Shades of blindness in your cats & mine

[doolittleky]

Hi Lizzie,
I am so glad to hear about Beans(Surya). I think of him daily and wonder how he is. Shoo, my visually impaired cat could see shadows and I noticed he could see some colors better than others. He too sometimes walked into things especially when he wasn't paying attention to things or if he got into a hurry. If he started running around playing then it is then he would run into things the most like a wall or something like that. He would chase this big fabric ball or someother toy and bat at it like he was palying soccer then run right into a wall. It never did phase him though, he would jsut go on as if nothing ever happened!
Melissa

[Lizzie]

Surya doesn't hurry anywhere any more so haste is not the issue, and I believe he is paying attention because he's just ambling along towards the kitchen from the bedroom usually. I'm always surprised when he does it, and I hate seeing it happen but he never hurts himself because it's so slow.

The most difficult part about taking care of him now is making sure he has a quality life. He's never been a cat to sit in windows and now he's almost blind there is no point. He used to play a lot with fluffy toys with tails and would toss them around endlessly but he'll only give them a brief head toss now when I rub one against his face. He loves being out on the deck and now the weather has finally changed he can be out there for long hours. His favorite place is the kitchen because he's always liked to be in the middle of activity. There is shallow bowl for his water, though he often frustrates me by sitting up on his hind legs, wobbling about, to drink out of the big bowl next to it. I really don't like the fact that he pees in the kitchen also, even though there is a special area on the other side of a dividing wall set up just for him, but one can hardly blame a cat so very disabled. I wish the puddles were not in front of the sinks or stove so often, but if I put up barriers he pees against them and it's more mess.

[doolittleky]

Lizzie,
How old is he now? I didn't think of him as being that old. I guess because I have always worked with kids with different issues and needs and always had animals with the same I never think of any of them as disabled. Where some people look at the disability as sad and feel pity, I look at it the opposite way and see them for what they can do whether it is with an adaption or not. I don't think animals or kids with special issues think they are any different than anyone else and that is what I love about them both! How is he health wise besides the vision issue and the peeing issue? I would love to see a recent pic of him. I miss him sooo much!
Melissa
PS did you call the craigslist person to see about that kitten?

[Lizzie]

Surya is about 7 or 8, I believe.

I think I posted about the seizure he had at the vet's office several years ago. He got really upset when he was there to have his eye checked because another cat had smacked him after Surya bit him. He's never had another, which is great. He was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy years ago and that has advanced. No thyroid problem on his blood tests and he eats a very high quality diet so it's an inherited disease. I know the majority of cats with radial hypoplasia live a normal life span, but as my vet warned me some, like Surya, have multiple genetic problems.

This morning he got to do his favorite thing in all the world. He had tucked himself into a jog in the hallway so he is hidden from cats walking down it. Miss Z., my CH cat, came thundering along and her walk is very distinctive in sound of course. Just as she got near the door to the bathroom, out he jumped and over she flipped. He does it with such glee.

[doolittleky]

Well lets hope that he lives a long life and doesn't have any other medical issues that pop up. He is such a dear dear cat! Please let me know how he is doing and if he has any other medical problems when they come up. Do you have any recent pics of him? I would love to see them.

I am glad that lady found a home for that special needs kitten.

[emily_the_spoiled]

I have a combination of some guys who are completely blind versus some with one good eye. I don't have any that seem to make out shadows or specific colours. Unfortunately they still bump into each other and the walls. They have never hurt themselves doing this, but I have found that it has decreased the longer they are here (and I also don't move the furniture). But regardless of whether they see or not, all the guys love hanging out in the windows, bot the fresh air (it is still cool enough to keep them open now) and to hear the sounds of the birds. I have a bird feeder in the fornt yard so there ar always birds, squirrels, and chipmunks hanging around (Cat TV).

One would never guess that they are blind except that they almost always "lead with their nose". My sister who works with disabled children, says that blind kids do exactly the same thing. It is a way of sensing what it ahread.

[Lizzie]

Thank you for the post, Emily, I was hoping you would give input because I know you have had blind and visually impaired cats for years. It does make me feel better that yours still walk into things (you know what I mean!) Surya really loves being out on the deck and will stay out longer than any other cat, but he seems oblivious to the sounds outside, they don't seem to interest him at all. I think he just loves the fresh air and the smells - fresh smells since I live in a very green suburb.

He got his nose put out of joint this morning because the other cats all decided to use his floor beds, ignoring sofas and armchairs. He ambled from bed to bed, stopping dead at each one as he realized there was already another cat there. He can still jump onto a low sofa but prefers something really low. He was fine, though, he also loves the bottom shelf of a credenza I have in the kitchen and he can squeak at me for treats.

I have a combination of some guys who are completely blind versus some with one good eye. I don't have any that seem to make out shadows or specific colours. Unfortunately they still bump into each other and the walls. They have never hurt themselves doing this, but I have found that it has decreased the longer they are here (and I also don't move the furniture). But regardless of whether they see or not, all the guys love hanging out in the windows, bot the fresh air (it is still cool enough to keep them open now) and to hear the sounds of the birds. I have a bird feeder in the fornt yard so there ar always birds, squirrels, and chipmunks hanging around (Cat TV).

One would never guess that they are blind except that they almost always "lead with their nose". My sister who works with disabled children, says that blind kids do exactly the same thing. It is a way of sensing what it ahread.