eyesight - behaviour

malena

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I just had a close look at one of the feral mamas, Agnes, who has been living with us for two month and a bit. Finally her eyes are clearing up after six days of antibiotic treatment. She has had poring eyes with constantly infected skin around them and dark spots in the fur below them, since I saw her the first time. Now I had a good view since she was sitting still watching, as her babies was climbing all over me.
I have noticed before that she doesn't blink at me as the other mama, Moa, does. Now she was really staring at me, and her pupils seem to be slightly displaced. They are not in the middle of the eye but pointing slightly outwards. It hit me that she might not see properly after being infected with Chlamydia probably since birth. I guess she is about a year now.
I moved my hand, slowly not to spook her, and she doesn't follow the movement as the kittens do. Either she keep staring at me or at my hand but not the movement. When I talk soft with her for a while she blinks at me but not when she see me. I don't want to take her to the vet again since that would just be another trauma and it isn't possible to give her any close up treatment yet. I am happy she eats the antibiotics in raw meat.
I don't think she is blind but she might see very poorly.
Could this explain why she still is so afraid for us compared to Moa? And is there any other friendly communication I can use if she doesn't see my face clearly? Could this also explain why she is so talkative with her kittens? Wild cats are normally quiet and Moa never say a "word" but Agnes is constantly talking to her babies and a really worried mama.
What more should I look for to determine how bad it is?
By the way - it is her babies in the signature picture.
 

larke

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You definitely should take her to be seen, chlamydia can affect other systems that may not be obvious to you even now. But until you do, try hard not to change things around at home any more often than necessary - get an idea of her 'walking paths' that she uses to go places and keep them clear if possible, and don't introduce any more new scents or unfamiliar noises than necessary. But even if she is blind, as long as she does stay inside, she'll get along fine, lots of other animals do (and they do have better 'other' senses than we do to begin with).
 
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malena

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Thanks for the reply.

I am sure she is not blind but she seem to see bad. She has been seen by a vet when she was spayed four weeks ago and had then an antibiotica shot aginst the Chlamydia but it was not enough. She is now on antibiotics since seven days and so are the rest of the cats. It is not untill now I can get close to her with food and make sure she eats it with antibiotcs in it.
We live in a renovation objekt. There is no way i can protect her from changes and sounds. We are doing our best by building a catgarden so we can close the cats of in the garden and in our bathroom and kitchen with a cat-door to the catgarden. Next week we are taking the roof of the house and if not done both we and the cats will freeze to death this winter or the existing roof will fall down on us. The upper floor is already gone exept for the corners and the old roof full of holes.
The antibiotica really helps. Her eyes is dry for the first time since I met her. She eats, drinks and plays with the other cats. She is gaining wait and becoming really beautifull with shining fur.
To take her to the vet again I would have to trap her and I dont think she would fall for that again. That is how we first captured her and it took two days. This is a smart cat. The vet would not be able to touch her without putting her to sleep. We have a weekly contact with the vet about these cats and we will take them all to the vet for vaccination and having a chip but it has to wait untill they are a little more safe with us and healthy. We are slowly getting there but with all the treatments the kittens have had for Chlamydia it is taking time. It was a 24/7 job to save their eyes.
The bad eyesight is probably due to old scar tissue on the lins and it is no cure for that.
She responds positive on my voice but is still so shy that it can take three hours to get her alone with that piece of meat with antibiotics.
Is there anything else I can do to communicate that I am friendly than blinking? Her kittens (the two youngest) are doing the best to help me with the socialization process since they are partly bottle fed and more than tame but still she is the difficult one. The other mama is almost hand tame by now.
 
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