Am looking for tips on a blind kitten I will be adopting next week, any and all advice will be welcomed.
Thanks,
Irish
We had a kitten that was partially blind and had a head injury and it was a challenge, but we fell in love with her. Try not to move the litter box around because it is fatal to potty training! Same with food and water. If you have stairs in your home you may want to put up baby gates until kitty is more able to accomodate herself. As kittens a little fall down the stairs is scary. As they get older, even when blind, will pick up the skills needed and will go by hearing and smells. It is amazing how they adapt!
Good for you! I was an owner to a blind calico kitty for 15 years. As others have suggested try to keep your furniture in the same place, or only move one item and leave that for a while before you move another. My cat was faithful to use the litter box and was one of the cleaner users too!
We adopted a 5 month old mostly blind kitten 1.5 years ago. If yours is like mine, there is not a lot that you have to do differently than you would with a sighted kitten. Keep him inside ONLY! I do this anyway, although he and one of my cats get supervised outings in the back yard.
It was so funny the first time he walked on grass...he looked like a Tennessee Walker horse. He most likely sees shadows and very bright lights (he tries to attack the floor lamp bulb when it is next to the couch at night). We started him off in one room (with food, water, litter, toys) by using moving boxes to block doors. Then we enlarged his living area by a room or two at a time. He progressed much faster than we expected. We have two other cats, so this was also a good way to introduce the new guy.
When it came to the stairs, we blocked the bannisters since it is a one-story drop from the top. They are still blocked since he is a very brave kitty and would probably try jumping (he jumps off the couch, the table, the bathroom counter).
When he was first in the dining room, he would get stuck on the table. I taught him to feel the back of the chair down to where the seat is, then he was fine jumping to the floor. Eventually he jumped straight off the table. I think it is good at first to keep everything the same (not moving furniture, etc.), but eventually try changing things if you like. Our cat loves exploring, and a moved piece of furniture or a laundry basket in the hall adds some excitement to his day. I move things once in a while and he still barrels around the house at full speed. I've never seen him smack into anything, but maybe that's because he can barely see light/dark.
Good toys are - wadded up small paper bags and the round cardboard scratcher with the ball that goes around it (he didn't like the one that doesn't have the scratcher in the middle). He used to have a hard plastic ball with divets in it. The divets slowed the ball down and made it wobble; the hard plastic was loud on our hardwood floor, so he could hear where it went. He also sometimes likes his crinkle-sack tunnel.
He also has a toy that is a carpet-mouse with a long spring with a ball and bell at the end of the spring. He likes to grab it by the ball and drag it around the house. I cleaned out the pet store of any toy that made noise and these were the hits. For the most part, he's no different than any other indoor cat. Have fun!
We have had a blind kitty since she was born 2 years ago. The veternarian told us she would be difficult and that we should not feel bad putting her to sleep. The vet could not have been more wrong. She has been the best furry friend we have ever had.
In February my wife and I adopted Pearl, a blind kitten from our local pet store affiliated with a rescue house. She was found stuck between/under a fence and had apparently been there a couple of days. She was malnourished and dehydrated but recovered well. We read her medical history and she developed pain in her eyes which was making her increasingly irritable and aggressive.
After they realized the medication they were giving her wasn't helping her, they felt the best solution was to remove her eyes. After the procedure, she got better and returned her to a friendlier attitude. My wife fell in love with her immediately when she saw her and after several interviews we were selected as capable parents. We are learning quite a bit from her, but I feel like we lack the cat parenting skills. This is the first cat for both of us and we could be better had we known more about the basics of kittens/cats before hand. However, we have absolutely no regrets and Pearl is doing awesome!
She is amazingly full of energy and God knows what she does when we're not around. She actively tears through our apartment, leaping on the sofa and her cat gym. She has on occasion been unable to accept the scientific law of momentum and caught the corner the sofa, or a wall, or a leg and been chagrinned into slowing down for a moment. Being blind is not a problem for her as her sense of spatial distances is pretty impressive.
We have a few questions about things we've experience with Pearl which we aren't sure are normal behaviors or attitudes.
1. Even after buying her cardboard scratchers that you can sprinkle catnip in, she still has a habit of clawing the carpet and completely ignores the scratchers. I clip her nails to help reduce the damage and have a spray bottle handy and a firm "No!" if I catch her doing it. Unfortunately it's become a game to her where she'll do it once, then wait to hear if I'm coming. She's smart, but is there something else I'm missing? I've thought about buying carpet squares as an alternative to cardboard but she just adores the carpet. I want to correct this before she turns to the sofa. She'll occasionally use the corner of a wall so maybe a vertical scratcher will work instead?
2. She sneezes. More frequently than before, but not as frequently enough to be concerned...or is it? I've heard her sneeze (absolutely cute when cat does it) but when my wife sneezes, she'll literally toss out 5 of them before she's finished. Doesn't mean my wife is sick, so how much concern should I have when Pearl does it? There are no other visible signs of distress, no pain, no moaning or crying. I'm not too concerned, but my wife has mentioned it a few times. She has experience with rabbits, but rabbits hide their ailments.
3. I understand that cats give love and affection on THEIR time. When she wants to be pet, she'll definitely make it known by completely crawling up into our business. She pretty much has us trained and if we had tails to wag when she decided to shower us with her attention, we would wag them. Should we just accept this as common cat behavior or is her blindness slightly keeping her from being more affectionate? This kind of ties into my next question.
4. Over stimulation. What's the trick? She has a tendency to attack (playfully?) every hand/foot that comes into her reach. We have scratch and teeth marks on our hands, but we know she's not playing for keeps as it wouldn't be difficult for her to pierce our flesh if she wanted too. Is this another kitten/cat issue that we will gradually come to accept over time?
Anyways, Pearl is fantastic! Every day when I come home from work I'll find her at the top of the stairs, on her side or belly up waiting for me to walk through the door. I'll greet her with a hello and give her a back-arching scratch and rub down her spine. I accept this as "her time". She is so amazed by the bathtub that whenever we are in the bathroom, she'll leap into the tub and "peer" at us over the side.
She follows us all the time and we've learned to be very cautious where we walk as we don't want to give her the boot or step on her. Collared bells don't work because she looks ridiculous in them.
Pearl has definitely set the standard when it comes to owning a cat. She's full of energy, curiosity and nothing seems to get in her way. She is so brave that when playing, she ALWAYS has to get in the last swat. If we ever own another cat, they'll have big paws to fill.
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I have a 6 month old kitten that was abandoned at birth. We found out at her 2nd vet visit for vaccinations that she's blind; maybe sees shadows. She is tiny and very slow so there may be some issues there. This is my first cat so I have no other experience to compare her to. She is very behind. She sucked a bottle until she was 4 months and just started using the litter box recently and she's 6 months. She used to want me to hold her and she went everywhere I went.
Now she growls and hisses like she will eat me alive when I pick her up, but although she acts like she's going to bite, she stops when her mouth touches skin. She still hisses, but doesn't bite. She has a path that she knows well and runs through the house chasing lord knows what, doing her psycho kitty growls and hisses. My question is, is this normal? Is she just now being the playful kitten she should have been months ago? Will she outgrow this behavior? Am I being selfish for keeping her? Should I have let the vet do what he suggested when we figured out she was blind? I love her, but fear the growling and hissing is because she is in pain. Would spaying help? She's just made it to 2 pounds and the vet wants her at 5 for spaying. When she's crazy wild I wrap her in her blanket and give her a pacifier (yes she sucks a paci. It was the only way to calm her when we took her bottle away).
I did notice the aggressive like behavior started when my neighbor found 5 abandoned kittens in his yard. I bottle fed them (only 2 survived) and found them homes. It was also around that same time that we weaned her from the bottle. Her crazy cat behavior did not stop when the others left for their new homes.
It sounds like she is being over protective of the home and her space. Remember she is blind and feels like other cats are getting in her way. If she does not stop this bvehavior you should try to fix her. Normally you can fix her at 6 months and it is a good idea to do this. Just talk to her and let her know you are there and try and let her smeall you and be with you again. Try to clean the home and get rid of the other cat order in your home. For now I would try not to bring in other cats in your home and let her adjust. I have a friend who has a blind cat and they are much differnt than cats that can see. They only know asmall area in the hme and feel safe in this zone only.
I am sure the other cats made her feel insecure, but that should have stopped. She could have other issues. Pets can be given medication to help with anxiety and aggression.
I think you are overthinking the kittens behavior. First of all, I wouldnt advise dressing her up. Strange sensations of clothing on her body could be too stimulating for her nervous system. She will learn her way around the house and gain confidence from consistency in her routine and her food and bathroom areas. Dont expect her to learn new areas every day. She will gradually grow up and adapt to her situation in due time. Good luck!
She is so cute! Good on you for giving her a chance. I think you will be surprised at how well she adapts. I have a rescue kitty that is partially paralyzed. He has adapted and has a good life. I adjust his environment to make things easy and rewarding for him. He truly enjoys his days and that is the bottom line. I had a number of Vets give me a fishy eyed stare when I would bring him in. Several of them have adjusted their thinking on this issue. It sounds to me like you pay close attention to how your kitten responds to her environment and you adjust accordingly. That is all you can do. You will always have doubts and questions. We never really know what is coming around the bend. Take it day by day. That will be good enough.
I neglected to mention that rescues and many Vets will spay your kitten when it reaches 2 lbs. They are concerned about adjusting the anesthesia based on body weight. They are accustomed to doing an anesthesia on a 5 lb. animal. But many many spays have been done in rescues on 2 lb. kittens with good results. It is very commonplace now. Call around and see if you can find a Vet who is comfortable with it.
You're doing something incredibly compassionate by caring for this kitten. Bless you. The article at pets.thenest.com/
