaf white cats. This is Dandy. Short for Dandruff. Or Dandelion. Depends on the day 😂

She doesn’t know she’s deaf. As far as she’s concerned, she’s fully functioning. She doesn’t hear birds that chirp right behind her. She doesn’t hear the sound of the vacuum or power tools. She sleeps like the dead. She’s quite content with that.

She can’t hear cars. We found a place with enclosed neighbouring backyards, so she can’t get to a road. Now she gets to be a part-time outdoor cat, like a normal cat.

She loves the sun. The sun makes her roll happily, in the dirt. We can see how dirty she actually gets.

She knows that doing something in her throat gets her attention. So she meows when she wants something from us, albeit a little awkward-sounding sometimes. She purrs louder than any cat ever.

She loves the protection of a blanket tent, under your knees when you’re in bed or on the couch. She gets to switch off her visual vigilance because I’m on guard for her. And it’s warm in there.

She loves windows. She sits in our front window and watches the world. She even got her own Christmas card from a mystery neighbour who passes her on their daily walks.

She understands sign language and makes a lot of eye contact. We communicate with our eyes, a lot. If she hasn’t noticed me, I stomp my feet and she feels the vibration. If she’s asleep, I blow air softly and she wakes. Sometimes it’s abrupt, but much less than if I just touched her. We respect touch boundaries.

She plays, has her witching hours, and her tunnel is a speed accelerator. She has a nervous chaotic energy, but she feels safe.

Sometimes she yowls at night. Her yowls are loud. We never, ever acknowledge it, so she doesn’t know it affects us. She now goes weeks without doing it and it’s only occasional. She sleeps in the living room and keeps guard from the windows at night.

The CDS brought her to me when she was around 6 months old. Her extra loud yowl was how I found her. Volume control isn’t her strength, but it saved her.

She cost me nothing, I’ve spent thousands moving her around the world with me. She didn’t like the plane trip in the cargo hold, but at least she couldn’t hear the scary noises like the other animals could.

She’s the best cat ever. She’s only 7. I hope she makes it to 20. Seeing her old would be my life’s honor.