eye concern

So forgive me if this is an unintelligent post...

My orphan kitten came to me with her eyes open little slits...that was Saturday. So she has basically had them open for a week that I know of, and she will be 3 weeks old on Tuesday (a guess, not exact date).

I know that their vision is not the best right away, it grows with them.

She is a black kitten, and her eyes look black. And they look cloudy (like blind cloudy not sick cloudy).

She obviously searches by scent. She knows my scent.

Is it possible that she is blind? When does their sense of sight become fully developed? How can I tell if she can see and hear?

I love her and plan to keep her no matter what. But if she is blind I worry how I can best teach her (as she is an orphan) and accomidate her.

and here is alink to where I posted her picture...that shows the best pic I have gotten of her eyes open.

Originally Posted by mom2raven

and here is alink to where I posted her picture...that shows the best pic I have gotten of her eyes open.

Click to expand...

I can't seem to see the link. My experience with kittens that young is very, very limited. You indicated the kitten was 3 weeks old and the eyes look cloudy. I have no idea if this is normal or not. If you can't find an answer I'd maybe call a vet or do some extensive research on the topic of newborn kittens. I did a quick search and came up with this link which might be of some use to you http://www.knowyourcat.info/info/earlydevelopment.htm

There are also a couple of other forums on TCS which you might want to make an inquiry. The feral forum might be a good place to start. Those folks do a wonderful job caring for their feral feline friends. Maybe one of them has had this same experience. Take care and post an update if you have time.

Thank you!

I forgot to post the link that is why you didn't see it lol. It is under pregnant cats and kittens.

I guess from the article you posted eyesight continually develops. I will try to stop worrying and wait.

Hi.
Mitzubishi is my 3-year-old white cat we 'adopted' from a semi-feral cat that lived under our deck. Mitz had extremely bad eyes that eventually got very infected. After taking him to a couple of vets he was diagnosed with feline herpes. His eyes by then were cloudy.

The good thing is that if it is feline herpes, it is easily treatable. There are some L-lysine cat chews that suppress the virus. Herpes is fairly common in stray and feral cat populations. It is very important to take your cat to the vet though; if it is herpes, while treatable, it can kill if left untreated. Mitz is healthy and sees okay enough to chase butterflies and anything else that flits by him although his eyes are never completely clear. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Sorry to say that I too am ignorant on this one! But the advice I can offer is that in your position I would be inclined to have him checked out. I would want to know that it's fine, or it's not fine as soon as possible. If it's something viral or bacterial then maybe they can control it before it gets worse and save at least some of his vision.