Kitty vision tests?

Has anyone heard of any way to do cat vision testing? Any way you can think of doing it yourself? For those who don't know Smudge, she has congenital eye defects, and doesn't have the best vision/depth perception.

Smudge has been very cranky recently, and has also been pooping and peeing inappropriately, and hanging upstairs a lot. We think it's stress related. I'm wondering if her vision is getting worse which is part of the cause of the stress.

I was playing with the laser pointer tonight with the kitties, and it's a new laser pointer with a bigger, brighter dot (the old one disappeared, and it's been a while since we played). Smudge couldn't see the dot. There was a fair bit of contrast, and she would normally be able to see the smaller dot in the same light.

She may have been ignoring it, but she was in a playful mood, and it's a bit worrying that she wouldn't even follow it.

I tried another toy - a dangly feather/mylar string type thing, and she could follow it, particularly if I shook it, but if I didn't shake it, she had more trouble following it, so I think noise had a bit to do with it.

So I'm trying to think of other ways to test her vision. Anyone got any ideas?

I've found this:
How to Test a Cat's Vision

This seems to be more a test for blindness:

# You can also test your cat's vision by performing a "menace response test". In this scenario, you will have to drop a cotton ball on the cat's face and see if the cat responds by blinking. If the cottonball hits the face and the cat does not try to avoid it by blinking or moving away its face, this often suggests a lack of blinking reflex associated with loss of vision.

Read more: http://cat-care.suite101.com/article...#ixzz0OEiWGcNd

Click to expand...

I remember reading in a cat care manual to cover one of the cat's eyes, then wiggle your finger in front of the other eye, and see if the cat follows your finger.

I meant to thank you guys for these (been busy...). I tried dropping a cotton ball in her face and I couldn't tell when she blinked (before it hit, or as it hit), so need to try again.

I tried covering one eye and she kept moving her head and trying to chew on my finger.... Just moving my finger with both eyes open she seemed fine though