Help with blinding kitty

Hey guys...wondering if you could help me out with something. I have a friend whose kitty is going blind due to an injury received from being hit by a car. She asks:

She's only a year old and i was wondering how well she'd be able to adapt to this sudden disability and what changes to our normal routine we out to make to accomodate this. the cats are normally left outside for a good 5-6 hours whilst the family are at work, and i'm worried that we will have to give her up to somewhere with someone home all the time.

Does anyone have anything they can lend to this?

If this is the wrong forum section to post this, let me know.

My Damita(foster) is mostly blind. She still has some sight, although minimal. Damita is 5 years old & went blind about 2-3 years ago.(vets guess) She was living outside. It was horrible for her. She always hid in one spot, she was unable to defend herself, I won't go on.

First of all, this kitty needs to be inside 24/7. If outside, she could get hit by a car(she obviously already was) or get attacked. She will be defenseless. Don't take that as harsh or the wrong way. I don't know of another way to put it & stress so much that she should be indoors.

Second, don't move furniture much. I found that when I move furniture, I move one thing at a time & only do so when necessary. Then I spray a light citrus scent something or other(room freshner, usually) & that helps Damita to "see" her way around.

Third, work out a system or meet & greets. Damita prefers it when I greet her by calling her name 5 times & snapping my fingers. She comes trotting over, sometimes slowly.

Fourth, don't let kids/cats/dogs scare her much. Damita has pooped herself when she got really scared by a dog.

If this kitty is going blind slowly, then she should adapt as well as can be expected when a cat is loosing it's eyesight. If your friend has any other questions, I don't mind offering any advice I can. Although, usually I'm useless...

Blind cats are cats that just happen to not be able to see.

Blind cats can do pretty much everything that a seeing cat can do. One of the only things I have found that stops a blind cat cat is a gate, fence or wall. Blind cats can climb trees (they tend to back down feet first to get down), climb on cabinets, etc.

Some things that will make it easier on your blind cat to live with you. Try to stay somewhat consistant on the important things, the litter box and their food. For the rest of the house, live normal, they will go around things. If you watch a blind cat, you will see that they point their whiskers out so the whiskers will brush against something typically before they hit it.

If you pick up your blind cat and move him/her from point A to point B, try to put your cat down where they have a good idea of where they are. Example, at their litter box, their food, or where the floors have different textures - that way he/she know where they are.

Bottom line they will adjust and live pretty normal and happy lives.

Thank you so much for your advice!! I'll let her know. I'm sure it will help quite a lot.

I'm in total agreement with white cat lover---this kitty must become an indoor-only cat. I've lived with 2 blind cats (they became blind slowly as they aged), and above all you must be consistent. Talking to them is helpful, as they can follow the sound of your voice, know when you're close to them, etc. A cat should be able to adapt to being blind without much trouble, but I must repeat---she needs to be indoors-only.

Sad news. Her kitty died. Her injuries were just too extensive, and there wound up being a significant amount of brain damage.

Poor little kitty cat...she's happy now, though, and hopefully she didn't have to suffer long.

Thank you so much for your help, though, guys.

Oh the poor kitty! Please pass my condolences along to your friend.

I will...thank you for the advice you gave, though! She really appreciated it.

A blind cat should NEVER been allowed outside without supervision! They are risking this cat dying early - car, dog, etc.

They need to start keeping the cat inside and only taking it outside on a leash for a short time. Tables, chairs, sofas, beds, etc. should be left where they are and not changed around often. The cat will adjust to blindness and "feel" his way around the room. If they make constant changes in moving a chair, table, then the cat will run into them and it will be harder on the cat in adjustment.

Since this kitty has passed I'm closing the thread.