A disabled CAT !

[CaptainTom]

Constant companion called me the other day and said that one of her cats was acting funny and would I come by and check her out (the cat).
The cat had been hunkered down in the bathroom near her cat box, and had been getting food and water from CC.
It took me all of two minutes to determine the cat had gone stone blind.
Off to the vets and she is still there under observation to see if there is anything else going on.

My question is........how do you take care of a blind cat ?
I'm thinking she will adapt and learn how to get around the house ?

Is it better to let the cat live under these conditions or not ?
I don't think she is in any particular discomfort but cats are funny that way.

I don't mind the jokes that are coming, but if you've had any experience and advice I'm all ears.

[ttusa]

Hi Tom,
I'm not really a cat person, but my little dog Dapper developed cataracts a few years ago. He is almost completely blind now. He gets along just fine and is very HAPPY! I believe animals depend more on scent and hearing, so I think the cat could adapt pretty well. I'm sure the vet could shed a lot more light than I could, but I wanted to give you my perspective.

Therese

[studiocygnet]

Tom, I had a blind cat that lived on for 4 years after diagnosis. She would walk around the edge of walls, and walk in circles starting out small and getting larger until she figured out where she was. And she was siamese, so she would yell if we moved stuff around from what she was used to. Generally she figured out her usual pathways, used my briefcase to get on the bed, figured out the stairs, and finally died of kidney failure, which seems pretty common for cats.
The blindness by itself is nothing to worry about. Now the underlying cause may be some other problem more serious. I think our cat was whacked by a car, so it wasn't diabetes or cancer or something like that.

[tomdrink]

Originally Posted by CaptainTom

I don't mind the jokes that are coming, but if you've had any experience and advice I'm all ears.

Maybe you could see about getting some "cat-eye" glasses!
Sorry - I couldn't resist!
I have a dog that I think is losing his sight, and the only thing that worries me, is we have a pool, and I worry that he might fall in, and couldn't get out.
Good luck, and keep us posted about the progress.

Tom

[CaptainTom]

Thanks all, and keep the advice coming.

One thing nice about cats is that they can be indoor cats very easily (if they want to)..

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by ttusa

Hi Tom,
I'm not really a cat person, but my little dog Dapper developed cataracts a few years ago. He is almost completely blind now. He gets along just fine and is very HAPPY! I believe animals depend more on scent and hearing, so I think the cat could adapt pretty well. I'm sure the vet could shed a lot more light than I could, but I wanted to give you my perspective.

Therese

Same situation here, and I agree.

[mmuhlenkamp]

As long as any underlying health problems that probably caused the blindness can be taken care of I'm sure the cat will adapt. I've heard plenty of stories where a pet has gone blind and were able to have very happy lives for a number of years.

[Jeff_Green]

What was she doing to cause her to go blind??

Jokes aside, I hope the cat is healthy other than the vision and is able to live a happy life. :)

[CaptainTom]

Originally Posted by Jeff_Green

What was she doing to cause her to go blind??

Jokes aside, I hope the cat is healthy other than the vision and is able to live a happy life. :)

I'm not sure, but she's grown hair all over her paws....

[tropicpine]

I adopted a golden retriever who was deaf and mostly blind from cateracts. Sam (the dog) still had no problems eating my strawberries any time he could get into the garden and would pick himself an orange or two every day. There is still a considerable quality of life to be had provided the disabilities can be adapted to.

[janetg]

my dog went blind 8 weeks ago as some of you know. things you need to have checked out and why...

glaucoma is evidently very painful in animals, their eye pressures can go way up just like ours - then the same thing will happen, their eyes will 'blow' and then you would have to have them removed.

ulceration on the corneas - again, very painful condition and things will deteriorate.

cataracts - usually not painful, nothing you can do really (unless you want to spend 5k)

in my case, we have eliminated all of the above, and coupled with a seizure a few weeks ago, my dog has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and things will continue to go downhill for her, she already has become 'alzerheimer's like' - but is otherwise happy and eats well and is not in pain yet.

i'm part of a yahoo group for blind dogs (i'm sure there is one for blind cats) - lots of good information and lots of good advice on how to handle things.

also adding - that the antibiotic baytril is becoming known for causing blindness in cats - these are things you dont' find out until it happens to you..

[CaptainTom]

Thanks for the info Janice

She (the cat) has detached retinas which the Dr. says can be caused by hypertension and high blood pressure. He's monitoring her now and says things look OK. Surgery is available but cost prohibitive.
We'll have to wait and see what happens.

[Skele]

Good luck Tom! I had a dog who went blind due to cataracts and she had a good life for several years afterwards when we finally had to put her down due to cancer. Keep us updated on how the cat is... I'm sure this won't affect her quality of life very much, but like humans, she needs to learn how to renegotiate her surroundings.

[Ahh!]

Tom, this website may help: GUIDE DOGS OF AMERICA: Guide dogs for the blind

[CaptainTom]

Originally Posted by Ahh!

Tom, this website may help: GUIDE DOGS OF AMERICA: Guide dogs for the blind

Thanks Peter but I don't think our blind CAT needs her own guide dog.