Our 16 year old Persian has gone Blind & Deaf

Our 16 year old Persian cat has been under a vets care for a sinus infection and it seems that after being prescribed a antihistamine (allerchlor) she has suddely lost total vision and also is now deaf! She was on "clavamox" to clear up the infection, but during the 14 days she was on the med she lost a lot of appetite and lost about 8 oz.'s in weight. The vets then prescribed nutri-cal vitamin supplement to build up her immune system and Hill's A/D cat food to build her up! Her appetitite came back and has been strong since off the antibiotic! She has gained 3 oz.'s

However, her runny nose and sneezing/coughing continued and the vet put her on allerchlor 1 or 2 times a day (an antihistamine) to try to dry up her runny nose! She only had 6 1/2 tab doses but they did cause drowsiness as indicated so we called the vet and took her off the med! One week after the
1st dose she went totally blind! We took her to the vetimmediately and he checked and said she is totally blind (believes both retinas are detached) and she is also deaf. He believes nothing can be done and we'll have to see how she does living in a "Dark silent world".

She finds her food, water and litter box by seamingly following her old "path". She is amazing! We'll continue to love her, cuddle and groom her as always and support her and hope that she will continue to learn to deal with her new challenges. We adopted her from a NJ shelter two and a half years ago where she clearly was neglected (all matted) and was soon to be put down! She is the most loving little girl!

Any advise or info regarding possible causes for her loss of sight and hearing would be appreciated!

There are members here who have deaf cats, and blind/almost blind kitties, and some with senior kitties with diminished hearing and sight. I'm sure someone will share their experience with you soon.

But, remember, your kitty still experiences your love, and some challenged cats have amazing lives - you may have seen the book about Homer, a blind kitten, and his inspiring life (and he's around today!).

My own younger cat had been on Clavomox (it's in the penicillin family) and lost appetite - she also got some A/D - and when her meds were finished she, thank goodness, was fine...who knows what triggered your baby's problems, but she's blessed to have you in her corner.

Dear Darlilli:

Thanks for the encouraging words! We are trying very hard to keep her routine the same! We really miss her morning visits on the bed while we read the morning paper! Now we pick her up and she visits and calmly let's us know when she wants to get down!

Sophielew

Oh, this poor kitty. I had an older kitty who was nearly deaf, but I've never dealt with blindness. Vibes for your baby ...

I think Frankthetank has the blind (or nearly so) kitten - and doesn't WhiteCatLover have experince with deaf kitties?

Originally Posted by sophielew

Our 16 year old Persian cat has been under a vets care for a sinus infection and it seems that after being prescribed a antihistamine (allerchlor) she has suddely lost total vision and also is now deaf! She was on "clavamox" to clear up the infection, but during the 14 days she was on the med she lost a lot of appetite and lost about 8 oz.'s in weight.

Any advise or info regarding possible causes for her loss of sight and hearing would be appreciated!

Click to expand...

My cat just finished a 10 day prescription on "clavamox" [from a vet]for an unconfirmed difficult infection regular antibiotics would not kill completely . Before i gave it to her i read up on clavamox and read there was some hearsay the medication may have the side effect of blindness. Considering my cat seemed to on her last days of life before giving her clavamox, it was a necessary chance. Clavamox worked excellent for my cat while my cat was taking it. She bounced back to life for the 10 days on the medication. Three days after finishing clavamox, i am watching signs for a setback in my cats health.

Just checking - hoping this little girl is doing well.

Darlili!

Thank you for checking on Sophie!

It's great news!

We took our little Sophie to an animal Opthamologist in Jacksonville, Florida and found that one of her retina's was fully detached and the other was 70% detached! The detachments were due to high blood pressure, (250)

The vet put her on amlopodine (Norvasc) 1/4 tabs per day and he was optomistic that she might be able to get some sight back! After one week we noticed that on two ocasions she could see for a short while!

We took her back to the vet and her blood pressure was down to 190 and he said the retina was now 70% "Attached"! With the high blood pressure fluid gets behind the retina and detached the retina! She is getting around quite well and her eyes look more normal!

It was so sad watching her bounce off the walls and turn in circles! She is getting around much better now and is truly our, "Little Christmas Miracle"!

Thanks to all for their prayers!

We'll keep you apprised of her recovery!

Oh, that is good news - sending you best wishes for a continued recovery and more good time with your little girl. She's blessed to have you in her corner - and I'm sure she knows how loved she is.

There's got to be a very special place in heaven for those who care for those pets with 'challenges' - even if we're repaid with their love here on earth.

I'm just now seeing this thread. So glad she's beginning to heal. Is she still deaf? for continued healing.

She's still deaf but seems to hear some tones (not too many) But at least she has enough vision returning that she's not using the walls to "feel' her way around the house! She can againlook up at us and look us in the eyes with her sweet little face!

She was amazing during the 10 or so days she was totally blind! She found her food and water and the kitter box! We're really glad we took her to the animal opthamologist! Our vet seemed to think nothing could be done for her! The opthamologist seemed to think he could help her get some vision back the very 1st time he examined her!

I was skeptical myself as I've had a torn & fully detached retina and it took laser surgery and "11 needles in the eye and the injection of a gas bubble" to keep me from going blind! We learned that the eye structure of animals is very different than humans and if you can relieve the pressure/fluid behind the retina the retina can very often fully reattach! That's what we're hoping will happen to Sophie noe that she's 70% reattached!

I am glad you got her blood pressure checked, that was my first thought. Have you had any tests done to find out why she has high blood pressure, as it can be a symptom of things like hyper-t, and can be connected to kidney issues too?

I have had a blind and deaf cat, and a partially blind and deaf cat, and it is amazing how they adapt - both of mine were picked up off the streets, so they didn't have the benefit of knowing the house, but were good with litter trays, they just kicked out quite a bit of litter.

It seems the High BP may be tied to thyroid disease, she's also on tapazole! Today is boxing day and it appears her vision is back almost to normal! She can see a feather on a string and is, "boxing" and hitting it quite well!

We pray that the amlodipine will be a permanent solution!

Best Regards!

that's such good news - and how fortunate you found a specialist. You are such good parents, and she's such a lucky girl.

Thanks! We've adopted many cas over the years, usually older ones from shelters! When our "Sweetie" passed a almost three years ago (she had epilepsy and would lose control of her bladder during an episode) we adopted Sophie from a shelter in NJ just before she would have been euthanized!

She has been the most well behaved and lovable little girl. She was 13 when we adopted her! It broke my heart to see her struggle and the vet didn't want to "sent us on a chase" but I thought it was worth trying the animal opthamologist! We are so glad we did! In 2 1/2 weeks she is back to her old self and was today she was playing with a cat toy, focusing in and batting the feather with her paws.

We pray the "norvasc' continues to work! Ironically I used to work for the pharmaceutical company that manufactures the medicine that brought her sight back!

We'd love to see pictures of your baby.

I haven't been at an... emotional high point, let's say, and I was scared to open this thread [size=-3]I'm sorry![/size]

But I'm so glad I did! What wonderful parents, and such a lucky kitty - and what great news!!!!

the amlodipine (Norvasc?) is "it!"

We have a deaf kitty with one eye. She lost her hearing most likely due to a really horrible herpes infection before we rescued her (and we also had to have one of her eyes removed for the same reason). She can her certain tones, and we're able to "call" her by making a kind of "clicking" noise by sucking our cheek against our teeth (if that makes any sense LOL). Her name is Flowerbelle, but she knows herself as "Chk Chk Chk" It took her a little while to work out the depth problem, but she doesn't let anything slow her down.

i am glad to hear she is still improving - when were her thyroid levels last checked?

Thyroid was checked about 5 weeks ago and was borderline when the vet put her on tapazole! She'll be checked again in about three weeks when we return from our Holiday visit with the children/gradkids!

So good that she can see again at least partially. Can you tell if her hearing is coming back?