Caring For and Training a Blind Cat

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RE: Caring For and Training a Blind Cat

(Submitted via email)

My blind kitten tiny is so sweet. He gets into the bath tub and finally figured how to get out. instead of lifting him out. I let him try to get out on his own and he did it just fine. He is so funny to watch. I am amazed how well he has adapted to his surroundings. he buzzes around all day long.

Judy

Post by Sappie

RE: Caring For and Training a Blind Cat

We have a house full of animals- 2 ratties in my library/office, along with a fish that ended up not going to college with my daughter. We also just got a puppy (hoping he stays as sweet as he is) 2 weeks ago and have 13 indoor cats. I know this sounds a bit much, but we live in the country and most of the cats are indoor-outdoor...whenever they can con one of us into being a doorman.

One of our cats had a small surprise litter-outside... she is plump and we had no idea she was pregnant! The male is healthy and silly and the female developed herpes on her eyes, which resulted in terrible ulceration and infection. She responded to antibiotics and the infection cleared only to reveal that her eyes had already atrophied. Needless to say, she is and indoor kitty and is loved by all.

The other cats clean her and she seems to have some sort of inner sense of where things are- even over the holidays and even when things are moved. When something is changed, we carefully put her there, show her how to get up and down and monitor how she deals with the "new thing". Believe it or not, with the exception of a little puppy rough-housing, which she actually seems to LIKE, this cat is totally comfortable in the house. It is almost like she has sonar whiskers.

Except for never letting her out, she has friends, toys (which she finds by some unknown means) and our love. When a toy went under the refrigerator while she was playing with it, she sat and "stared" at the spot until another cat came over and actually got it out and pushed it toward her. NEVER underestimate the power of cats' inner sense or communication with other cats. This little girl is growing and strong- and will be our pet for a long time.

Post By Karen (Guest Post)

RE: Caring For and Training a Blind Cat

(sent by email)
I recently wrote a guide to caring for blind cats which is available on www.catprofessional.com I am a veterinary ophthalmologist. I hope that it would help some people to get some useful insight into the special needs of a blind cat and how they can lead a wonderful and fulfilling life. Thanks, Natasha Mitchell

Post by ThriftyFun

RE: Caring For and Training a Blind Cat

Thank y'all so much for all of your helpful experience and advice on care of blind cats. I work at a No Kill shelter in my community and 2 of my 4 cats have come from there. The other 2 are also rescued from other "kill" shelters. Our latest adoptee from the shelter was an older cat with a brain injury, but he is doing OK, better each day, we continue to pray for his progress and happiness.

There is a 22 month old cat at the Shelter that was blinded by anesthesia when she was spayed. She seems to be doing well at the shelter, used to her space and her older "spacemate." She is using the litter box, eating, and even jumping up and down to different services without problems. I am so grateful to the others at the Shelter who have provided her such specific care. I have absolutly fallen in love with her and would be blessed if I could bring her into our home.

All of your information has been very helpful, but some of it also concerns me. Litter problems out of nowhere and being picked on by other cats without resolve could be possible at my home, just as much as they may not be a problem.

My first hurdle is to convince my husband, who does none of the cat care and does not share my passion for animals; he likes cats, but to a point.

Now I am wondering the harm that will be done to the cat if I bring her home and have to return her to the shelter because "things did not work out." That would be too many changes in her environment, right? Or are blind cats more adaptable than that?

We have faced some big challenges with cats in the past, but we survived and have never had to give up a cat once it became a member of our family. We even had a male nutered cat that we loved very much that begain marking his territory all over the house to the point that we had plastic taped to the walls he frequented! We also spent a fortune on Feliway phermone spray, but we kept him because we had made a commitment by adopting him, we loved him, and he was our "child."

As you can see, my husband can be won over and devoted to our family, but I think this is the "to a point" that I mentioned. I know he will not telerate indiscriminate elimation all over the house again.

All this to say, whose needs am I trying to meet? The cat's or mine? The shelter already has a few cats that are boarderline "unadoptable" and I cannot stand to think of this loving cat living its life out in a cage. I know I can provide a loving forever home and pray that no irreversable peoblems will arise. But what if they do? Can I take that risk? I know the Shelter would take the cat back as part of their addoption agreement, so I know it would have a home if ours was not the right fit. I just feel I am able to provide that loving forever home and would like the chance to show this precious cat.

Any and all advice will be appreciated. I will continue to pray for God's guidance in this situation. I also thank God and praise Him for all of you who take a special needs animal into your home and life. I know that what you recieve in return is much more valuable than you ever expected and that makes you a witness to the special status of these animals. I also thank and praise the Lord for the shelters and special sanctuiaries that devote their lives to animals that have been abused, mistreated, neglected, or forgotten, as well as those many animalds that have "outlived their usefulness," such as greyhound dogs, racing horses, and dogs in puppy mills.

Thank you for "listening" to me and I look forward to your replies!

Rebekah

Post By Rebekah (Guest Post)

RE: Caring For and Training a Blind Cat

Hey, Leeann, etc, if you can't care for the stray, abandoned, or mistreated cats yourself, phone your local NO-KILL animal shelter. I am a foster parent for one in my city, and we keep the animals in good and loving homes, until we find permanent homes for them. I have had kittens here for as little as 3 weeks, and older cats here for a lot longer, I have one cat here who has been with me for 8 years! He has lots of health problems, but has a good life with us, and I would miss him dearly if he found another home! As for the blind cats, check out "www.CatAge.com", lots of good advice there, and about the 3 year old, I totally agree with the person who said he is worried about that child, I run a day care and this is NOT acceptable behavior! This child should NEVER be left without ADULT supervision around these small defenceless animals!

Post By Enter your name. (Guest Post)

RE: Caring For and Training a Blind Cat

We adopted a one year old totally blind cat from the Duxbury, MA animal shelter on July 14. We have four other cats, two males and two females. They all get along fine. Here's some advice from us based upon our week of experience with Stevie (and we'll never give him up):

* Don't move your furniture around and don't leave anything lying around on the floor (shoes, boxes, etc.). The blind cat will learn the layout of your home remarkably quick. Don't change things or he/she will get confused.

* Push your kitchen chairs into the table to give the blind cat a few less things to walk into.

* Talk to the cat whenever you approach it.

* Pick it up as little as you can and if you do pick it up be sure to put it down in an area that it is very familiar with so it won't get confused. For example, we always put Stevie down near his food and water bowls so he knows where he is.

* Put his food and water bowls together. Also it would help if you bought an electric powered water bowl. You can get one at any decent pet store. This will provide a sound that the cat can home in on. It works for us.

* Get an enclosed litter box.

* Don't ever move the food, water, and litter boxes once the cat figures out where they are.

* Buy some strongly scented catnip toys and toys that make noise. Stevie loves these little balls made of foil-like pastic that makes a crinkling noise. He goes right after them.

* Be aware that the blind cat will get around by touch, sound, and by smell. Be sensitive to this and don't try to overwealm the cat's senses. Keep the TV and stereo volume down. If you have to make a loud noise, such as using the vacuum cleaner, go pat the cat a bit first to put him/her at ease before you start.

* Be careful, especially at night, that you don't step on the cat.

* Try to give him/her a little extra attention. Remember, the cat can't see so anything you can do to bring the cat into your activities will be a big help.

* DON'T EVER LET THE CAT OUTSIDE!

We really love our blind cat. He's been no problem at all to us. He found the food, water, and litter box and there have been NO problems with him what-so-ever. He even walks up and down our stairs.

Marc

Post By Marc F (Guest Post)

RE: Caring For and Training a Blind Cat

Tawnda,

I'm so sorry to hear about your kitten's plight, and I hope the others' suggestions here will help.

But I'm concerned about the three-year-old...I've never known a child who, upon hurting a pet by accident, didn't immediately feel horrified and guilty. It worries me that the child not only threw a tantrum, but even threw the other kitty--after seeing what had happened to the first.

The three-year-old really needs to be made to understand how serious this is. Though he's young, he's definitely old enough to understand the concept of treating other people and creatures as he would like to be treated. Throwing the other cat is a VERY worrisome sign, and really needs to be addressed before he enters school.

With the way teachers and educators want to pump pills into kids with even the slightest behavioral problems, it's essential to nip this sort of aggression in the bud. :-)

Post by WildIrish

RE: Caring For and Training a Blind Cat

Gwen said it all. I have a blind dog and cat we adopted from the shelter here in Turkey. They are both happy and healthy. Don't change the layout of your house; she will quickly learn where everything is. Talk to her constantly. I would probably be committed if anyone heard my rambling monologues! check out www.blinddogs.com for some excellent insight into the world of blind pets. As they say, "Blind cats see with their hearts". Sharon in Turkey

Post by kidzrus

RE: Caring For and Training a Blind Cat

I have a cat who went blind at 3 weeks old--and he's now 12! And such a happy little guy! Do NOT put your blind kitten down!

Caring for a blind cat isn't much more difficult or any more expensive than caring for a sighted one. There's not much you need to do, really, but here are a few common-sense tips:

1. Keep his litter, food, and water in the same place, ALWAYS. What I did with my blind kitten was to put him in his litter box, then let him find his way out. Then I put him in front of his food bowl, and again let him walk away when he was ready. Your cat will memorize where these things are--and he'll develop an INCREDIBLE sense of smell, which will help him. Your cat should have no trouble at all!

2. Keep an uncluttered home. Your cat will memorize how to get around in your home, so help him out by not leaving shoes, clothes, or anything else lying around that might trip him up or confuse him.

3. Childproof cabinets where you keep cleansers, and keep the toilet lid closed at all times. My blind cat is an explorer, believe it or not! I keep the toilet lid down so he won't accidentally fall in, and I bought inexpensive childproof "locks" for the cabinets where I keep cleansers, just to make sure he doesn't get into them.

4. Don't leave plastic bags lying around. This has actually never been a problem for me, but I always worry that Homer (my blind cat) might get tangled up in a plastic bag and not be able to figure out how to untangle himself--so I don't leave them lying around.

5. Talk to him! Your voice will be your blind kitten's way into the world. He'll love hearing you! So talk to him, pet him, and let him know he's loved!

6. Let him follow you around for a while. When I first got Homer, he followed me around--constantly--until he figured out where everything was. I helped him by walking around more slowly and with louder footsteps than I usually do--just at first until he got to know his surroundings.

Honestly, I hardly even remember anymore that my little guy is blind, he gets around so well! Yours will too--and he'll astound you every day with all the things he can do, even though he's blind. Good luck!

Post By Gwen (Guest Post)

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