Helping Blind Cat

Hey, I'm new here. We live on a farm with a fence around our yard to keep our pets safe when they go outside. 'Bout 4 yrs ago a stray cat wandered up, female, had been through some roughness; her ear edges were ruffled from trauma but healed & she was missing part of her right upper canine (do they call them that in felines?) also an old injury. She was an outdoor cat 90% of the time but brought in during inclement weather for short visits. Seemed perfectly normal.

We went thru a VERY bad time financially, especially this last year. Don't want to get n2 it totally but suffice it to say I lost 50lbs b/c I had no $ to buy food. The cats didn't suffer tho, my neighbor bought cat food for them. This past Oct, I walked outside & found Nya-that's her name-lying in a small depression beside our driveway. She was acting very oddly. I knew she was hurt but she had no open wounds. I didn't even have enough $ to put gas in the car & drive n2 town much less pay the vet, nor any credit cards. Things were very bad.

I brought her into the house & confined her to a small cat carrier I had. I fed & watered her by hand, with an old syringe for several days & kept her clean. I honestly believed she would die but gradually she got better. I realized during feeding that the injury was to her pelvis but she had no other injuries that I could ID.

Short story, she healed but w/ a strange behavioral difference. I knew she was blind & 2 days ago the vet finally confirmed it. She also had several fractures to her pelvis (all healed) & a large bowel hernia which was eventually going to cause problems. Vet said she probably got hit by a car, got head trauma which blinded her, the abdominal injury & the fractures. Even tho I still don't have a job & have sold everything of value I ever had, I agreed to surgery.

Here's my question (after a too long story-sorry :-/ ) how can I best care for her when I bring her home? How can I help her deal with the blindness? I know she is now a 100% inside cat due to her blindness. Vet says she'll have some pain. What's the best med I can make sure she gets?

I feel so bad about her suffering, so guilty. If I could have, I'd have taken her to the vet right away but I even if I couldv'e gotten there, I didn't even have the $ to put her down. Rural people's ideas about dealing with the issue only included the "38 cent solution." Well, she survived but I don't want her to suffer any more, don't want her to hurt all day every day. I want to make sure she gets the best care I can give her now. I'd appreciate any suggestions from anyone here. Sorry again for the long post & thanks in advance.

Paula

First.. thank you for taking care of the little one. You've made a huge sacrifice to help her! Better late than never, especially when she has a strong will to survive.

Second, Welcome to TCS!!

Third.. your query:

I can understand financial hardships. Is there anyone who can help you out? Friends/Family? Can the vet work out a plan with you? (maybe you can do some work in exchange for the services?) There's also CareCredit.. it's like a credit card, but only used for medical (human and animal). If your vet will accept it, it'll help. It offers 0% interest for X amount of months (Depending on the bill).

I am not sure about meds.. that would most likely be a vet question.

As for the blindness, cats adapt surprisingly well, blind. They use their ears, nose and whiskers to get around. I wouldn't worry about that.. if you are unsure, a clicker can help her get around and find you too. I am sure others with experience with blind cats will chime in.

I've seen videos about blind cats. They do very well, especially if there's no animals to surprise attack them, if one major condition is followed that's the same for all blinded animals and humans: keep them familiar with the enviroment.

Help them learn where the water, food, and litterbox are located first and far most. You need to carry them at first for a little while straight to the item to help them start getting some spacial sense, and then you need to have them follow you until they get enough of the lay of the land to know how to do it themselves. Once that happens (and it could be quick), any major changes to the enviroment needs to re-introduced the same way. I'll give you one warning tip I read, don't leave slippery or shinny paper around. The cat will still play normally, which including jumping. A woman wrote about how her blind cat once jumped on her coffee table and hit the magazine, so he flew off instead. A blind cat is very similar to a non-blind cat thanks to their whiskers and great hearing, but the difference is they can't quickly adjust when running, jumping, and playing to new enviromental changes. Even when cats hurt, they try to behave normally, so Nya will try to behave like a normal cat even if she's in pain.

Toys are still important. Toys like wands or string are great because they are constantly in motion so the cat can hear and feel the toy with their whiskers.

There are some organizations out there that provide money to people in need for their pets. A lot of them have hit tough times, but I think some place a priority on cats with medical needs first. If you search websites for disabled dogs, a lot of them have links to those animal charities. Some cities have funds for families with struggling finances and pets.

As for pain, bone pain is worsen by cold so a pile of blankets you can loosely bundle around her help. Do you have access to a natural health food store for cats and dogs? Sometimes they have remedies or ideas. They can be expensive, but some have other options or just good people who love to help in some way. Joint meds may help as well. Other than that, talk to your vet about what kind of natural or medical remedies your cat can take and determine if that makes sense for your situation. If there isn't much you can do, then my advice is this: keep her food, water, litter box, toys, and blankets near each other. She will rest more if everything is close by and if you play with her so she can attack toys but not chase them so she still gets her energy burned without putting too much pressure on her injuries. That one is key. Cabin fever does strike cats, so help her play to keep her relaxed. If you can keep her near a window where she can hear birds, it will keep her mind occupied. Just make sure she knows there's a window between her and the birds

Some cats are amazingly resilent and she sounds like one, so she may do well by the summer. She is really lucky to have you

Hello,

Great advice has already been given but I just wanted to further assure you that your cat can still live a happy life despite going through so much.  I have a cat who suffered a stroke-like event which left him temporarily paralyzed on the right side of his body when he was about five years old.  He had to learn to walk again and regained most of his abilities.  About 3 years ago(my boy is over 14), he lost his vision due to progressive retinal degeneration.  My vets didn't know he was losing his sight, nor did I and I am extremely bonded to this cat.  Cats can adapt so well to blindness that it often goes unknown to their caretakers.  People who meet my cat, who is 100% blind(he's been examined at a great animal eye center as well as two uni veterinary teaching hospitals) are shocked to learn that he's blind(as well as a former feral; he's very relaxed and fearless).  When he visits new places(vet offices, hotels) he explores just like any "normal" cat..jumping up on chairs, beds, etc.  We moved(across the country by car with 4 cats) into our new home about a year ago and he quickly mastered the lay out, climbs up to the highest perches of the cat trees(I would caution against allowing a newly blind cat to climb where she can fall), loves exploring his yard(supervised), runs around with his brothers and always knows where all the food/water dishes are, and where his favorite toy is.  I didn't mention that he also suffered from a vestibular issue about a year ago which further affected his balance and whatnot.  Cats are highly adaptable creatures and please don't listen to anyone who suggests having your cat euthanized; they simply don't understand cats.  My boy is the happiest cat I've known and has more of a "passion for life" than most people I know; he's definitely not suffering.  As for pain medications, it's been many years since I've had to use pain meds for a cat so hopefully someone else can recommend something safe and effective.  I do give my cats fish oil and glucosamine/chondroitin joint support treats/pills and have used anti-inflammatory herbs in the past.  Here's a link with a little info on blind cats:http://www.messybeast.com/disabled.htm   

Also, since she was a former indoor/outdoor kitty and making a cat-safe yard or buying a safe harness might be too costly at this time..I'd do your best to keep her entertained indoors once she recovers.  My cat gets very excited about crinkle toys and paper bags.  He also absolutely loves Da Bird and Da Cat Catcher(I think it's called) as he can hear both toys very well and locate them as easily as my sighted cats.

Good luck and I'm sure you'll get a lot of great advice here. 

Bless you for taking care of this little furbaby! 

As far as her blindness...she should do fine with it  Cats do adapt pretty well with blindness, as everyone has mentioned.  All advise given is good.  Just remember not to leave cabinet doors open or things out of place or she might bump into them, and do always have her food, water and litter in the same places and she should be fine.

As far as her pain, what kind of pain was the Vet talking about.  Just post surgery pain, or long term pain?  If post surgery, he should provide pain meds, or at least a prescription for pain meds.  If he gives you a prescription, it might be cheaper to have it filled at Target or Walmart rather than at his office, unless he is willing to give you a break on them.  But if he is talking long term, then you need to find out exactly what he is referring to, then we can give you  more advise.  It could be something as simple as keeping her warm during the cold winter months as shadyferret mentioned, either with extra blankies or even a heating pad or one of those things you pop in the microwaive for a few seconds, or just putting her bed under a lamp.  But as I said, first we need to find out what kind of pain we are talking about.

Now, as far as perhaps getting some financial aid for any ongoing Vet care for her, check out this website, which is for handicapped animals:  http://www.handicappedpets.com/index.php/financial-aid-for-pets.html