I'm picking this up from the Cat Rescue forum because it's not visited as frequently as this forum so I can get responses from, hopefully, everyone who has or has had a cat who is blind or with limited vision. I know Emily has several such cats and hope she can give input.
Some of you may remember that I adopted Surya, previously called Beans, from a shelter in Ohio several years ago. He has radial hypoplasia so moves on his back legs only. His vision, never 100%, has become more and more impaired over the years.
Although I don't move the furniture around, he still walks head first into walls and cabinets quite frequently as he is moving around. He doesn't hit hard because he now walks in a slow shuffle and he seems to sense he has to move slowly in case he bumps into something. Most of the time, though, he navigates all over the main floor of the house with no problem at all. He doesn't see his food but smells it out. I sprinkle kibble on the kitchen floor because that's his preference.
He seems to see shades so black cats have always stood out for him. If a black cat comes near, he hesitates (although they never bother him) but a lighter cat can walk right past him and he doesn't react at all. He's always focused on the black cats and used to kangaroo jump after them and bite them. I have fond memories of running backwards away from him years ago with a sofa cushion held protectively in front of me because he intended to bite me after I'd stopped him going after an elderly black cat. I laughed so hard I nearly fell over.
So, do your blind or vision impaired cats sometimes walk into walls or furniture even though most of the time they don't? Do they tend to see shades of light or darkness even if they seem truly blind?
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