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- Feb 26, 2016
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Let me start off with saying that this is not a current health concern, my cat has been blind nearly her whole life, and I'm just curious as to what others think might have been the cause. I apologize if this isn't the appropriate forum to ask this but I wasn't sure where else to post it.
So I adopted Minerva, a 4 year old blind siamese/Thai cat, back in January. I was told that when she was estimated to be about 10 months old, someone found her hiding under a car with a broken jaw, and already at least mostly blind. Beyond that, I know nothing about her first year.
Since I've adopted her, I've noticed several things. I'm fairly certain she is now entirely blind, she doesn't even seem to see shadows. I'm also pretty sure she wasn't blind from birth for several reasons. She still uses her eyes as if she can see, keeping them open all the time when she's awake, snapping them open if she's asleep and hears something, and fighting to keep them open when she's resisting falling asleep. She also doesn't seem to have the "heightened senses" you hear about so often when something loses one of their senses. She doesn't seem to be able to tell where exactly a sound is coming from, as when I click my tongue to signal to her that I'm setting her wet food down, she seems to get so excited that she loses all sense of direction and will even go in the opposite direction sometimes, or bump into things she usually knows her way around. Maybe she lost some of her hearing as well in whatever accident she had, but she's certainly not deaf.
As far as appearance, you wouldn't even think she was blind if you only glanced at her eyes or saw them from across the room (picture below). They're entirely intact and a bright vibrant blue. They're not milky at all really, and only on close examination can you see little white spider-webby things in her pupils. Her pupils still expand and contract depending on light level, and she'll close her eyes and turn her head if a bright light is shined directly into them for more than a couple seconds, although she doesn't seem to even notice camera flashes. She also has a little scar on her nose, likely from whatever broke her jaw and blinded her.
So, my question is, what sort of accident do you think could have caused her to go entirely blind but leave her eyes completely intact? Is it possible she hit her head so hard on something that it simply blinded her? If it was an animal attack or a car, I'd expect to see more scars or disfiguration, but she looks completely normal. Maybe someone kicked her? These are all questions I've pondered over and haven't come to any sort of conclusion. Other than some mild chronic constipation that I have under control, she has no other health issues. Again, I'm not posting this because of any current health concerns, I'm just curious as to what people think.
This all being said, don't feel too sad for her. I've successfully turned her into a spoiled little brat and she's been snoring on my lap the entire time I was typing this.
So I adopted Minerva, a 4 year old blind siamese/Thai cat, back in January. I was told that when she was estimated to be about 10 months old, someone found her hiding under a car with a broken jaw, and already at least mostly blind. Beyond that, I know nothing about her first year.
Since I've adopted her, I've noticed several things. I'm fairly certain she is now entirely blind, she doesn't even seem to see shadows. I'm also pretty sure she wasn't blind from birth for several reasons. She still uses her eyes as if she can see, keeping them open all the time when she's awake, snapping them open if she's asleep and hears something, and fighting to keep them open when she's resisting falling asleep. She also doesn't seem to have the "heightened senses" you hear about so often when something loses one of their senses. She doesn't seem to be able to tell where exactly a sound is coming from, as when I click my tongue to signal to her that I'm setting her wet food down, she seems to get so excited that she loses all sense of direction and will even go in the opposite direction sometimes, or bump into things she usually knows her way around. Maybe she lost some of her hearing as well in whatever accident she had, but she's certainly not deaf.
As far as appearance, you wouldn't even think she was blind if you only glanced at her eyes or saw them from across the room (picture below). They're entirely intact and a bright vibrant blue. They're not milky at all really, and only on close examination can you see little white spider-webby things in her pupils. Her pupils still expand and contract depending on light level, and she'll close her eyes and turn her head if a bright light is shined directly into them for more than a couple seconds, although she doesn't seem to even notice camera flashes. She also has a little scar on her nose, likely from whatever broke her jaw and blinded her.
So, my question is, what sort of accident do you think could have caused her to go entirely blind but leave her eyes completely intact? Is it possible she hit her head so hard on something that it simply blinded her? If it was an animal attack or a car, I'd expect to see more scars or disfiguration, but she looks completely normal. Maybe someone kicked her? These are all questions I've pondered over and haven't come to any sort of conclusion. Other than some mild chronic constipation that I have under control, she has no other health issues. Again, I'm not posting this because of any current health concerns, I'm just curious as to what people think.
This all being said, don't feel too sad for her. I've successfully turned her into a spoiled little brat and she's been snoring on my lap the entire time I was typing this.
