Hello, We took in a stray cat here in Florida. It wasn't long before we discovered that she was completely blind. She is about 2 years old and she is adjusting very well. Does anyone else out there have a blind cat? I would like to know how you are doing, and if you have any problems or solutions we could chat about. barbara

Hi welcome to the forum hope you enjoy it, i didnt have a cat but i had a dog that was totally blind and he got around fine as long as we didnt move anything in the house lived till he was 17yrs, he knew just where to walk and never bumped into anything.

Thanks for your response. Our kitty arrived on our doorstep litter trained, spayed, and very well socialized. I wish we could have 5 minutes of conversation with our kitty to discover where she came from, and how she became lost. Of course we advertised in the paper, and searched the surrounding neighborhoods. Sweet Pea, as we call her, adapted very well and how has found our bed. She even climbed up, like she was scaling a mountain side. Now she sleeps at the foot of our bed. She is an amazing kitty. She is lucky she found us, and we are just as lucky to have her. Barbara

Welcome to the forum....

Hi Barbara and welcome along,we don't have any blind cats but am not surprised to read how well she's adjusting(bless you btw for adopting this lady)as sight is not a cats first sense,her sense of smell and hearing are so am sure she'll be fine,pop on the catsection and ask as lots of peeps on their who adopt/rescue cats with all sorts of issues and am sure will be able to swap inspirational stories with you

Hi and welcome to the forum

Hi Barbara, I have a blind cat too. My cat (Sid) has only been completely blind for about 2 months so I am no expert but I thought I would share my experience with you.

Mainly I have to say he is coping amazingly well and still has a good quality of life. At first I thought he would spend his time bumping into things and falling off things, but this has been really minimal.

I have noticed some changes in his behaviour, mainly that he has become more vocal. I suppose that if you never knew your cat when/if she could see then you won't notice a difference as such, but apparently blind cats talk more than sighted ones. I think there are 2 reasons for this - firstly he seems to want me to talk to him more than before, and when he meows he knows I will talk to him in response. He seems to find my talking comforting. Secondly I have heard that blind cats use their meow to bounce off objects to help them locate themselves - I'm not sure if this is true but it's amazing if it is!

He also sometimes acts 'fidgety', I think because he's feeling his way around and moving gives him a better sense of where he is than if he stays still all the time.

When I pick him to cuddle him up I always try to put him back down in a place he can easily recognise. Obviously picking him up, moving around and putting him down in the middle of the floor would be disorientating!

I've looked at a few bits of advice on the internet and they say that blind cats can get very frightened by sudden loud noises, I suppose because they can't see what caused it. Sid is more jumpy than when he could see, so I try to make sure I don't slam doors or bang pots around when washing up etc. The advice also says that blind cats can be unnerved by silence so maybe you could leave the radio on a low volume if you're out of the house for any period of time.

The forum postings, websites etc. I've read say that you should always keep a blind cat indoors and my vet also said the same. To be honest I do let Sid outside because he was getting upset at being kept in, and he wanted to go and sit in his usual places in the garden etc. I'm sure some people would disagree with me but I have thought carefully about the decision and feel that I want things to be as normal as possible for him. Also he's 18 and I don't want the last bit of his life to be miserable.

There are obvious things like keeping food, litter trays etc. in the same place all the time, and not moving furniture or leaving objects in the way but I'm sure you have this sussed already! I have found that even if I do forget and leave something in his way he seems to stop just short of it rather than bump into it. Apparently cats can sense the change in air circulation around an object, and this in conjunction with their sense of smell means that they can navigate fairly well even if things change.

Anyway I hope this helps. Love to Sweet Pea!

Emma

Sounds like you've had a great response from forum members already! You'll find loads of advice here.

Darren

__________________

Previously know as darrenwis

Hi and welcome to the forum

__________________