Blind Kitten?

I have a 3 week old kitten, whose eyes have been fully open for around a week.

When will I know if she can see properly or not? She doesn't appear to be able to see well at all. Occasionally it looks like she can see you, but she doesn't follow your finger if you wave it infront of her eyes and she just seems to be directed by vibration at this point.

I think she may also be deaf as her ears don't move if you click near them (She is also an all white kitten)

Any suggestions? People who have had kittens this age if you could let me know how your kittens developed?

Thanks

I have heard it may happen, they both deaf AND blind.

If so, you must decide yourself what to do.

Good luck!

My kits all had their eyes open at 1.5 wks old. You might want to check with a vet?

Well, either way - Whether deaf/blind/both/neither I will be keeping her - She's my little baby girl!!!

Good for you! She will do just fine...especially if she is staying with you and does`nt have to change her environment. They adjust just like people. You`ll be amazed !

Originally Posted by jane_vernon

I think she may also be deaf as her ears don't move if you click near them (She is also an all white kitten)


Thanks

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I don't understand..... is it more common for white kittens to be blind or deaf?

Most all white kittens, especially if they are male and if they have blue eyes will be deaf. I'm not sure why this is.

And blue eyed cats can have a tendancy to be blind - But this is definately not in all cases.

What was the vet's opinion of her sight and hearing Jane?

At the moment he is not too worried - We are still trying to get her pooping right!

She seems to be responding a little to sound and appears to be able to see - But again, I think I will wait until she is a little older to really tell.

Plus, she may have cerebellar hypoplasia - I'm currently looking up journals about it - But she may also just be a wobbly kitten getting used to her feet!!

I think I'm worrying too much because she was orphaned so young and I want her to be ok!

Originally Posted by jane_vernon

Most all white kittens, especially if they are male and if they have blue eyes will be deaf. I'm not sure why this is.

And blue eyed cats can have a tendancy to be blind - But this is definately not in all cases.

Click to expand...

That is too strange! Is there an explaination for this at all?? Or is it an unknown mystery?

I could very well be wrong here, but ... here goes:

First, kittens ARE wobbly. They stay that way until they are about 7 or 8 weeks old. They are clumsy, shaky, fall over a lot. It is just the way of kittens.

Second, kittens are born both deaf and blind. Once their eyes open, it is usually a couple of weeks before they can actually focus and follow movement. Their ears start to open at around the same time as the eyes normally, but they come into this world depending their other senses to acclimate to their environment.

I think you may be overly cautious and might be looking for something to actually be wrong. As my father always used to say, "Don't borrow trouble. It finds you well enough all on it's own."

Step back, take a deep breath and relax. Enjoy your baby and stop looking at everything in such a way as to see a potential problem.

~gf~

Hehe...Yes, Gayef I totally agree - I know they are born deaf and blind - I'm just worried that I'm not doing things right for her as I have had her since she was 2 days old.

I'll take a step back and just take some photos instead of looking for trouble!!!

She is exceptionally cute!!

I presume the deaf/blind phenomenon in white/blue eyed cats is similar to albinos who often have eye problems - It must be something to do with the pigmentation.

As to the hearing, I'm not really sure, must just be genetic defect that comes with being white - Maybe like "black" person (I use that term because I can't think of a better, I'm not being racist) is more susceptible to sickle cell anemia.

Yes Jane, where are the pictures??

If it helps my kittens were like that around that age.
I would move my finger and hand and he wouldn't follow.
But now they are very aware of their surroundings and have devoloped more regarding reflexes. (Ie: stare at his face, blow, he jumps back automatically)
Their eyes are both turning green now and they're about 7 weeks give or take.

I have a white kitten with one blue eye and it took me quite a while to figure if he could hear. I kept thinking, "well, he sees the other cats running to me," etc. But he's just fine.

If the kitten has green eyes, you're probably ok. You won't be able to tell the color for a while, but I noticed that the retinas photograph red in the blue eye and greenish blue in the green eye. So you could look at photographs to figure out the eye color.

The deafness comes from (very NOT technical explanation here) the development of cells around the neural crest in the brain, which is very near where the eye and ear cells are in the beginning development of the kitten. Lack of pigmentation somehow keeps these cells from developing. My apologies if I totally mucked that up. I hadn't heard that blue eyes were more likely to be blind. Not sure if that's true.

If I remember correctly, they're pretty wobbly for a few weeks as well, so you may be ok with that - good luck, I hope she's ok!

Ok, here are some pictures of my baby

This is her only 3 days old


This is her at about 2 weeks


This is her having a nap with my fiance

Oh my! She's so tiny!

She sure is!!! But getting bigger and stronger every day so one day she'll be able to beat up her brother!!

Oh she's beautiful! You're doing a great job with her.