Help with new kitten

[Minelson]

I brought a stray kitten home today from work (vet). He was brought in by the police found abandoned at a gas station. He is about 3-4 months old and has been in quarantine for the past 10 days. I see a lot of kittens and strays and this is the first I brought home in 1.5 years working there...it's kinda weird...I don't know why but I brought this one home.
Here is the problem...I got him all set up in the cat house and was taking pictures and realized he is deaf! Anybody have experience with a deaf cat living outside on the farm? Is it possible or is he too much at risk...will he be able to hunt? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.
His name is Elmer
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9...D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9...D550/ry%3D400/

[Ravenlost]

Oh, he's beautiful!

I don't have much experience with deaf animals, just those who have lost hearing as they got older. However, I do want to thank you for taking him in. I'm sure he would be happy to take up residence inside and keep the mice at bay for you!

[amwitched]

One of my "former" feral strays seems to be deaf, or at least partially deaf. I can walk up behind him and he never looks my way, but if I make a noise at a certain pitch he realizes that I am there. But he does purr and has a really quiet meow. He and his siblings live on my property and I have never seen him try to hunt for anything. I feed them twice a day.

His sister does seem to assist him when we are walking around down there. She will place her body next to him and guide him. But he is perfectly capable of going places on his own, too.

He used to stay on my next door neighbors property. I went over to feed her cats one morning and he was laying in her driveway, looking at her door. He didn't hear me come up behind him. When he realized I was there, he took off running. The next morning he was laying in her driveway facing the way I come on to her property. Another time he was laying under a tree in her yard and didn't move an inch when I went past him with the riding mower. It didn't bother him a bit.

Will the kitty have to live outside? His instincts may help him hunt "by sight" but his lack of hearing may not protect him from something that wants to hurt him.

[Minelson]

Well today I'm wondering if he is really deaf or just very good at ignoring sounds. I have him on the screened porch right now and I was watching him through the window...his back was towards me and I tapped lightly on the window and he turned and looked. hmmmm. Yes he would have to live outside or dh will divorce me lol! But outside here is pretty nice. They have their own house that I heat in the winter. They come and go throughout the day and I lock them all up at night in the house. That is when I feed them. I have 5 other outdoor cats. They are all fixed, shots, wormed. We live in the middle of no-where on a gravel road. I'm going to try to figure out if he truly is deaf or not. He sure is a goofball! He is having a blast and already getting along with the dogs. My other cats are growling and hissing at him for now. I had him in the large dog crate in the cat house with them all night.

[Maura]

Deaf animals can feel vibration. As a kitten, he may not have been aware enough to watch out for danger behind him, especially if he was focused on something in front of him.

[Minelson]

I can't figure him out One minute I think he can hear the next I'm sure he is deaf.