Cat blindness

[Catman Carruthers]

One of our cats, who is close to 20 years old appears to have have gone both deaf and blind. She's healthy enough for her age and is eating and drinking regularly but it's so sad. She occasionally cries out for no reason, we think she's seeking reassurance that we're still here.
Not had her to the vets because she's not in pain but is there anything they could do anyway. It breaks my heart to see her bumbling around bumping into things and the fact that she won't know what is happening to her.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hello, and welcome!
She should acclimate pretty quickly, just don't move furniture around and don't put her food or water or litterbox anywhere else or anything like that. Try to keep all of the household changes to a minimum.

Keep your emotions up, because she'll be even more sensitive to that now and won't understand why you're sad. She's not reacting to this new normal like an adult human would.

we think she's seeking reassurance that we're still here.

Keep talking to her, gently loving on her and petting her, and try to be happy (she's still with you, and has your protection and love). Just in case she can still hear a little, you might try some low volume classical harp music, and there's also some harp music that has been written lately specifically for cats. There's also music with purrs in it. This might help relax her.

Was this abrupt? You might take her in anyway, in case there's something else going on that they can help with.

 

[Catman Carruthers]

One of her eyes went all bloodshot a couple of months back then it cleared up but shortly after that we realised she wasn't reacting when you waved your hand in front of her. Not sure about the deafness I think that might have come on earlier. When you walk in the room or call her she has no reaction whatsoever so I suspect she's both blind and deaf. Due to her age she's sleeping most of the day anyway. Currently on my knee so I can't move

 

[Furballsmom]

Some people with deaf kitties will thump on the floor three times, each time they enter the room to let their cat know they're there so the cat isn't startled. She sounds like she is quite calm, but I'm thinking it is still a good thing to do so that she knows.

 

[white shadow]

.
Hi C Catman Carruthers and a very warm welcome to the forum!

The most common cause of sudden blindness in older cats is high blood pressure, "hypertension". It is easily diagnosed and treated. In many cases, the vision loss can be reversed.

IF IT'S LEFT UNTREATED, the cat is likely to experience other life-threatening onsets causing seizures and heart issues.

Please get her to a Veterinarian, either your own or an emergency veterinary clinic as quickly as you can.

Arrange for that right away, afterwards these are some reliable references for you:

• Blindness, Particularly Sudden Blindness (Retinal Detachment)
• Symptoms of Hypertension

Then, keep us up to date.

​

 

[Catman Carruthers]

Thank you so much. I'll do that.

 

[silent meowlook]

I second the above. She needs to see a vet ASAP.

 

[Catman Carruthers]

I second the above. She needs to see a vet ASAP.

Hi, yes you and White Shadow were correct. She's at the vets now, couldn't get her in before yesterday, I phoned every vet in the district, some were full, I could not even register! Unfortunately the damage is unlikely to be reversible, although she still has some sight in one eye. They're taking bloods and assessing a course of medication so I'm just waiting to hear back. Her sister died on Thursday, suddenly and unexpectedly so we're hoping we can hang onto this one a while longer but obviously we wouldn't want her to be living in pain. She's happy enough, sits on my knee purring away and eating and drinking so fingers crossed.

 

[fionasmom]

Her sister died on Thursday, suddenly and unexpectedly

I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[Fergusboy]

.
Hi C Catman Carruthers and a very warm welcome to the forum!

The most common cause of sudden blindness in older cats is high blood pressure, "hypertension". It is easily diagnosed and treated. In many cases, the vision loss can be reversed.

IF IT'S LEFT UNTREATED, the cat is likely to experience other life-threatening onsets causing seizures and heart issues.

Please get her to a Veterinarian, either your own or an emergency veterinary clinic as quickly as you can.

Arrange for that right away, afterwards these are some reliable references for you:

• Blindness, Particularly Sudden Blindness (Retinal Detachment)
• Symptoms of Hypertension

Then, keep us up to date.

​

Agree with this! My 15 year old kitty developed very high blood pressure and her retinas detached, causing blindness. I sure wish I'd figured it out sooner.