Can anybody help me about my cat?

[Ulan Bator]

Maybe somebody can give me some direction here. My cat's a neutered male about 8 years old. I don't know how it happened but about 3 years ago, I noticed him staring kind of vacantly at me and when I held up something for him to eat he tried to bite it but missed completely. It was obvious he was losing his sight. As time went by, he's gotten worse. When I wave my hand in front of him he doesn't react at all. The vet looked at him and said there wasn't much blood circulation in his retina and that nothing could be done. Some of you may laugh at my distress but it hurts. He doesn't do much of anything anymore. He used to love to play with his toys and nuzzle against me but now he just sleeps and acts apathetic. The vet told me I'd be the same way if I lost my sight and didn't know why. Is this vet right? Another vet basically told me the same thing - that nothing can be done......Can anybody offer any feedback? I'll do what I can to get him to see again so any suggestions will sure help....Thanks....

 

[red]

check your pm

 

[WhaWhaWha]

Sorry to hear about your cat. You may never be able to help him restore his sight. But animals adjust - they really do. I've seen cats on three legs eventually return to jumping climbing and playing. What you need to do is make sure in the adjustment period that he doesnt starve himself. They have been known to do that. You have to make sure you coax food into him. Even if you have to buy that pasty prescription food and smear it onto the back of his tongue with your finger. He wont have a choice but to swallow it. Even if he only gets 1/2 can per day he will have enough nutrition to live for the time being. Your cat wil go through the stages same as people. What were they again... Shock, Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Acceptance. So for a while your cat will be catatonic. Then he will revert to old behaviors with limited success due to the blindness. This will piss him off and he may decide to treat your home like one big litterbox for a while. Then you will have to train him to use the litterbox again. Make sure you dont move the box or anything else in the house too frequently. He will settle in and make do. Now my question is what did the neutering have -- if anything -- to do witht he blindess three years later?

 

[langeweile]

Not much to add to what some had to say...except try not to move your furniture around too much. It will make things a lot easier on him..and yes they do adjust quiet well.

 

[Goober Mcfly]

Not much to add to what some had to say...except try not to move your furniture around too much. It will make things a lot easier on him..and yes they do adjust quiet well.

I disagree.

Rearrange the furniture weekly, daily if possible. Then when the cat runs into the coffee table yet again, you can point and laugh, and he'll look toward your voice and know that he has fulfilled another part of his daily task, namely to amuse you and make you happy.

Or you can just do what the others say and be glum. Your choice, I suppose.

 

[JeremytheWicked]

...... used to love to play with his toys and nuzzle against me but now he just sleeps and acts apathetic.

Did you propose to it?

 

[Flower]

Consider adopting a young female cat as a companion for him. It may give him a renewed interest in life ... Good luck!

 

[red]

get her a seeing eye dog

 

[langeweile]

Shoot the cat. I'm not kidding. Its just a cat. Don't loose any sleep over a cat..... Its just a cat..... I guess since you live the City, it would be recommended to take it to the vet and have him\her do the dirty work for you.

If I lived in Toronto I'd volunteer to help you.

you can't be serious????

 

[oldjones]

How sad for you. From my bit of experience with blind people, lang's giving good advice about not moving the furniture. He's gonna have to get around a lot by memory. It'll be a huge adjustment, considering how visual cats are. Imagine if we had their eye-body coordination; we'd all be star athletes, gymnasts most likely. Now imagine that world in perma-blackness, where even a single step's an unknowable risk.

I hope he makes the adjustment; he does have his sense of smell working for him, which will help some. His home is safe; he'll likely remember it's familiar bits and anything you can do to awaken his interests is bound to help. Sound based toys are gonna be more important aren't they? The two of you need to give yourselves time to learn new coping and relating strategies.

But if he just can't find any way to make that adjustment, he's going to start looking more like a burden than your buddy, and the two of you suffering has no future. That's when a sympathetic vet can be a blessing.

 

[stang]

Have the vet send away to Sweden for very tiny instruments.

 

[Jade4u]

I am sure the cat will still become just as loving even if you have to carry it to bed with you or lay it on your lap. The cat already has great trust and faith in you and is familiar with your smell. Given time the cat will adjust. That is the great things about animals they truly know who thier friends are. In time the cat will more than likely find it's way around again and start coming to you. Give the cat all the time it needs and be there for it. Look at the story of Helen Keller all she needed was a loving hand to guide her and give her confidence. All living beings I believe can adjust in the proper situations. Helen Keller had Anne Sullivan, you're cat has you and I am sure you will do just fine. Just start by giving the cat all the love it needs and then gentle coaxing to get it around again maybe a trail of cat treats to guide it around the place again a step at a time to build its confidence.

Best of luck.

 

[A-ROD]

http://www.messybeast.com/disabled.htm

 

[Ulan Bator]

You know something, MeJack........More and more people have the attitude you have and more and more people will start applying that same attitude to humans as well as animals. One thing I have noticed, cats have their own personalities and characters. I swear to god sometimes they are like little people and you can't help feeling that way about them so your comments really don't help. As for the rest of you (especially Stacey and Flower) thanks so much. And thanks to Langeweile and WhaWha for taking the time to advise. Actually my cat was having a problem with urinating on my livingroom floor. He's stopped that now but looking back, it probably had something to do with his vision problem. I think he's smart enough to adjust but I wish I could do something about his eyes. I got a few PM's with the names of some clinics so I guess that'll be my last hope. And, by the way, Goober -- BOB'S YOUR UNCLE! (Hey, where'd you get that Star Trek pic?)

 

[Gawd]

I feel for ya... my cat of over 20 years died last week and it's sad... she was part of the family... she was cremated but we opted not to keep the ashes... kinda creepy... but not as much as my brother's suggestion of getting her taxidermied... ew.

 

[MajorMattMason]

..now THAT is funny

 

[james t kirk]

Sorry to hear about your cat.

I have a couple myself (both cast off kitties that moved in with me about 2 years ago) One is about 12 and developed kidney problems which was diagnosed by co-incidence really. The first vet I took her to (in my area in Toronto) wanted to put her on some huge narc program and sell me Perscription Diet KD cat food and said she probably wouldn't live long. Anyway, I took her to see a vet who is more into naturalpathic vet treatments (recommended by a friend) and she recommended a complete change of diet for her. No more cat food of any kind (it's all crap and all poison). Strictly home made poultry / fish / mixed with veggies and supplements. (PM me if you want the recipe) Guess what. She's gotten better. Kidney levels were retested and are improving.

Anyway, I also took her to the cat clinic in Hamilton. There is a vet there (Dr. Elizabeth Obrien) who is one of 4 registered cat specialists in Canada. I took my cat there for a second opinion and she (and the naturalpathic vet) was simply amazing.

My vet in Toronto, while nice enough, is only interested in selling you shit you don't need. Like cat food, like expensive drug therapy, like teeth cleaning for $865 to $1,100.00 (seriously). (The naturalpathic vet met with me for about an hour, discussed the cat's health, gave me a home made diet, and cleaned her teeth by picking off the tartar (who knew) with her fingernail and suggesting a little hydrogen peroxide for her gums all for $45.00.)

Dr. Obrien in Hamilton is an expert and you leave there feeling totally confident in what she is telling you (Verses my vet in Toronto who leaves you wondering.)

Link to site:

http://www.thecatclinic.ca/dr_staff.htm

If anybody in Canada can help your cat, it's Dr. Obrien. Honestly. It was well worth the drive to the Hammer.

 

[chawct]

Did your vet ever do blood work, some times there may retinal detachment due to hypertension because of icreased T4 levels (hyperthyroidism). In other
cases it may be becasue of uveitis and there should be a response to certain type of medication.( usually antiinflamatories like prednisolone). Any way I would recomm a referral clinic (a board certified ophtalmologist may give you a more accurate answer).

Any way the only real way of knowing if your cat still has some vision is by doing a test called electroretinography.

 

[WhaWhaWha]

My girlfriends pussy has recently taken to snapping without provocation. And a strange smell has been emanating from it. And it appears to be leaking fluids. Also it has way more hair covering it than it used to. does this mean I need a new girlfriend, or should I ask her to start grooming and cleaning and controlling her pussy more often?

 

[tboy]

This is for the retards that say "it's just a cat" well, as supposedly the superior beings the way we treat animals and other species says a lot about us. If an animal around us or one that we've grown attached to (and some of these attachments can be even stronger than one to a family member) as humans I hope we would do what we could to help it.

For you farmer john, if one of your cows came down with something would you just shoot it too? Hell, it is JUST a cow.......all you're going to do is kill it anyways if it is a beef provider or suck it's tits dry every day if it is a dairy breed. Hell, I bet you're all for killing elephants for their ivory, bears for their gall bladders and whales for their oil......