Caring for the Blind and Visually Impaired Cat By Erika Zerebecki, LVT

I have one blind cat and another that is visually impaired. The challenges of ownership have been minimal and the rewards plentiful.

Falco’s eye problems were so severe that he had to have both of his eyes removed, or enucleated in surgical jargon. He was four weeks old when I got him. His mother had been hit by a car and he was found on the side of the road. I volunteered to foster Falco and you know how that goes- I kept him. As a kitten, nothing stopped him. Bumping into walls did not phase him and he learned his way around the house one room at a time. Now, when it’s time to go out on his leash, he races me up and down the steps. He actually does all the normal cat things like chasing my other cats around the room, jumping up on counters, and batting toys around. He has an amazing sense of where his toys are. When you watch this video of him, you would never know that he was blind! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVMG99TWCFg&feature=email

Callie is my 13+ year-old foster cat from Salem County Humane Society. She has congenital deformities of her eyes. (The shelter veterinarians called it microphthalmia, which means the eyeball is too small.) She had been adopted sometime around 2000, and returned to the shelter in 2007. In 2009 she went to a foster home so that she could have surgery for entropion  (a condition in which the eyelid rolls inward and the hairs irritate the eyeball). She ended up having two or three surgeries. Then, in 2011, she became diabetic and her foster mom could no longer keep her. I ended up taking her in and she is no longer diabetic.

Callie has limited vision. She can see things that are very close to her but is very cautious with any movement or shapes that are further away. She tends to stick to one area in one room and that is her safe spot. At night, however, she sleeps on my head. She is still very playful and tends to pull numerous toys out of the toy box at once.

How do you acclimate your blind or visually impaired cats? I had to start the cats out in a small room initially. They needed to get familiar and comfortable with their environment little by little. I couldn’t take a blind cat, plop it down in the middle of a big house with the litter box in the basement, and say, “Good luck!” Once they were comfortable in their environment, they came out of their shells and you had no idea they couldn’t see.

Do you have to take any special precautions or measures? You can't forget that to an extent they remain special needs kitties. I have taken extreme caution when introducing any new animals into the house. They are very trusting cats and therefore very vulnerable. They are an easy target for any animal that may want to pick on them. They are not alone in the house unsupervised if I am not home. I also try to make noises that will assist them, like tapping objects around the house to give them some sort of depth perception. When Falco was a kitten, I would scuff my feet when I walked so he would hear me and know where to follow. 

Do they make just as great pets as visual cats? Falco has been blind since he was a kitten so he doesn't know any different life. Callie has been bounced around in homes and she is just a grateful loving cat. 

What do I recommend to owners who are concerned about their cats' vision? Pay close attention to their behavior and bring them to the veterinarian. If they are losing their vision, be patient and help them adjust. As long as you are there to comfort and assist them, they can continue to live a normal happy life. 

Falco

                                                                      

Callie