How Owner Wakes Up Deaf Cat to Let Her Know She’s Home Has People in Tears

In a tender moment caught on video, a pet owner in Australia has shown how she gently awakens her deaf cat to notify her of her return home. Her sweet method of alerting the cat to her arrival has captured the hearts of more than 643,000 viewers on TikTok.

Layla, 28, shared the footage on her TikTok account @laylacu9. She can be seen approaching her sleeping cat and raising her finger near her nose, thus allowing the cat to recognize her presence through scent. The video, captioned “letting kitty know that me and the kids are back home,” features Layla stroking her cat as she responds with licks and nuzzles.

The interaction underscores the unique challenges and bonds formed with pets who have sensory impairments. The heartwarming post has rapidly gained traction, amassing over 113,000 likes since it was shared to the platform just six days ago.

Layla’s method of communicating with her deaf cat highlights a thoughtful and affectionate approach to pet care for animals with disabilities. “Kitty is deaf so I use my finger near her nose so she smells my scent is back home and near,” Layla added in the post’s caption.

The Aussie woman had rescued the cat from a shelter when she was just 4 months old, and said that she was already deaf when they first met.

The video’s popularity is not just due to its cuteness but also its educational value, demonstrating how pet owners can adapt their interactions to meet their animals’ additional needs.

Patrik Holmboe, head veterinarian at Cooper Pet Care, told Newsweek about the nuances of dealing with deaf pets.

“Deafness in both cats and dogs is quite interesting. How the deafness is spotted really comes down to the degree of deafness—full versus partial—and the alertness of the observer,” said Holmboe.

He further detailed the challenges in identifying hearing impairments in pets, noting that “This can be very difficult to assess, especially if an animal is only partially deaf. They might come across as just being stubborn.”

For a definitive diagnosis, Holmboe mentioned the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response test, which plays noises to each ear while monitoring the brain’s response through sensors on the head.

Holmboe said that deafness tends to be a more significant issue in dogs than in cats. He added, “this is due to the fact that deaf puppies are much more difficult to train, and deafness makes dogs much less able to respond to dangerous aspects of the outdoors, while indoor cats generally require very little training and have very little danger to fear.”

Layla’s viral video also fosters a greater understanding of the deep bonds that can form between humans and their animal companions, regardless of their physical limitations.

“If she’s deaf and sleeping with her belly up then she must feel incredibly safe in that home,” one user commented.

Another added: “That’s so sweet, so you don’t scare her by touching her whilst she is asleep.”

Newsweek reached out to @laylacu9 for more information via TikTok.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.