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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / January 2005blind and deaf cat
just recently confirmed that my 19 year old cat is deaf and blind. clearly, she doesn't hear me when i clap my hands over her head (not *that* close) and her pupils are fixed and hugely dilated. she's eating and using the box as usual, but i feel terrible for her. has anyone here had a similar experience and what are your thoughts on the cat's comfort in this condition? we have no intention of putting her down, but i hate to think that she's *unhappy* in any way. thanks in advance, parismom > just recently confirmed that my 19 year old cat is deaf and blind. > clearly, she doesn't hear me when i clap my hands over her head (not > *that* close) and her pupils are fixed and hugely dilated. > > she's eating and using the box as usual, but i feel terrible for her. > has anyone here had a similar experience and what are your thoughts on > the cat's comfort in this condition? we have no intention of putting [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > parismom Hugs to you and kitty. My almost 19 year old cat has also recently gone deaf, but not blind. I feel bad for him, but he seems to be doing ok. It sounds like your cat knows her way around (box, food). Just make sure she can find her way to her comfort spots, and make time for extra brushing (if she likes that), cuddle time, etc. Take care Beth My thought would be to not move items around the house (furniture, etc) so she doesn't get confused or walk into them unexpectedly. Rene >just recently confirmed that my 19 year >old cat is deaf and blind. clearly, she >doesn't hear me when i clap my hands >over her head (not *that* close) and her >pupils are fixed and hugely dilated. Was this confirmed by you or a vet? If you haven't brought your cat to a vet do so immediately and have her blood pressure checked. If you took her to a vet you need to confirm whether or not the blood pressure was checked. Unfortunately a lot of vets don't have BP monitors and if yours doesn't you'll have to search your area for one that does so you can get it checked ASAP. Untreated high blood pressure will cause your cats retinas to detach which could explain the blindness and is common in older cats. Norvasc is the drug of choice for getting high blood pressure under control. Left untreated it will kill your cat. If the blindness *just* happened and is caused by high blood pressure, getting the cat on meds right away will increase the chances that the cats retinas will reattach and the cat will regain its vision. Megan  Signature"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke Learn The TRUTH About Declawing http://www.stopdeclaw.com Zuzu's Cats Photo Album: http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22 "Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way." - W.H. Murray dear zuzu and all the rest of you guys, i've made an appointment with a vet that has a blood pressure monitor for critter and we're going tomorrow early AM. i'll get back and let you know what's going on. thanks for all of your insight! abby (i'm parismom and trueblue - depending on which computer i'm using) > >just recently confirmed that my 19 year > >old cat is deaf and blind. clearly, she [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > > - W.H. Murray Hey Abby, I emailed you directly before I got my new newsreader set up. Now I can post to the group again without the hassle of AOL. ANyway, just in case you didn't get my email. I also have a cat that is both blind and deaf. We inherited him this way...and we didn't know about his "condition" before we saved him. I think we would have taken him anyway. ;) I digress... I, too, worry that Jasper might not be happy. I often wonder what it might be like if my whole world were dark and silent...with just a shadow once in a while or depending on vibrations for sound. Jasper is an old fella...we aren't even sure how old but we suspect around 12. He is the sweetest thing though and all he wants is to be pet and loved. So, we are much obliged... :-) He does bump into stuff from time to time...I don't think it can be avoided completely. But he does have a pretty good internal map of our home and gets around quite well. Sometimes we think he is faking his blindness and deafness for sympathy. ;) He does seem to be a relatively happy guy. He is in a nice warm house, with a mommy and daddy who love him and a sister, luna, who could do without him but tolerates him nonetheless. He gets fed and pet and has a nice clean place to poop and pee. I do think things could be a lot worse. I can't imagine putting him down because he cant see or hear, but as I said...I worry about him just the same. just wanted you to know you are not alone, pam thanks for the kind words, pam. your kitty is very lucky to have you all. abby > Hey Abby, > I emailed you directly before I got my new newsreader set up. Now I can [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > just wanted you to know you are not alone, > pam >i've made an appointment with a vet that >has a blood pressure monitor for critter >and we're going tomorrow early AM. i'll >get back and let you know what's going >on. Oh good. If it turns out to be high blood pressure your cat may also have concurrent kidney issues. I'm sure the vet will recommend a full blood workup and at 19 this is definitely a good idea. If there are kidney issues as well, keep in mind that renal failure is a manageable disease and there are a lot of excellent resources on the 'net that you will find extremely helpful. My favorite is http://www.felinecrf.org Megan Signature"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke Learn The TRUTH About Declawing http://www.stopdeclaw.com Zuzu's Cats Photo Album: http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22 "Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way." - W.H. Murray to all: had ginger checked out this morning by the vet that had a kitty cuff for BP. perfectly normal. except for a heart murmur, my sweet cat is in perfect health :-). her pupils *do* react to bright light, so the doc thinks she has cataracts, which is very reasonable for a 19 year old cat. if ginger were six years old, i might have considered cataract surgery, but she's way to old to go under anesthesia, imo and the vet's, as well. she sent me home with a bag of science diet AD (don't know what the A is for) to try to get her a little higher in weight than her usual 6.6 pounds. otherwise, i'm glad i went, thanks for all of the concern and advice and we'll go on from here. sometime, i'll tell you about our newest cat, buffy :-) abby > >i've made an appointment with a vet that > >has a blood pressure monitor for critter [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > - W.H. Murray > to all: > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > abby Hey, that's great news :-) You didn't comment on her hearing so I take it she's definitely deaf..? Still, she's not doing too badly for her age, so just take good care of her and give her plenty of food, warmth and most important of all, love. Purrs to your kitty :-) Ivor > to all: > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > otherwise, i'm glad i went, thanks for all of the concern and advice and > we'll go on from here. 19 is really old. That is when my cat really changed, and became kind of like a big baby. I'm sorry your Ginger has to go through hearing and sight loss, but I am sure glad she has you. > sometime, i'll tell you about our newest cat, buffy :-) Please do! >> to all: >> [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > kind of like a big baby. I'm sorry your Ginger has to go through > hearing and sight loss, but I am sure glad she has you. 19 is only late middle age for some cats..! My friend has a beautiful calico/white girl who is 18. She is a little shaky on her paws but can get about perfectly well, although she has trouble jumping up on the window sill ;-) The oldest cat I've known personally was Sammy, who was a permanent resident at the rescue shelter where I volunteer. He died last year at 22 :-( The oldest cat I've heard of is Whiskey, who was 33 in March last year: http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/animals/newsid_3520000/3520218.stm Ivor >>>to all: >>> [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > > Ivor The AD in the cat food stands for Adult Diet. > >>>to all: > >>> [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > > > The AD in the cat food stands for Adult Diet. And I WISH 19 were "middle age" for more cats. For most it is old age. >>>> to all: >>>> [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] >> > The AD in the cat food stands for Adult Diet. I don't think so. a/d is a high calorie food for cats that have experienced weight loss (anorexia). >>>>>to all: >>>>> [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] > I don't think so. a/d is a high calorie food for cats that have experienced > weight loss (anorexia). I'll let you tell that I work for that, and then see he has to say to you about what a/d stands for. > >>The AD in the cat food stands for Adult Diet. > > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > I'll let you tell that I work for that, and then see he has to say to > you about what a/d stands for. Wanna try that again? :) >>>>The AD in the cat food stands for Adult Diet. >>> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Wanna try that again? :) Oooooops. LOL I'll let you tell that to the vet that I work for, and then see what he has to say. >>>>> The AD in the cat food stands for Adult Diet. >>>> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Oooooops. LOL I'll let you tell that to the vet that I work for, and > then see what he has to say. Well, fine, but here is the home site: http://www.hillspet.com/zSkin_2/products/pd_product_list.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Epr d_id=845524441760567&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302024497&bmUID=1107026485 046 And the description is "Canine/Feline a/d® - Canned Recovery (debilitation, cachexia, anorexia)" [snip] > Well, fine, but here is the home site: > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > And the description is "Canine/Feline a/d? - Canned Recovery > (debilitation, cachexia, anorexia)" That link was unusable here, may I suggest you use http://tinyurl.com which reduced the above to http://tinyurl.com/4alp9 Far better IMHO ;-) Ivor >she sent me home with a bag of science diet AD (don't know what the A is >for) to try to get her a little higher in weight than her usual 6.6 >pounds. You might try Royal Canin's senior food. Maynard loves it. It is a little softer than normal kibble, and it has added glucosamineand vitamins to help with older cats. He moves better and seems to have more energy, and he loves the stuff. Maynard is 18 1/2. Signature-- Meghan & the Zoo Crew Equine and Pet Photography http://www.zoocrewphoto.com I had a blind and deaf kitty too, her name was Stacy. She got along well with the disabilities. Only problem is that when Stacy would bump into one of my other kitties and start hissing and swatting. She was so sweet and cuddly. SignatureLarry - Owned by eight cats > to all: > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > abby
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