14 year old cat suddenly blind

[inkysmom]

I took my 14 year old cat who's very active and playful and never acts his age in for a vet visit to get his allergy immunotherapy refill and the vet told me he's either completely or mainly blind, he may have some peripheral vision.
He's obviously well adjusted since he gets around fine and plays and wrestled and even races around with my 6 year old cat.
All the warning signs like vocalizing and occasionally missing when he jumps on the bed I thought were signs of arthritis and pain
His glaucoma and eye pressure test were negative and I feel terrible that I didn't figure this out before.
I've had 12 cats, 3 horses and 3 dogs and none ever were fully blind. Some lost vision as they aged but still had some vision and I figured that out

Idiot vet didn't check him for arthritis or his blood pressure and wants to wait for a future visit so she can charge me more exam fees
I can't tell if the labs show kidney or thyroid problems since she hasn't called me back.
He was diagnosed with feline herpes 9 years ago based on symptoms but never had an actual test to diagnose this and I read that can cause it. Maybe I should ask if there's a definitive test for this?
Has anyone had this? Can it be reversed at all?
I just feel so bad I missed this and it could be too late to reverse this. He's been an extremely vocal talkative cat since I got him at 3 months old and always super clingy with separation anxiety as well. His last visit a year ago his vision was fine to the best of my knowledge I'd hope they checked it and would have told me if there was a problem.
Thanks for any replies/experiences!

To be clear he's had absolutely no symptoms of feline herpes for the past 8 or 9 years since my last dog died. Then he and other cats I had at the time(they've all since died of old age or cancer) all suddenly has sneezing and runny noses which lasted for a week or two. But none were tested for the herpes it did seem to be stress induced unless I brought home cat flu on my clothes or it was airborne.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. I am sorry about your cat being blind.

One thing that can cause sudden blindness ( if it was sudden) in a cat is hypertension causing detached retinas. The cats I have seen with this have extremely dark eyes. It’s to bad the vet didn’t check the blood pressure.

 

[silent meowlook]

I would ask your vet for a copy of the blood results. If you have a veterinary ophthalmologist near you, that would be your best option.

Most issues of blindness in cats need to be treated early if sight is to be restored.

 

[inkysmom]

I have the results but I don't know what they mean since the vet didn't call me to discuss them yet.
I'm going to make an appointment with an opthalmologist as soon as they open.
Thanks for your reply!

 

[inkysmom]

Hi. I am sorry about your cat being blind.

One thing that can cause sudden blindness ( if it was sudden) in a cat is hypertension causing detached retinas. The cats I have seen with this have extremely dark eyes. It’s to bad the vet didn’t check the blood pressure.

I'm absolutely furious about that. Her note said it would be too stressful on top of the other tests he was having done, but he gets extremely stressed just going to the vet. So she should have done it in the exam room when I was holding him and had him calmed in my arms before the other tests
I'm definitely going to complain about that.

 

[inkysmom]

I'm absolutely furious about that. Her note said it would be too stressful on top of the other tests he was having done, but he gets extremely stressed just going to the vet. So she should have done it in the exam room when I was holding him and had him calmed in my arms before the other tests
I'm definitely going to complain about that.

And yes his pupils are extremely dilated constantly so his eyes look black with just a little green on the edges. I can't believe I didn't see this before!!!
My only excuse is I've had a new job and my beautiful dog has a degenerative myelopathy Spinal condition which is fatal and I didn't think he'd live this long so he's has a lot of ER visits, medication and constant 24/7 care so I've been spending all my time trying to keep my dog comfortable and constantly evaluating if he can live or when to euthanize him which is exhausting while working full time.
So it's a lot and my cats have seemed and acted fine ai I haven't focused on them but now I feel awful

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. I am sorry about your dog. I know what it is like to have allot going on and cats are so good at hiding any signs of problems.

If you can, get him to an emergency vet now and let them know your concerns about his blood pressure. Ask that they check the blood pressure in the room with you. If you can get him checked, and the blood pressure is high and he is treated, it might be reversed.

 

[fionasmom]

I had a GSD with degenerative myelopathy, so I know what you are up against. It sounds like you are taking excellent care of your pets despite this problem with the vet.

I agree that getting your cat to an ER to determine if BP is behind this is a good idea which can then be followed up with an appointment with an ophthalmologist. One of my cats went blind years ago and, yes, big dark eyes completely dilated.

 

[inkysmom]

I got my cat an appointment with an opthalmologist tomorrow. I'm almost certain he has some peripheral vision in his right eye because both the vet and I eye noticed he does respond to motion a bit then. He's kind of had it with me waving my hands around his face though!
His labs were all fine as far as blood work but his urine showed he has some protein so they think he may have early onset kidney issues which made them more concerned about blood pressure and retinol detachment.
On a positive note my dog has his 10th birthday yesterday and I never thought he'd make it to 10. He's had degenerative myelopathy officially since right after he turned 8 and most dogs don't live 2 years with this disease. This cat is very bonded to him, they groom each other and nuzzle and cuddle each other.

 

[silent meowlook]

How did it go with the eye doctor. I am glad your dog is doing better.

 

[fionasmom]

Let us know how things go with the eye doctor. My DM guy was diagnosed at 8 and lived for 2 more years...so very glad to hear that your pup is still doing okay.

 

[inkysmom]

The eye doctor said it was high blood pressure and he had bleeding in the back of the eyes which showed he has retinal detachment, some current and some pending but she couldn't tell clearly because of the bleeding.
She'll see him again in about 2 months after he's been on blood pressure medicine and I have a nurse appointment with my regular vet to recheck his blood pressure in over a week
I wasn't impressed with the specialist. Over $350 for the exam which the pet insurance doesn't cover and she said he's well adjusted and does need to see so she has no interest in trying to restore any of his sight. She wouldn't even tell me if he had any peripheral vision or not and barely spent half an hour with us.
At least she diagnosed him and prescribed him a medication but getting him to take a pill daily is a whole other issue. She was pretty callous. The whole reason I brought him in so quickly and even took a few hours off from my job and drove an hour in rush hour traffic was to try to restore some vision. If he was so happy he wouldn't vocalize constantly and wake me up sleeping right on my face every night constantly.
She said some vision could come back with the medication but he's probably been blind for 1-2 years. He's seen 2 different vets in the past 2 years so if hope they'd checked his vision and would have mentioned it so I don't believe that.

 

[inkysmom]

Oops she said he doesn't need to see and only people care about their vision

 

[Kflowers]

I think you need a new specialist. What you describe as your experience with her could NOT be from her having an off day. The absolutes she offered are too great to not be ingrained in her belief system.

Edit to add perhaps she wants to be part of a lawsuit against the two vets that saw him over the last two years? Sarcasm on my part, but it could be true. I honestly think the vets and techs you've seen in the last two years would have noticed if he was losing his vision.

 

[inkysmom]

I think you need a new specialist. What you describe as your experience with her could NOT be from her having an off day. The absolutes she offered are too great to not be ingrained in her belief system.

Edit to add perhaps she wants to be part of a lawsuit against the two vets that saw him over the last two years? Sarcasm on my part, but it could be true. I honestly think the vets and techs you've seen in the last two years would have noticed if he was losing his vision.

Thanks for the support. I've had my share of bad vet experiences over the years but I was still honestly shocked at how callous and uncaring she was. To be an eye specialist vet and not care to measure if he has any peripheral vision at all and tell me he's fine and happy blind and there's no point to try to restore any of his vision at all.
Absolutely crazy.
I will be fair and say I was so shocked I forgot to tell her about the cat's constant incessant vocalizing and clinginess to me. He literally wakes me up trying to sleep with his face right on my face so his whiskers tickle my nose.
He's always been clingy and vocal but this a new extreme. He always has to know where I am and be right with me now. I don't think he's that thrilled not being able to see. I just wish I'd remembered to tell her that

 

[Kflowers]

You might consider wearing a small bell or two that aren't very loud to let him know exactly where you are at all times.

I wouldn't waste any more time on this vet, spend that time looking for one who cares.

 

[inkysmom]

Well I have plenty of time to find another one. I just wish the exam fees weren't so expensive. I may call the place and ask to see a different vet if they have one.

Meanwhile he wouldn't take his tiny quarter of a pill in his food so I had to force feed it to him last night. No surprise he's always been almost impossible to medicate.
I can give him his subcutaneous allergy meds injection once a week by surprise but I can never give him daily meds of any kind. He gets suspicious and literally hides all day.
Liquid meds he stress drools and vomits instantly. Pills he spots and stress drools. And if he thinks he'll get meds daily he hides not just under the bed but up in the mattress somehow and is impossible to catch and find. I gave him just a spoonful of his favorite food at dinner time with tiny bits of cut up pieces of the pill. So he ate most of the food but left the part with the pill pieces in it. This is fancy feast gravy lovers which he loves.
Last year when he had an ear infection and needed ear drops twice daily which aren't so bad, it got to the point with him hiding that I literally had to keep him in my dog crate during the day the last three days to make sure he got all his doses and we were both were miserable.
I've had literally 12 cats, adult ferals that I've talked, 3 dogs and 3 horses. I can literally medicate almost any dog, cat or horse. I've also dog sat probably 50 dogs and medicated many senior dogs who got quite aggressive when restrained and medicated. This one cat I can get medication into but not on a daily basis as he just hides literally all day if he thinks he will get medicine. And the only reliable way to ensure he gets the full dose is subcutaneous meds which vets don't like to do.
Even now he slept in my bed last night after the med dose but as soon as I woke up he disappeared and will hide all day because he thinks I'll medicate him again even though he doesn't know I won't till tonight.
This whole situation is just frustrating.

 

[inkysmom]

Oops meant to say adult ferals that I tamed as adults who'd never been inside or had any positive human interactions before

 

[Antonio65]

The cat in my avatar got suddenly blind one morning. Her pupils were totally dilated and I realized she couldn't see anything, she was scared.
I called the ophthalmologist and had an appointment right away. The vet saw the detachment of the retina in both eyes due hypertension and prescribed Amlodipine. My cat regained her sight half an hour after the first pill, but her eyesight was coming and going every few days for the rest of her life.
Best of luck, I hope your cat might regain some eyesight.

 

[inkysmom]

It sounds like you caught it really fast so it might have been easier to reverse. That's the medicine my cat is prescribed. I got the first dose in him but since he was stressed fighting with me I'm not sure it helped his blood pressure to restrain him and force him to take it. I was calm and petting him and praising him but he wasn't happy.
That's amazing her sight came back so quickly.