Could my Squeak be blind??

Squeak is now 22 days old and her eyes have been open about a week but they seem quite glazed and I'm pretty sure she can't see a thing out of them. Is it normal for a kitten over 3 weeks to still have trouble seeing? Should I be preparing to deal with her growing up to be blind? She opened her eyes very late and I'm starting to think she could quite possibly have been premature when we found her (around an hour old) as she was only around 95 grams at the time. Would this affect when she can see? I'll be taking her to the vet again on Friday and will have her checked then but would love to know if this is normal..

I don't know, but it does sound like blindness to me. Hopefully, someone will come along with experience!

The kittens I am caring for didn't seem to be able to see much at all until 3 weeks. They also had very blue eyes...what do you mean by glaze?

Even now at 4 weeks, 2 days, I am pretty sure they cannot see past about 5 feet.

I honestly think that it takes several - maybe 5 or so - weeks for kittens to be able to see anything well. I've only raised 1 litter, though. What about the other kittens in the litter?

What if you have her in a dark room and shine a bit of light into her eyes? If they contract she should be able to see all right, eventually...

She may have an infection in her eyes. Have a vet check her soon because if its an infection with proper drops you can save her eyes. Some kittens do take longer to see well, but if you are concerned, the vet is the answer.

Her eyes opened at around day 16 - far later than any other litter I've looked after. I can't compare with her litter-mates because unfortunately her only sister died day 2 after refusing the bottle and syringe. Her eyes started completely grey and are slowly showing blue through but I can hardly see her pupil at all to see if it's constricting or not - I could probably put my finger in her eye before she even realised I was there! I'll be taking her to the vet on Friday so we'll see what she says.. hopefully she'll be seeing by then and the worry would be for nothing!

It can take awhile to focus when first opening eyes, but sounds like your little one may have some eye problems. If you vet can't test properly, then you are looking at a specialist to decide how to handle things.

Despite what many vets will tell you, Squeak should not be euthanized just for being blind. My RB Damita was blind & lived life to its fullest until the day she died. I know there are other members here with blind cats as well.

I know people that had blind Cats and they did great. Kittens eyes do stay that bluish color for a while. Your Kittens eyes did open late though so she could have a problem.

I think she's just a bit slow to be honest, her eyes are blue now and she seems to be able to see a little. She was very frustrated with the formula alone so I've added a little rice cereal for babies and she loves it. She still won't lap any of the formula/rice formula up though, she's 3 1/2 weeks old but despite being really large seems to be at the development of a 2 1/2 week old. My poor girl, she'll get there though I'm sure! BTW I'd never let anyone euthanise her for being blind - she's too precious. I had a deaf cat once who many said was cruel to let live but she was absolutely perfect - she just had to be kept indoors at all times. Anyway, here's an updated pic of Squeak, "helping" at work..



Thanks for all the advice people, I'm pretty sure this site is the reason she's still alive..

When I clicked on the picture, I got a nice size to see her eyes. Now, I'm not a vet nor do I play one on TV LOL, she looks fine. I can see her pupils quite clearly, and her eyes are the blue of kittens. I have seen blind cats before, and their eyes are cloudy grey. Your Squeak looks just fine to me....more than fine, she's gorgeous and sweet

Susan

Oh my gosh, isn't she adorable?!!! She looks a lot like our 2-3 week old kittens did. When I get home maybe I'll look up some photos.

Thanks skewch. That's why I was worried, until yesterday her eye was a dark grey and the pupil was totally invisible.. this morning, she had slightly gunky eyes, cleaned her and she looked up at me with her baby blues I just took her out of her nest to wander around for a bit while I prepare her 4.30am feed and when i got to about 5 feet away from her she seemed to notice and come tottering over.. so sweet! Amazing considering yesterday I couldn't even get her to react from right up close..

I would say fairly quickly that you will be able to dangle a toy above her head and she should notice and follow it side to side. I love babies and I really love to interact with them. I don't mind being clawed to ribbons either, it's part of the role

Squeak is so cute, give her a cuddle and kiss for me. I can't wait for my Lily to have her babies...another 4 weeks to go

Oh my stars is she ever adorable... and she's lucky to have you!!

She is so cute.
What a little love she is.