cat suddenly blind. need tips on how to help her adjust with litter box

My cat Odessa went blind a few days ago. They're figuring it out. I mostly brought her back in to vet because she seem to be losing a lot of weight. The first night was really hard. She kept bumping into things and walking through our TV stand. She seems to get disorientated easy and walks around in circle and then picking a route.The problem we're having is getting her to use litter box. I bought a smaller box and put it in the corner on living room (thats where the original box was located). I've tried putting her in the box several times a day and she never uses it when I do that. I think all I'm probably doing is p!ssing her off because she meows angrily and does her usual hyper-snort bull thing.The living room is her room so I don't want to confine her to another room (one in which she is usually stressed in or is less familiar with) like my bedroom. I was thinking about barricading her with a puppy gate so that she stays in the living room. Hopefully it will be a temporary set up but I don't want to clean up excrement/urine every morning. Should I buy another litter box so there is one box on either side of living room?

Sudden blindness in cats is usually the result of undiagnosed/untreated high blood pressure.....IF DIAGNOSED AND TREATED QUICKLY, THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THAT VISION CAN BE RESTORED.

mscatamaran said:

...They're figuring it out.

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Obviously not quickly enough.....are "they" cat-only Vets/feline specialists?  If not, I suggest you find one and get your cat in there quickly. Time is everything in these situations.

Here's some quick reading for you http://www.felinecrf.org/hypertension.htm#blindness

Inside there is another link explaining the treatment - in case you miss it, it's here http://www.felinecrf.org/hypertension.htm#control_of_blood_pressure

If you can't find a cat-only clinic and you must rely on your current Vet, show him/her these links or print them out and insist that they read them - if they're unable to check blood pressure, and agree that your cat may be hypertensive, the evidence shows that this treatment is probably worth trying anyways, as it is relatively safe.

If your vet does not have the necessary equipment to check blood pressure, but strongly suspects that your cat has hypertension, it might be worth trying amlodipine and seeing if your cat improves. Generally speaking, as mentioned by Veterinary Partner, amlodipine is a pretty safe drug and is unlikely to cause the opposite problem of hypotension (low blood pressure), even in a cat whose blood pressure is not overly elevated.  http://www.felinecrf.org/hypertension.htm#amlodipine_dosage

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I certainly wouldn't be waiting around any longer for them to "figure it out".

White Shadow said:

Sudden blindness in cats is usually the result of undiagnosed/untreated high blood pressure.....IF DIAGNOSED AND TREATED QUICKLY, THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THAT VISION CAN BE RESTORED.

Obviously not quickly enough.....are "they" cat-only Vets/feline specialists?  If not, I suggest you find one and get your cat in there quickly. Time is everything in these situations.

Here's some quick reading for you http://www.felinecrf.org/hypertension.htm#blindness

Inside there is another link explaining the treatment - in case you miss it, it's here http://www.felinecrf.org/hypertension.htm#control_of_blood_pressure

If you can't find a cat-only clinic and you must rely on your current Vet, show him/her these links or print them out and insist that they read them - if they're unable to check blood pressure, and agree that your cat may be hypertensive, the evidence shows that this treatment is probably worth trying anyways, as it is relatively safe.

I certainly wouldn't be waiting around any longer for them to "figure it out".

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thats one of the first things they looked at. Her BP is good. her blood work looked good. And while I appreciate the links and info, you didn't answer my post about caring for a blind cat and fixing the litter box issue.

There also is such a thing as a veterinary specialist. If you are within driving distance of a large university with a college of veterinary medicine ask if a cardiologist works there.

I would go ahead and put a number of litter boxes around the house, one in each space.  She is having to rely on smell alone so if there is some used litter in the one box I would put some of it in each of the new boxes.  There is also a litter available that is called Cat Attract. It is expensive, I have never used it and don't know how it works, but I have heard of people that have had very good results with it. I hope they figure out what is going on with your kitty and it is fixable. I know that having a lot of litterboxes around isn't a nice solution but hopefully this will get resolved. Even if the blindness proves to be permanent your kitty will adjust and the need for a lot of litterboxes should diminish.

why did you get a smaller litter box? can't you use the original size in the original location? besides smell, your cat will use touch (and sound), so i would put the 2nd litter box up against the wall. but for the most part, nothing should be moved. your cat already has a mental map.

detmut said:

why did you get a smaller litter box? can't you use the original size in the original location? besides smell, your cat will use touch (and sound), so i would put the 2nd litter box up against the wall. but for the most part, nothing should be moved. your cat already has a mental map.

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i got a box with lower sides. the original box i had was very tall for Odessa. Each shorter box is on either side of the couch (behind the couch on bedding is her favorite place) against the walls. There is a blue litter mat in front of the litter box (it has always been there). I put the same kind of litter mat in front of the new box in the hopes that she will associate the bumpy mat with being near a litter box.