It is not difficult to determine that your pet has become worse able to see or is completely blind. It is necessary to carefully monitor his condition and behavior. But you need not only to understand that the animal is blind, but also to find out what caused this condition.
Blindness does not always develop quickly. In some cases, against the background of serious pathologies, vision loss occurs gradually. Therefore, signs also appear slowly. It is worth remembering that blindness in a cat can be either reversible or irreversible. Blindness is also divided into partial and complete.
To know when to seek veterinary help, you need to monitor for symptoms.
Unsteady gait
First on the list of signs indicating the development of blindness in a cat is an unsteady gait. Owners of blind cats know firsthand that their pets, deprived of the ability to see normally, are able to live varied and quite happy lives. Remaining blind, the cat will not suffer, but will be able to adapt to life. The fact is that with age, all cats sooner or later begin to go blind as a result of the development of degenerative senile processes.
Domestic cats have human-like vision. The difference is the color of the image and twilight vision. Cats are not able to normally focus their gaze on nearby objects. At the same time, objects located at a distance are visualized much better. This explains the fact that a cat can be completely indifferent to its favorite toy that lies nearby.
For most people, after 40 years of age, their vision begins to rapidly deteriorate. Therefore, a person turns to an ophthalmologist, who prescribes the wearing of glasses, at least for reading. Domestic cats, after 5 years, begin to see worse. The reason for this is a change in the flexibility of the lens, causing clouding. This leads to a disruption in the ability to focus on objects, regardless of their location.
Vision problems that come on suddenly can cause a change in gait. Unsteady walking occurs in cases where vision loss is caused by sudden changes in the lens, vitreous body or retina.
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*This page refers to the section on cats' eyes.
Sudden blindness
- a very alarming and unpleasant disease of cats. Affected cats, without sufficient time to adapt, experience severe disorientation and may behave in strange and unusual ways. A cat can move haphazardly, crash into various objects, and be constantly in a state of stress. The matter is complicated by the fact that the resulting blindness is not always obvious to the owner, and can be identified by a veterinarian when determining the reasons for the cat’s strange behavior.
One noticeable sign of a cat's blindness is that the pupils (the dark central part of the eye) become permanently dilated.
Frequent collisions with objects
Constantly bumping into objects. With a sudden loss of vision, the animal begins to collide not only with objects, but also with walls. In this regard, veterinary experts strongly do not recommend that owners of cats who have lost their vision make changes in the house.
If there is a lot of furniture in the house that has sharp corners, it is recommended to wrap them in something soft. Special film or devices are perfect for these purposes, the purpose of which is to protect furniture for small children who are just exploring the world.
Often colliding with objects, a blind animal will soon remember the route and automatically determine distances. Not all cats can remember distances and routes, so in this case they rely on their sense of touch. It is the whiskers that are very important for old and blind animals, playing the role of a kind of probe. Vibrissae allow the cat to determine at what distance an object is from the animal.
The main reasons for the birth of blind kittens
To begin with, it is worth noting that the newly born kitten is not only blind, it is also deaf. True, this state does not last long, about 10 days, then the kitten begins to open its eyes, get used to the light and gradually develop. Sometimes it happens that some cubs are born with fully sighted functions. But such cases can be considered exceptions and the cause may be solely the physiological characteristics of the cat itself. As for the main reasons for the appearance of a blind kitten, these include the following :
- Physiological characteristics of cats : it is known that the pregnancy period for a cat is not so long, so after a short period of time she immediately gives birth to kittens. Due to lack of time, kittens do not have time to see clearly, so the process of formation of this function occurs after birth.
- Another reason why kittens’ eyes do not open immediately is a protective function. After birth, the kitten is very weak and its immunity does not allow the body to resist bacteria and viruses well. Therefore, the eyes are kept closed so that the blind kitten does not receive damage, and as soon as the immunity is restored, the kittens begin to see. But at the same time, they still go through the process of getting used to the light and developing vision.
- Another reason for the appearance of a blind kitten is the very process of development of the kitten in the womb. The fact is that he is forced to be in a liquid that is far from perfect and pure. Therefore, to prevent a blind kitten from receiving damage that could negatively affect its development, its eyes and ears are tightly closed to prevent contaminated fluid from entering the body. Therefore, a blind kitten is not a punishment, but a completely adequate defense of the body.
Now you know why a kitten is born deaf and blind, and as you might guess, everything is the will of nature. Physiological characteristics, the need to protect a blind newborn, protecting the mother from excessively long gestation and much more. There are many reasons and we have already discussed the main ones, but what is important is not the knowledge itself, but the fact that cute kittens are born and grow up completely healthy, beautiful and active . The main thing is to love and protect them so that harsh reality cannot interfere with the fate of the little kitten.
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Refusal to jump
A cat with poor vision refuses to jump in heights, jumping onto elevated surfaces as before. The reason for refusing to jump may be the inability to calculate the correct trajectory of the jump as a result of poor vision or blindness. But refusal to jump can also occur in the event of unsuccessful maneuvers, as a result of which the animal is injured. For a long time, a cat may refuse to jump from heights or onto elevated surfaces.
It is worth drawing the attention of cat owners to the fact that the reason for refusing to jump can be not only poor eyesight or injury, but also pain in the lumbar region. Also, the appearance of discomfort in the kidney area due to the development of various pathologies can cause the animal to refuse to jump.
In order to find out exactly the reason for this behavior in your pet, it is recommended to seek help from a veterinary specialist. After conducting a detailed examination of the animal and a number of necessary laboratory tests, the doctor will be able to find out the cause and prescribe treatment if necessary.
Diagnosis and treatment
The usual set of procedures for deteriorating vision in an animal includes:
- collection of biological fluids (blood, urine) for analysis;
- blood pressure measurement;
- examining a cat's eyes using an ophthalmoscope.
Some clinics have equipment to measure eye pressure. A veterinary ophthalmologist can diagnose many pathologies by carefully examining the cat.
The treatment tactics should be chosen by a veterinarian. Eliminating the root cause of blindness or stabilizing the animal's condition, if possible, plays a big role. For example, the fight against persistent hypertension or infections.
If the cat is blind, the caring owner will have to make some concessions to make the animal feel more comfortable. Objects should be in their usual places. It is not recommended to move the bowl, drinking bowl and sleeping place of a blind pet. A blind cat should not be allowed to walk independently. You need to talk to him, play with him and pet him more than a healthy cat. This way the animal will be able to understand, stop being afraid of losing its home and the love of its owner, and will be able to better adapt to its difficult condition.
Problems with coordination
A lack of coordination may indicate that the animal has become blind or has become much worse in vision. In scientific circles, loss of coordination of movements is called ataxia. This phenomenon does not affect the intellectual abilities of the animal, but characterizes damage to the tissues of the nervous system.
It is very important to monitor your pet if the owner notices the animal has problems with coordination. In addition to problems with the visual organs, ataxia can occur with:
- Cerebellar injuries due to falls. In addition to impaired coordination of movements, the cat develops tremors during any movements.
- Damage to the structures of the inner ear. Vestibular ataxia in cats can be caused by otitis media or tumor processes in the inner ear.
Lack of eye glow in the dark
Being predators, cats are able to see well at dusk. In order to see better, there is a special mirror layer on the retina, which gives the animal’s eyes a special greenish or reddish glow. All cats with yellow or greenish eyes will have a green glow, but those with naturally blue eyes will glow red in the dark.
The reason for the lack of glow in a cat’s eyes at night may be cataracts. Many older cats are susceptible to this disease. Pathological processes affect the lens, making it cloudy. The cause of the development of cataracts and subsequent loss of vision in a cat can be:
- serious injuries to the visual organs;
- genetically determined disorders;
- development of diabetes mellitus.
Why are kittens born blind?
Cubs are born blind, which is provided by nature to preserve their eyes. In addition, there are several reasons for this phenomenon:
- The babies' eyes are closed to protect them from infections, which often enter the mother cat's body and can be transmitted to offspring.
- The animal's amniotic fluid, in which the kitten swims, is also far from clean. Since immunity in fetal development has not yet been formed, this helps to avoid diseases of the organs of vision.
- Since a cat’s pregnancy proceeds very quickly, the development of the visual organs does not have time to fully occur in the mother’s body and continues after birth.
Broken mustache
Whiskers or vibrissae are necessary for cats to navigate well in space. Mainly thanks to the whiskers, even a completely blind cat can feel good, knowing where the owners are, how furniture and other objects are arranged.
Nerve impulses enter the brain from the vibrissae, allowing the brain to draw a picture of the surrounding world. If you try to touch a cat's whiskers, it will completely reflexively close its eyes. This safety measure is necessary in order to protect the animal’s eyes in the dark from possible branches or blades of grass.
A cat's whiskers are more than just whiskers. They are supplied with blood and have nerve endings that lead directly to the trigeminal nerve. Related to this is the fact that the slightest vibration of air, the picture will be transmitted to the brain in the form of nerve impulses. A cat that has gone blind begins to shake its head, trying to identify the picture around it. This leads to damage to the vibrissae. But a broken mustache can indicate more than just vision loss. The cause of brittle cat whiskers can be:
- malnutrition – lack of vitamin-mineral complexes, biotin and calcium in the diet;
- the presence of parasites in the body;
- diseases of fungal or bacterial origin;
- systemic dermatitis.
In this regard, to determine the cause of broken whiskers, it is necessary to consult a veterinarian.
Why are kittens blind at birth?
Why are kittens born blind?
This question was asked by many cat owners who had to give birth and subsequently raise newborn kittens. Let us immediately note that blind kittens are not the only ones in their “bad luck”, since in addition to them, puppies are also endowed with this disease, which are similarly born with their eyes closed. What is this physiological feature associated with? It is difficult to answer this question, since the cat’s body is not subjected to scientific research, so this fact is accepted as it is. But there are some guesses about this, since for a person a cat is almost a member of the family, therefore, people themselves conducted observations and tried to find information regarding this feature.
