The thought of toys that would be accessible for deaf dogs/cats have not crossed my mind until I adopted 2 deaf dogs. It is when I realize most of the toys are sound based, mostly for dogs, where toys are made of squeaky or any other sound. At night time, they couldn't hear the bounce of a ball to trace it and go after it or play with it. What I found and bought at the stores are one that glows at night and the other would flash when the ball makes an impact. These are a few that are accessible to both deaf and hearing dogs. Here is a few of them but you can do search for more:
Powzer Flash n' Dash
Powzer Glow Ball
Toys for cats appear to be more visual than found among toys for dogs although many do come with sound. One of my deaf dogs loves cat toys as they are highly visual but they are destructible by a dog. For instance, feather, strings or anything movable. He prefers them over dog toys any day/time. If I am to let him play with cat toys, it has to be under my supervision where I play with him. Wish there are more highly visual toys made for dogs and I'm sure not only deaf dogs will enjoy them but also hearing dogs.
Eventhough I do not have cats, I was curious about toys for deaf cats. I went food shopping and ended up in pets aisle. I decided to look at what they have, I found a small ball that glows at night and another one where it flashes that also comes with bird sound (good for a household that have deaf and hearing cats) or one that only flashes. These are something deaf cats can enjoy at nighttime as it's when they are at their wildest selves :) Here are a few of them but you can do search for more:
Nite Play
Sight and Sound
Motion Activated Rainbow Ball
Laser or Booda Light Chaser
I encourage owners to consider getting these kind of toys for their deaf pets along with whatever else toys they have.
GREAT info!!
ReplyDeleteThat is good to know. I will pass this post info to some friends of mine who owns deaf dogs/cats. I remember one of them said a few months ago that she was having trouble finding dog toys for her deaf dog but nothing that he liked except the red laser.
Thank you! :-D
-SG
I am glad you found this to be helpful and to share with your friends.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting article. I'm a Deaf parent to 5 (at this moment) hearing cats, but am a member of a couple cat community blogs with human parents of deaf cats. I will share this with them.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the rainbow ball toy. My deaf cat loves it, too, because it's very sensitive to motion. He chases it around the apartment quite a bit. I also found another toy that is perfect for my active cat: Booda Light Chaser . It is a laser that attaches to a collar around the cat's neck. I put it on my cat and he goes crazy! (It's also great if I need to get him out of the way to complete certain tasks..he's very clingy.)
ReplyDeleteOh wonderful, Stephanie!!! I will add that on the list.
ReplyDeleteI have a deaf dog and was able to find a toy at walmart that vibrates and jumps when the puppy shakes it. It looks identical to a stuffed animal and the mechanical mechanism inside is well protected and stands up to any abuse! It's absolutely great!
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