blindness?

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Mouse & Me

Mouse & Me

Member Since 2016
I'm afraid that my cat is blind, BUT, I think she may have had poor eyesight before diabetes.
She always sits at the edge of the couch or bed, follows the same paths. She was always skittish, never fully relaxing like her brother, who came to live with us at the same time as Mouse.
Lately, even though I put the food dish in front of her, I have to guide her to the bowl. I tried picking her up, and putting a barrier in front of her, and she just lays there, leading me to believe that either she senses the barrier, or she sees shadows.

I took her to the vet once before, because I suspected poor eyesight, but they didn't detect glaucoma. Is that all they test for?
 
Take her to a veterinary ophthalmologist. Not sure where you're located, but if you have a Blue Pearl or VCA specialty hospital near you - they have them on staff.
 
minor problem, the nearest vet opthalmologist is an hour away.She hyperventilates for a five minute trip
It's also located in a more high end area, (Hillary Clinton lives there!) so the cost is going to be ridiculous.
I'll still look into it, but it doesn't look likely.

I did testing with my husband, so we could sneak up on her better. She appeared to see where I tossed a kibble on the bedding. She has to be extremely interested in the object in front of her to get a response. A bug, bird, etc. no response. Evil kibble, yes.

Her cat instincts, along with her brother, are almost non existent. I've never had a cat that would eat near a kitty litter box. they will. They rarely play, calling "pssst" makes them angry, They hissed at wet food for YEARS.
When they are confronted with a distasteful situation like nail clipping, they just take it.
I suspect they grew up without a mother or in another weird environment.
 
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diabetes doesn't cause blindness in cats, but of course there are other conditions. does she have cataracts? could be glaucoma. If it's sudden it could be high blood pressure (that's easily checked at your regular vet).
 
They test for cataracts, as well as glaucoma. She should also be tested for the Bartonella virus, which can cause blindness. Can your vet give you something to calm her for the trip to the ophthalmologist? I highly recommend you take her. If she has Bartonella, is can and should be treated. If she has glaucoma, it is very painful and requires treatment, as well. I had two cats with glaucoma and cataracts, one of which, Cinco, had Bartonella and went completely blind (he also had ocular lymphoma). The other, Harvey, just had decreased vision. Both managed very well.

Feel free to PM me with any questions. I'll help any way I can.
 
Tricia Cinco(GA) & Harvey said:
They test for cataracts, as well as glaucoma. She should also be tested for the Bartonella virus, which can cause blindness. Can your vet give you something to calm her for the trip to the ophthalmologist? I highly recommend you take her. If she has Bartonella, is can and should be treated. If she has glaucoma, it is very painful and requires treatment, as well. I had two cats with glaucoma and cataracts, one of which, Cinco, had Bartonella and went completely blind (he also had ocular lymphoma). The other, Harvey, just had decreased vision. Both managed very well.

Feel free to PM me with any questions. I'll help any way I can.
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I was told that there was "something else" that showed up in her titer screening when she was positive for Lyme disease. I didn't test further, since I did give her the full month of doxycycline. Later, when she had swollen gums, bad teeth, she had more antibiotics. If it was cat scratch fever, I would hope that it was taken care of by all the antibiotics that she had. A later test showed no infection or disease.

I'll contact the person who helped me get the two cats from the shelter. I'll see if they have a specialist that I can see, who is closer.
 
Tricia Cinco(GA) & Harvey said:
They test for cataracts, as well as glaucoma. She should also be tested for the Bartonella virus, which can cause blindness. Can your vet give you something to calm her for the trip to the ophthalmologist? I highly recommend you take her. If she has Bartonella, is can and should be treated. If she has glaucoma, it is very painful and requires treatment, as well. I had two cats with glaucoma and cataracts, one of which, Cinco, had Bartonella and went completely blind (he also had ocular lymphoma). The other, Harvey, just had decreased vision. Both managed very well.

Feel free to PM me with any questions. I'll help any way I can.
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pm? is that under conversations?
 
Mouse & Me said:
If it was cat scratch fever, I would hope that it was taken care of by all the antibiotics that she had.
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As far as I know, there is only one antibiotic that works with Bartonella, and it has to be compounded. My ophthalmologist ordered it from a compounding pharmacy on the East Coast. We are remodelling right now, and a lot of my stuff is packed up, but hopefully I can get to Cinco's records soon and see what the name of the AB is (yes, I did keep all my kitties' records, even after they crossed. Never know when that info will come in handy!).
 
just stopping in to say even if she is blind she can adapt my Do Lou has been blind since Jan of 2010 he pretty much stays in our bedroom so that he does not get hurt since as he as aged he has more issues getting around then say 3 or 4 years ago we have our room set up for him so that everything stays the same ...retina detachment is also something that can happen due to usually high blood pressure and if caught in time can be reversed this actually happened here to a older kidney cat who is now GA but we caught hers in time and her eyes healed so only a vet can tell you whats going on exactly with the eyes good luck with your baby xoxoxo
 
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