Blind Cat – Everyday Life with a Handicap
Blindness is a challenge for a cat and its owner, but it does not have to prove to be an insurmountable obstacle. Your house cat can lead a happy life
despite a handicap . If your cat is affected, you can support it in everyday life. We explain how you can do this, how a cat can become blind in the first place and how it changes as a result, with the help of influencer Carolin and her experiences with her blind and half-blind cat Liah and Luna.
Caro explains what she wants to do with her account:
"I think that many people are deterred by a handicap in a cat. For example, it is assumed that they cannot lead a happy life, that they find it difficult to cope, that they need a lot of support, that they cannot play or that higher veterinary costs are incurred. Therefore, it is certainly more difficult for cats with disabilities to find a home. I hope that with our account we can show how great blind cats cope with their everyday lives and that there are almost no restrictions for them."
Blind cat – possible causes
Blindness in your cat can be caused by numerous factors and conditions , such as:
- Cataract: This is a clouding of the lens that impairs vision. Cataracts can be hereditary or the result of other diseases such as diabetes or severe injuries.
- Glaucoma: In this disease, which is painful for cats, the intraocular pressure is increased because aqueous humor cannot drain properly. This can cause complete blindness in the cat.
- Infections e.g. Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP): FIP is caused by the feline coronavirus . The viral infectious disease was long considered deadly and incurable, but now cat owners can breathe a sigh of relief when the disease is diagnosed in their furry noses: Drugs have been developed that can enable affected cats to live a normal life.
- High blood pressure: Increased blood pressure can lead to retinal detachment , which severely affects vision. Drugs that relieve the heart can normalize the blood pressure of the animals and prevent the detachment of the retina.
- Inflammation: Various inflammations such as conjunctivitis can also lead to blindness if left untreated.
- Other diseases: In addition, various diseases such as an eye or brain tumor can cause blindness.
This is how influencer Caro learned about the blindness of her cats:
"We found Liah at night on the street in front of our holiday apartment and therefore didn't immediately notice that she was blind. When we arrived at our apartment, we found out that she no longer had eyes – probably due to cat flu. When I found Liah, she got an antibiotic ointment for her eye sockets because they were slightly inflamed. Since the operation, during which her eyes were closed, she no longer needs any medicine. Luna had her eye on a chlamydia infection, which is common in cats, but is usually easily treatable. However, due to her weakened immune system at the time, no treatment worked for her and one eye ultimately had to be removed."
Recognizing a blind cat – these are the signs
When a cat loses its vision, there are certain signs to look out for. These can help you recognize blindness:
- Disorientation: Your cat bumps into furniture or objects.
- Changed behavior: She is more anxious or reserved than usual. Some cats can also become aggressive, for example out of insecurity due to the new situation. Your cat may also become more skittish if it goes blind and flinch at noises that have not previously caused it any problems.
- Couch potato: You should also pay attention if your cat, which is usually outside, suddenly doesn't want to go out or is less active than before.
If you notice physical or behavioral changes in your cat, you should visit a veterinarian to clarify the cause. If an illness is behind it, early diagnosis can help to reduce health consequences.
The Eyes of a Blind Cat
You can recognize blindness or incipient blindness in your cat by looking at changes in the eye , such as:
- dilated pupils – cats suffering from glaucoma are often affected
- Photosensitivity,
- white or milky eye, e.g. in the case of a cataract
- clouding of the lens,
- reddened,
- irritable or
- strongly protruding eyes.
- changes in eye color and
- constant squinting of the eyes due to pain.
Caring for a blind cat - what to do?
The method of dealing with incipient or advanced blindness in your cat varies and depends on the cause of the blindness. If the cause is a tumour, cataract or glaucoma, your vet will probably consider an operation. In the case of inflammation such as conjunctivitis, the administration of eye drops is usually sufficient. Infectious or bacterial diseases as triggers are usually treated with medication. Your vet will advise you in detail about which treatment option is suitable for your cat.
Caro reports:
"Vet visits of the two are no different from those of other cats. There are no special check-ups. The regular check-up is exactly the same for them as for other cats."
When do you have to euthanize a blind cat?
Good news: Blindness alone is not a reason to euthanize a cat! Blind cats can lead a full life. The decision to euthanize should only be considered if the cat is suffering from pain or other serious health problems that are untreatable.
Carolin also reports how well Liah deals with blindness: "We had no experience with blind cats and didn't know exactly what to expect. However, we soon realized that their blindness is not an obstacle. She quickly understood where the furniture and walls were, and after a short time she romped through our apartment, played exuberantly and just found her way around."
Acclimatizing blind cats – tips for everyday life
If your cat has been diagnosed with blindness, you can offer them support in everyday life in various ways so that they can quickly cope with the new situation. We have 6 tips for dealing with your blind cat for you:
1. Orientation in the area: Keep the apartment as constant as possible. Avoid moving furniture, the litter box or other objects in the room frequently so that your furry friend can easily orient himself in his familiar home. However, you can add protection to sharp edges and corners, which is often used for children, so that your cat doesn't hurt himself.
2. Sounds and smells: Blind cats develop a stronger sense of smell and hearing when they can no longer use their eyes. You can support the development of these senses, e.g. by offering your cat orientation by tapping with a stick: To find the way to its bowl or sleeping place, you can tap on the ground a little in front of it. If it follows the sound, repeat the knocking every few meters and finally knock on the object you have reached. If you repeat this procedure a few times, your cat will quickly remember the location and will soon be able to orient itself.
Caro talks about her settling-in period with Liah:
"It wasn't difficult to teach Liah where to find her toilet and food – I showed her that right when she moved in. Thanks to her good sense of direction, she has been heading for both unerringly ever since and nothing has ever gone wrong."
3. Promote the sense of touch and instincts: Blind cats also need a scratching post to develop their sense of touch and their natural instincts. Cats scratch] to care for their claws, to stretch or to relieve stress. If the cat has no or only limited vision, it is more dependent on its sense of touch to orient itself. If you provide your velvet paw with different surfaces to scratch and feel, for example in the form of scratching walls, you can promote its sense of touch and give it additional pleasure.
4. Maintain routines: If your cat goes blind, you should not change routines that your cat is used to. If she can rely on established behaviors, her blind everyday life is made easier. Therefore, you should keep your usual eating, playing or sleeping times as much as possible.
5. Ensure safety: Avoid sources of danger in your home so that your cat does not injure itself as a result of its restriction. You can secure open windows or the balcony with a net. You can support your kitty when going up and down a staircase or jumping on or off the windowsill or cat furniture - knocking noises help here too. However, she will quickly get used to it and save heights and the location of the stairs, so that she will soon be able to do it on her own. If your blind cat has difficulty estimating heights well, you can provide them with a climbing aid, such as a chair, so that they can continue to reach their favorite place at height.
Liah is also a climbing professional:
"Liah is very curious and likes to explore new things. She always feels her way forward with her paws to find out where and how high she has to jump. She also takes her cue from Luna to some extent. In the beginning, I had provided her with little help, such as a cardboard box as a step to the sofa. But after just a few days she had remembered the height and from then on jumped off and onto the sofa next to the box. The more often she did this, the better she was able to estimate the height and had more and more confidence in herself.
However, there is a small restriction: Liah can climb to the top and uses her entire body length to do so. Once at the top, however, she sometimes finds it difficult to find her way back down on her own. For example, when she sits in the sink again, she calls me to help her downstairs. Surprisingly, however, this only happens when I'm actually at home."
6. Talk to your cat: If you want to pet your cat or pick it up, talk to it before you touch it. So she won't be frightened and will certainly gladly allow your touch.
Keeping a blind cat occupied
Since blind cats can no longer rely on their eyesight, they are more dependent on their other senses. Therefore, you should also adapt the occupation and play possibilities of your blind velvet paw:
Exercise
Blind cats need just as much exercise as their sighted counterparts. If an indoor cat goes blind, it is used to life exclusively indoors and knows how to occupy itself by climbing. It's best to make sure that the different levels of the scratching post, scratching wall or scratching post are not too far apart so that your cat can climb and romp around even with their blindness. However, if an outdoor cat becomes blind, it will face considerable changes: Going outside alone is too dangerous, as it could easily be attacked by a dog or hit by a car without vision. To ensure that your kitten can still enjoy the great outdoors, you can keep them on a leash and take a regular walk or let them into the garden. You should also only let it into the garden with a leash. Also secure danger spots such as a pond well.
Conspecifics
If your blind cat has a fellow cat - whether sighted or blind - at its side, it can play and romp with it and does not get bored as quickly as alone.
This is how Caro keeps her cats busy:
"The way I play with both of them is not so different from that of other cat parents. With the one-eyed Luna, it can happen from time to time that she slightly misses her target when chasing her prey. I suspect that her spatial vision is limited by the missing eye.
Liah has a very good ear and loves to chase game fishing. It is important that the fishing rod touches the ground so that Liah can hear where it is. But it also works to move the toy back and forth a little more above her so that she can feel the air movements with her whiskers. In addition, both like to play football. In the beginning, I got a lot of balls for Liah that make noises. But it turned out that she prefers to play with felt balls, which roll almost silently through our apartment."
Leaving a blind cat alone
Blind cats can be left alone as long as the environment is safe and comfortable. Slowly get your cat used to staying alone by staying away for just a few minutes at first and slowly increasing the amount of time, and make sure they have access to their sleeping place, food, and litter box.
Conclusion: Sudden blindness requires an adjustment and change in the daily routine of owner and velvet paw. But after getting used to it, blind cats can lead a happy and normal life. Have you had similar experiences to Caro? Or has blindness perhaps presented you and your cat with greater challenges? Feel free to tell us about your everyday life!
_In collaboration with Caro from @liah_und_luna