Newly Blind Cat

He's been doing this for food/litter for a couple days, and even did this spontaneously to go visit Mark when he was getting dressed this morning.

Doing an amazing job in the bedroom... just hope he calms down in the living room. :-/

The sound is a bag of cat treats.

 

RampionRampage said:

 
He's been doing this for food/litter for a couple days, and even did this spontaneously to go visit Mark when he was getting dressed this morning.

Doing an amazing job in the bedroom... just hope he calms down in the living room. :-/

The sound is a bag of cat treats.

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Great video. The bag of treats is a great way to teach and train him!

Finally got to pick up a squeaky toy for him. You can see him figuring it out. He hasn't been active in years (lookit that belly) but I think he's just that bored.

 

He still gets sooo lost in the living room (the apt is less than maybe 700sq feet and he refuses to go in the kitchen because of the tile, which is fine -- i'm not talking about much space). I'm glad I went on my instinct there. He never was too sharp on direction. He's gotten well enough in the bedroom now that I'm pretty sure I won't have to crate him. He likes to be in there now. When he could see he'd freak out if the door was shut. I think he likes it shut now. So, that is one more (non)battle handled.

edit to add pic, eft-handed, as i was pinned... :

Crate is going well... and not because I close it. I don't. He knows now that it's the easiest litter box, and food/water if the other guys are too busy around the main bowl (actually, all of them also use them, but they don't bother my guy when he is in there).

Bells on the girls, which was pretty hysterical, but at least one of them can't come up and surprise him with lies (you know the lies... "hey, i'm grooming you, I swear...." *starts something*)

He prefers the bedroom and gets around well in there so he'll be in there when we aren't home. He never wants to leave so he never feels confined. I have to talk him into coming into the living room... which is much easier now.

When he gets confused we can lean over him, put our hands behind his shoulders, and guide him where he needs to go. He whines a bit, but doesn't resist and knows where he is (unlike picking him up). He really isn't learning the living room at all. Poor dude. Never good with direction.

Picked up some 3-d puzzles so I can stop obsessing, so mostly we either nap together or I'm being crafty.

Pic of my guy when I got him. He was from a pet store I worked at for a couple months before I quit (I really didn't know... desperate for a job and boy did I learn living in PA, land of lancaster puppy mills).

I realized I only talked about him being sick, so...

He is/was a weird little dude and came to me with tape worm (fun surprise when the segment came off my hand) and a boat load of weird behavior.

I named him Kanine because he acted more like a clumsy puppy with no cat skills. He got into everything. He pulled out and ate VHS tape. I thought he was just chewing on it... nope. If I'd known he'd swallowed that much I wouldn't have taken it away from him the way I did. I think he was an orphan and I think he was neutered too young. God knows what the 'vet' was like that did the neuter, left my supervisor to give all the animals shots and then put them in the regular trash and expect me to take it out with needle everywhere. Kittens died in that store regularly despite my efforts.

I know you should never buy from a pet store, definitely get it now, but this guy would have been surrendered. Behavior and litter issues abound. Burned himself on the stove (after turning on the child-safe knobs which I now compulsively remove) and still wanted to hang on the stove. Misc other weird things in his mouth from places I didn't even know he could get to. Kanine-proofing was near impossible because no one could possibly imagine the stuff swirling in his head. There is a reason why I can't trust his instincts now, and why I made some choices that may not have been popular (crate, temporarily).

Smart enough to press the button on a printer to get a test sheet.... but every area of basic cat common sense... not so much. He's always pushed my buttons so he is really my bf's cat... but since he's been sick we have been 24/7 attached at the hip. I wish he wasn't sick, but I'm glad that at least we get this time together (plus my bf is a terrible vet tech, he is too emotional about it and can't get anything done)

<3 <3

.
This was my makeshift solution after the burn (there is dressing in there) until a traveling vet could come over and look at it. It was pretty minor so this actually just stayed the method I used to finish healing it, lol.


Sleeping on his dad.

RampionRampage said:

Crate is going well... and not because I close it. I don't. He knows now that it's the easiest litter box, and food/water if the other guys are too busy around the main bowl (actually, all of them also use them, but they don't bother my guy when he is in there).

Bells on the girls, which was pretty hysterical, but at least one of them can't come up and surprise him with lies (you know the lies... "hey, i'm grooming you, I swear...." *starts something*)

He prefers the bedroom and gets around well in there so he'll be in there when we aren't home. He never wants to leave so he never feels confined. I have to talk him into coming into the living room... which is much easier now.

When he gets confused we can lean over him, put our hands behind his shoulders, and guide him where he needs to go. He whines a bit, but doesn't resist and knows where he is (unlike picking him up). He really isn't learning the living room at all. Poor dude. Never good with direction.

Picked up some 3-d puzzles so I can stop obsessing, so mostly we either nap together or I'm being crafty.

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It sounds like he is doing really well! Very good news.

The crate is like his "home base".

We packed the bigger pens away, but we still leave out the smallest octagon pen we got for our kitten Milly's surgery last year, as she loves just going in there at times to play in there or just hang out. It's like a "Cat Cave" (versus a Man Cave).
:lol3:

We want it to be familiar if/when there is deterioration and he can't be safely out if no one is home (if his coordination gets worse, seizures, etc). He'll still hate it but for now it's just part of the room.

How is Kanine doing?

RampionRampage said:

 
Wow. Judging didn't take long. Guess this was a mistake.

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Once he is familiar with one room he will be fine alone when you're gone.  Don't move

any furniture. Need to make sure you keep his spirits up or he may withdraw get depressed,

lots of TLC, crinkle, sound toys for play.

PushPurrCatPaws said:

How is Kanine doing?

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Sorry I've been absent, I've been busy with studying and teaching. Which also means I'm not obsessing over my guy. <3

Somehow, his sight returned(!!!) and this was just before we started the prednisone. It's not 100%, it tends to vary, but I'll take it.

His balance is okay-ish, so he can be in the living room or bedroom, with the stairs totally blocked off still. He can be totally unsupervised in the bedroom, and unsupervised in the living room for a couple hours. That is mostly a bit of paranoia from when he was totally blind and really hurt himself.

I am curious, though. We noticed that the ear drops - didn't matter the brand, and this includes the ear wash - completely cripples him. Within a couple hours, he barely can get across a room because his balance is so impaired. Vet says there is no sign of a ruptured eardrum but I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't be more concerned. That ear is also like a reset button. Stroke too hard, he loses balance for a few.

He tested inconclusive for FIP but he was negative when he was about two and he's indoor-only and none of the other cats have ever tested positive.

He still has a bit of a cold. It's mostly on the same side as the 'bad' ear so I was worried it wasn't a cold, but one of my other cats has the sneezes now so I'm at least feeling better (about a sick cat, lol) than I was.

So, he'll stay on the prednisone, he's on oral antibiotics and an antihistamine since some of his sneezing fits are pretty intense (he's always been a dramatic sneezer).

We're going to investigate the possibility of a polyp. Unlike a tumor, that is something we are willing to intervene for. I'm going to check to see if the vet we've been using is going to want a CT. If yes, we know someone else who is likely to anesthetize him and do a check the low-tech way. This animal hospital has never been pushy - it's farm country out here, priorities are different and owners are less high-strung - so I think we can do it there and keep the annoying vet who has seen him too many times to switch now. He's good. Just one of the ones that doesn't interface with humans well. Spectrumy. Which I am, too, and maybe we are too much alike.

I know the polyp won't explain the blindness, but if it's possible he's got two things going on at once, owe it to him to check it out. Maybe he just happen to have a seizure (they can cause temp blindness?).

He's slightly more depressed than when he was blind, so hopefully that is just him being sick and not some other kind of distress.

He's doing some of the obnoxious things that made us slightly less than close buddies, I think that is *technically* a good thing.  

Mostly, though, I'm home five days a week so he sits with me on the futon while I game or study.

Oh wow, so glad his sight returned!!  Not 100%, but that is still huge.  I hope they find something that they are able to help with when you take him in.

Hey, he could have stayed blind but as long as he was giving kisses/purring (part of teh short-list by which we gauge his quality of life), that meant he was still him. He lost a pound while blind/falling over all the time, gained half a pound back.

Prednisone could be helping if it's a meningioma, if by some freakish chance he has FIP, prednisone is also the treatment for that.

But, yeah, pupils reacting to light, sometimes he can see the pill popper in my hand (...I miss when it was always a surprise, lol). Now and then you can recognize signs that he is trying to see but can't quite make sense of what he's seeing, so I'm guessing it goes fuzzy on him.

He's still terrible at tracking sound and smell so he's certainly safer this way... When he was blind, SO was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room talking to me. Kanine walked right past him, not even six inches away, (as he was talking, breathing, etc) to see if Mark was in his computer chair. Terrible at cat. And quite clumsy.

He still prefers to use the steps we've put down, which is pretty awesome because if he does lose his sight again and we happen to not be around, we know he'll be safer.

he's pretty happy atm, as you can see

@RampionRampage  I discovered your thread a few hours ago, following from a link from a completely different thread - I'm like a cyberworm, haphazardly worming my way through seemingly random threads.  I just looked into the possible causes of Kanine's temporary blindness and have a few possible suggestions.  But also lots of questions to get an even deeper understanding of your home environment and his behaviour. You've already given so many excellent clues for me to follow so thank you for being so thorough.  And, please don't take offence about anything odd or presumptuous I say, or if I say it askew, as I'm spectrumy also.     And I'm on your side.  Also, ever so sorry for the length and disorganisation of thought patterns, it's 4.40am here and I'm even a bit more lopsided than normal.

Do you think his vestibular issues may have been present from childhood, considering he's always been "clumsy, peculiar, and weird", and has "never been good with direction"?  Vestibular syndrome usually runs its course over a matter of weeks but may be recurrent with underlying illnesses.  When he was blind and confused you would, "lean over him, put your hands on his shoulders and guide him," this is suggestive to me more of vestibular disfunction than blindness.  What treatment was he/is he being given for his ears?  It is just one ear or both?  Does he tilt his head to his bad ear?  Ear problems, and unfortunately many ear medications, not only severely impair balance and coordination, thus "completely cripple him" but can cause aggression and irritably too.  Although you say he's very chilled out, and he certainly looks and acts like a big softie! 

How do you know his "hearing is fine"?  He's "sucked at tracking sound all his life."  Is it possible that he may actually be deaf in one or both ears?  That he responded to the treat bag may have been through smell or movement stimuli and not because he heard it.  Also, when Mark got dressed he may have sensed movement or smell rather than sound.  His clumsiness and peculiarity could be explained by possible deafness.  His hairs and whiskers many have developed super spidey senses that he relies on to get around.  This maybe why he doesn't like the tiles in your kitchen as his sensitive toe hairs find it unpleasant or lacking in necessary stimuli.  But he handles the uneven floors reasonably well, as he's able to adjust his balance through touch.  And, he "hates" the living room as it's too "busy as far as furniture and openness goes," perhaps his whiskers and spidey sense body hair simply can't lock into his surroundings there and he's literally lost in space.  Whereas, the confines of your bedroom, with lots of well know objects in close proximity, possibly excites his hairs and whiskers, enabling him to map his way around.  He's also resistant to being picked up, which might also point to balance/ear/hearing difficulties as his spidey sense won't work in mid air.  The video showing him sensing the wand dangly toy looks to me like movement stimulus from hair touch rather than from the bell.

Maybe try using an ultrasonic dog whistle to check his hearing on both sides. 

"Toxicity from aminoglycoside antibiotics (gentamicin, enrofloxacin, orbifloxacin, zeniquin) may cause dysfunction of the peripheral vestibular system receptors in the inner ear.  Be aware that many ear cleansers especially those that contain propylene glycol  are toxic to these receptors if these products gain access to the tympanic cavity."  http://vetbook.org/wiki/cat/index.php/Vestibular_disorders.  I found that the use of the antibiotic ENROFLOXACIN  or BAYTRIL can cause temporary blindness in cats through retinal degeneration: http://www.spcai.org/get-involved/learn/animal-advice/baytril-blindness-and-your-cat/.  I strongly recommend you check your ear medications for any of these drugs and alert your vet to the dangers and desist administering if any dodgy stuff is found.  There are alternative antibiotics and treatments in the above article.  Also, the use of ear medicines may cause ototoxicity and vestibular dysfunction leading to deafness, tilted head, circling, and general confusion  http://www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?id=3850132&pid=8768.

Sorry about all the long, complicated medical words and articles, they were the easiest I could find in a mirky soup of elaborate white-coated publications, which were a bit too gobbledygook for the likes of me. 

In photo 5 he looks very young.  He looks as though he needs to use his paw to find the bowl's edge or for balance.  Wide, shallow bowls that are broad enough to accommodate all whiskers are preferred by many cats, especially ones with super spidey senses.  He also looks well groomed and fastidious in his early years but his coat doesn't look so well kempt in his more recent photos, pointing to his getting on in years but also because he's suffering a multitude of complaints, poor thing.  Does he have a smidgen of cat chin acne in the last photo, which is a bacterial infection mainly caused by drinking out of plastic bowls, which have micropores and so harbour bacteria? It looks like wee black bits of dirt or grit. 

In photo 6 is that an electronic cigarette holder that you so ingeniously utilised for a sling?  I mention it because of his "dramatic sneezing" that you are presently treating with antihistamine.  Can I ask which antihistamine he's been prescribed?  He may be chronically allergic to dust, cigarette smoke or vapour, powders (what kind of litter do you use?), perfumes, deodorants, air-fresheners etc.  Also, you mention living in a basement flat, can I ask if there might be damp or possible mould spores?  I lived in a basement flat and suffered terribly from both.  These things can also aggravate allergies.  And if it's chilly, my flat was like an ice-box, you may have covered or stuffed the air vents and not open windows, brrrrrr; however, ventilation is essential for an indoor cat with allergies.  And if his nose is snotty and sneezy, his sense of smell will be compromised and add to his general peculiarities, that's assuming he has hearing problems and hyped up stealth whiskers, of course.

What kind of food do you give him?  Vitamin A toxicity is also an outside possibly, but very slim, considering your other cats are healthy.

How many litter trays do you have?  Is it three cats that live with you?  That one of the females aggressively grooms and winds up Kanine could be a sign of territorial dispute and bullying. 

What are the "obnoxious things" that he's started doing again since his sight returned?  And what is his history of "behavioural and litter" issues?  

He could have hypertension or high blood pressure that has caused his retinas to temporally detach.  Hypertension can be caused by a number of disorders, including hyperthyroidism, diabetes, and kidney disease.  It's probably worth asking your vet to take his blood pressure.

However, from my somewhat rambling deduction, my bet is on his ear medication is to blame for his temporary blindness.  That his clumsiness is due to partial deafness and recurrent vestibular disfunction.  And his behavioural problems are just one of those things when sharing with other cats, especially if he's the subordinate due to being a bit different.  If you tell us more details about their interaction, we might be able to offer some solutions.  

There was likely more I had to offer but my brain has slipped. Time for bed, me thinks. 

AND IF I'VE GOT ALL THIS WAY OFF THE MARK, PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND ACCEPT MY APOLOGIES.  I only wish to help unravel your mystery and save you all stress, money, and necessary treatment programs, whilst figuring out the best course of action.  If any of this does make sense; however, please say, as I may be able to offer some simple remedies.

 

Brian007 said:

AND IF I'VE GOT ALL THIS WAY OFF THE MARK, PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND ACCEPT MY APOLOGIES. I only wish to help unravel your mystery and save you all stress, money, and necessary treatment programs, whilst figuring out the best course of action. If any of this does make sense; however, please say, as I may be able to offer some simple remedies.

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He was confirmed blind because, apart from personal observation, when light was shined (shone? both look wrong) in his eyes his pupils stayed fully dilated and he didn't blink.

Those weren't the type of ear meds we gave him. It was something I looked into back then. One of the causes of my own hearing loss could be antibiotics when I was first born, so it was something I took seriously at the time.

I don't think it's deafness, though the ear that had infection may not be great just due to infection, and I don't doubt that vestibular function was/is an issue because that stuck around even after he could see again. It's just clear to me that there is more going on. He was playing with a mouse toy in one of my videos entirely on hearing it. We had another cat who went deaf (well, my partner's mom's cat, but she lives upstairs so it's basically the same thing; I was the first to catch it... I guess because I can relate?). I'm definitely familiar with the signs.

All his tests come back normal, he's pretty healthy for a fat old man.

...electronic cigarette holder? That is a sock attached to a cat harness. We are a totally nonsmoking home.

Syl has always been bossy, and basically wants to run the house. Even as a kitten she'd shove her own mother out of the food dish...

Unfortunately, after many months of doing pretty well and returning to normal, to the point of taking down the baby gate and putting away the crate, he started some vague symptoms again - pacing, anxious, things that happen now and then so we didn't worry - and on Christmas his vision became impaired again, though not to the same degree, and he has weakness in his legs. There have been no new medications or changes in environment.

Personally, I think it's going to be a meningioma. It would explain the benefit of the prednisone - doubly true since we halted the prednisone after he developed blood in his stool (we saw a vet for this). It was never 100% nailed down that the meds are what caused it so we are putting him back on until we get imaging done; a risk/benefit judgement on our part. I'm keeping a close eye. At the time he had the stomach issues, though, they had done tests, including either sonogram or ultrasound (I am waaaaay out of it right now, can't sleep). That was totally clear as well - they looked around a bit at the rest of his abdomen while he was there.

The only thing left to do at this point is imaging of his brain (blindness, confusion, trembling legs - nervous system is clearly affected), so we are seriously considering a neuro specialist. He handled everything pretty well for how terrifying it must have been the last time, and recovered really well, so it's possible this is very much a thing worth fighting. Or we confirm it's not something we can fight and just go the route of treating symptoms. At the very least, something for the anxiety/pacing at night.

He's giving kisses, he can be encouraged to purr, and cat treats drive him totally wild. Those are the Kanine metrics.

rampionrampage , I'm ever so sorry to hear that Kanine has relapsed but heartened that he has had a relatively healthy and happy life in the intervening months. Thank you for updating your post; I have my fingers crossed for you all.

I must say, you have an extremely good grasp on all things. I'm impressed. I believe that Kanine couldn't be in better hands than yours.

Brian007 said:

rampionrampage , I'm ever so sorry to hear that Kanine has relapsed but heartened that he has had a relatively healthy and happy life in the intervening months. Thank you for updating your post; I have my fingers crossed for you all.

I must say, you have an extremely good grasp on all things. I'm impressed. I believe that Kanine couldn't be in better hands than yours.

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Thank you.
I found a place that is reasonably close with a neurology specialist/radiology/oncology etc, so we're going to give them a call. I guess this time around it's not as panic inducing because it's not as bad and he did bounce back well, and is otherwise super healthy... maybe surgery for a meningioma could work. If that is what it is and it's operable.

Don't know if the prednisone as soon as the worse symptoms started showing is what halted the symptoms from going as severe as last time (where he went totally blind, pupils constantly dilated)... right now they do constrict a fair amount and he can track moving objects if there is light. Hopefully the prednisone wasn't the cause of his recent upset because it seems unlikely that it doesn't help.