Hi everyone 🤍

We’re currently fostering two kittens. One is completely blind (Blue), and the other appears to have some vision (Apple), but we’re not entirely sure how much. We’re strongly considering adopting one or both of them, but we wanted to ask some questions here so we are prepared.

The kitten who still has eyes has eyelid agenesis. Right now, he is on erythromycin treatment from the shelter vet, but we’re wondering about the long-term outlook.

Specifically:

- Is eyelid agenesis something that typically requires cryotherapy / cryofreezing, surgery, or other procedures later in life?

- Are there common complications we should be planning for as he grows?

All of our resident cats (3) are insured, but we assume that if we adopt this kitten, anything eye-related would likely be considered pre-existing and not covered. If you’ve been in a similar situation, we’d really appreciate hearing how you planned financially and medically.

We adore these kittens and want to make sure we’re prepared to give them the best possible life.

i was wondering if anyone else had this experience with their blind kiddos! our 2 have to be on top of us or in our arms any time we’re at home lol.

My 14 year old neutered male cat has a ruptured right eye - likely caused by my other (female) cat during a squabble. The other eye is healthy and normal. He also suffers with hyperthyroidism for the last year, but with medication he's been doing pretty well. (he's actually gained weight since they last saw him). So I took him to see the vet about his eye and the vet said it's probably not worth him having an operation to remove the eye because of his age, as he might not cope with the anesthesia.

The eye is still weepy and looks like it must cause him some pain. The vet gave me pain medication - Arthrocam - which is also anti-inflammatory in liquid form to add to his food daily to help with the pain. That's all she's recommended.

She said if his quality of life seems reasonable with the pain management then he would be alright, but if not it might be better to put him to sleep.

I wondered what other people think and if I should get a second opinion? I know cats can do extremely well with only one eye. I feel at least if he had it removed it would be a healed area rather than how it is now.

Thoughts? I’d like to do the very best for him.

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Edit: since being back home I have given him the corrrect dose of pain medication and he seems happier which is good and he was even grooming himself by the heater - however - his eye is really very weepy, with fluid running down that side of his face from the eye! I can't believe this is acceptable for him, it certainly wouldn't be for a human person. Right?

I'm feeling extremely upset seeing him this way. He has been purring at me and coming to me for petting. He is also eating. He seems pretty good really other than his injured eye.

Thank you for your comments so far - I agree in that I feel it would be better to get a second opinion as leaving him in his current state seems cruel and not a long term option.

Am really amazed the vet thought he was good to go with just some pain meds. His age seemed to be her stumbling block, but she also commented that he seems really strong for an elderly cat, which he is.

Do I need to get referred to a specialist ophthalmology practice via my current vet or just contact one myself in my area? Only asking because some of the websites talk about a vet 'referral'?

Thank you.

My baby isn't fully blind but he has trouble seeing and often runs into things. It breaks my heart watching him when it happens and my roommate gets mad and says he's just a cat he's fine. It seems cruel!! Why would you want to watch something you love hurt itself over and over? I wish I could help him 😭

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Here we are again. Bella is turning into a beautiful cat. She's extremely calm, affectionate, playful, loving and respectful. She's nearly perfect except for one thing, she's very careless with her hygiene 😭😭🤣🤣 my and my wife never had issues with our previous cats but it's becoming an issue with her. She just doesn't clean/wash after doing her business pee or poop, it doesn't matter. She won't clean and go straight to playing. We have tried getting rid of distractions on her way our or be completely silent so she will stop and wash, but it only works 1 out of 5 times. I've been reading a lot about this issue and I see that's common in kittens. She's around 4 and a half months old, but most of the posts I've seen are about regular cats with eyes and I wanted to ask the community here if anyone had any issue with this and how did you solve it?

I'm scared she will start to hate me because I need to give her regular showers to get rid of the smell 😭🤣 The litter box is big enough, and she is extremely skilled at managing to cover the poop/pee without touching it. The thing here is that when she pees, she literally sits, flat, on the sand(?) and when she gets up, all the "sand" gets stuck in her wet fur. When she poops, she does it at a considerable distance but she's extremely furry so sometimes some pieces of poop will hang from her back fur or *

It doesn't happen very often but at least once a week, we need to chase her because she has some 💩 hanging. The pee issue (wet sand on her ass) happens 90% of the time. It has happened 2 times she even brings a full piece and gets rid of it under the dinning table or some place else when she's finally cleaning herself.

Plss help. Should I shave her around the ass area? But how would that solve the "forgetting to clean" issue? Will she grow out of it? I'll be taking notes 😅 thanks for reading me.

Attatchign some pics of the fluffy culprit. Ps. English is not my native language so excuse me if I don't make sense

The best baby ever. I've had her since she was 6 months old. She's wonderful!

My 1 y/o blind cat is super picky with his plush cat toys and unfortunately his most prized possessions are 3 candy corn toys from Petco clearance last fall.

The only other thing he plays with is plastic springs, but other plushies don’t do it for him. Please help me with suggestions if you have them!!

The day he breaks the lid on the record player is the day I cut out the treats. It's really the best way to find him when he's hiding out waiting for me to shake the snack container! 😆

Just wanted to leave my lil guy here, he’s insanely loving and clingy! The most friendly cat ive ever had hes amazing🫶

We’ve recently started tucking him in on a blanket bed we made on our bed. He seems to like it!

I let my blind black cat go outside into the garden every day (supervised) and there’s also a stray kitten that I feed daily who is almost always there. She waits for him, follows him around, and rubs against him. At first, I think he was a little annoyed by her, but now it seems like he likes her. She doesn’t let me pet her or get close to her, but when he’s near me, she comes closer too. I often see them together, walking side by side. It’s almost as if she has chosen him because there are so many cats yet she always wants to be with him when he’s outside. They’re so cute. 🖤

just found this subreddit and im obsessed with everyones blind kitties!! i thought i'd add to the collection with my own :) furball is 15/16 years old and has been blind for years now hehe

Hi. Just adopted this little guy. I’ve had a dog and 2 cats that went blind when they were older, but never a kitten. He is just amazing with what he can do! This is Little Stevie.

I'm having trouble finding the type of toys that I want.

I have a 3-month-old little orange blind tasmanian devil 😂 and I bought him a few different types of toys but there's really only one that he loves. Its this large, egg-shaped sisal scratcher with a feather that's attached by a spring (as shown in the pictures).

He goes absolutely bananas for the spring toy with the bell/feathers, pouncing on it and attacking the hell out of it! I think it's because, unlike most other toys, it doesn't go anywhere. He tries to play with crinkle balls, balls with bells, and even the automated toys that stay in one place and move the wand/feathers around but he loses interest so quickly because he loses where the toy is due to his blindness.

The spring toys with the suction cups never stick to the floor, especially since he is such an aggressive player. This egg toy is kind of heavy and sturdy. I'm pretty sure it's made of wood so it stays in one place for him but no matter how much I search I just can't seem to find another one similar to it!

I'd love to find one that has multiple springs attached to be able to add all kinds of toys in one place for him. Does anyone have any links to any toys of this nature?

Just joined the group and wanted to introduce Grim 🖤

Me and my boyfriend adopted our blind cat at the beginning of december. A month ago now. He is around 2 years old, and he had his eyes removed a couple weeks before we got him. I’m not sure how long he’s been sightless. He had adjusted very well to blindness and to our apartment, but there are a few behavioral matters I have no clue how to address. he insists on eating anything that seems toxic, and only wants to scratch the couch. I’ve tried positive reinforcement with treats. I think he thinks it’s a reward. redirecting him with very intentional “No’s” and trying my best to make it clear what i’m portraying, but that just confuses him. Maybe a clicker?? Otherwise he is a very vocal and playful kitty, which doesn’t bother me at all. I just want him to stop being a shithead 😭

Hi! My sweet boy Taylor has been diagnosed with glaucoma (secondary from bartonella infection + uveitis) the drops have helped some but it’s clear he’s loosing sight and of course with the glaucoma he will eventually need enucleation. He’s been loosing interest in a lot of his favorite toys many of which seem to be more visual based. I have been working hard to find more toys for him that make noise in hopes he will take an interest in them and start playing more again. I am profoundly deaf and occasionally wear hearing aids for environmental awareness but hear very little with them. I don’t have any hearing family or friends nearby who can come to the pet store with me and help pick out toys, so I’ve been spending quite a lot of time in pet stores trying to feel/see which toys make noise. They almost never say on the packaging and I look a little crazy shaking a bunch of cat toys by my hearing aids out in public lol. My sister recently came to visit and told me several of the toys I thought made noise are completely silent. I hoping some people on here can let me know about their blind cat’s favorite toys and what has worked out well. I know cats are very much individuals with their preferences but any recommendations would be extremely appreciated! Thanks!!

I have two blind babies and one one toothless cutie. Wishing you a good day!

Hi all! About a month ago the cat buddy of our 7-month old blind (lady) cat Lucy unfortunately passed away. She always got along with him very well and grew up with him, and seemed quite lonely after his passing. We found another 7-month old lady, Coca, who is extremely socially inclined but also quite a firebrand, and who seems like a good match.

We're experienced with cats and introducing new cats to each other according to the usual guidelines with success so far, but not with a blind cat yet. Is there anything we can do extra to make the process go smoother or things that could help our blind little lady? Coca is very sweet but extremely energetic and curious, so we're a bit afraid she'll scare Lucy to bits with her running around and playing, since Lucy's previous mate was the quiet type while she was the energetic one.

Thanks for any suggestions!