Can blindness come and go?

[kit e cat]

Captain is my 14ish year old DLH. He was diagnosed with diabetes a little over a year ago and has been doing great. His last fructosamine showed that his blood sugars were in the range of a non diabetic cat, he gained back all the weight he lost prediagnosis. But something strange has happened 3 times that I'm wondering about. I took him straight to the vet the first time it happened, but the second time I just waited, and it happened again this morning and I'd be willing to be he'll be back to normal tomorrow.

What happens is almost like he loses his vision. He walks funny, like he's afraid to run into something, one time he walked straight through his plate of food. But it only lasts about 24 hours. Does anyone have any idea what might be happening and causing this? Like I said, the first time it happened, I took him to the vet, who did a CBC, and nothing was found to be abnormal. She specifically tested his kidneys because she said that kidney failure could cause blindness. Just looking for thoughts on this.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

First of all, kidney failure does not cause blindness.  High blood pressure can cause blindness. and many kidney cats end up with high blood pressure, but so do  lots of other cats.    I've had 3 kidney cats, and none of them ever had vision issues...OR high blood pressure. 

Diabetes can cause blindness in humans, however, it's not reverseable that I am aware of.

Have you had his numbers checked recently since he gained the weight back?  

since it' s now been 24 hours, does it appear his vision has returned again? 

 

[katkatrosie]

Captain is my 14ish year old DLH. He was diagnosed with diabetes a little over a year ago and has been doing great. His last fructosamine showed that his blood sugars were in the range of a non diabetic cat, he gained back all the weight he lost prediagnosis. But something strange has happened 3 times that I'm wondering about. I took him straight to the vet the first time it happened, but the second time I just waited, and it happened again this morning and I'd be willing to be he'll be back to normal tomorrow.

What happens is almost like he loses his vision. He walks funny, like he's afraid to run into something, one time he walked straight through his plate of food. But it only lasts about 24 hours. Does anyone have any idea what might be happening and causing this? Like I said, the first time it happened, I took him to the vet, who did a CBC, and nothing was found to be abnormal. She specifically tested his kidneys because she said that kidney failure could cause blindness. Just looking for thoughts on this.

Did you ever get an answer to this. My cat is going thru the same thing. Thanks,

 

[FakeGourmet]

Original Poster hasn't been here since 2016. Chances are, you cat has very high blood pressure. Without treatment, cat will go blind. I'm sure you are already bringing your cat to a vet, but if he can't do blood pressure, call area vets to find out if they can. Then ask your vet if he can arrange that. I used to have to go to the University (which is only 20 miles from here) for blood pressure checks, but my local vet can do them now.

Blindness from blood pressure shows up as the iris getting really big under any lighting conditions.

 

[white shadow]

.
@katkatros - read this: All About Hypertension !
.

 

[katkatrosie]

Original Poster hasn't been here since 2016. Chances are, you cat has very high blood pressure. Without treatment, cat will go blind. I'm sure you are already bringing your cat to a vet, but if he can't do blood pressure, call area vets to find out if they can. Then ask your vet if he can arrange that. I used to have to go to the University (which is only 20 miles from here) for blood pressure checks, but my local vet can do them now.

Blindness from blood pressure shows up as the iris getting really big under any lighting conditions.

Thanks, I did take her to the vet. They did a glaucoma test and it is normal. She was blind deaf dor aprox. 6 hours and then regained her vision and hearing for over 3 days. Once again yesterday she lost her vision and sight for about 4 hours only to regain it later. We took her to the vet after her first episode and did a glaucoma test that was normal. Took her again today and CBC and all other tests were normal. No explanation for her vision coming and going.

 

[white shadow]

I don't think you read that link I gave you.....here's what it says:

"Your cat may also walk differently, perhaps keeping to the side of rooms, or walking through food (because s/he cannot see it)..."​

Does that sound like your cat ? I think so !

No explanation for her vision coming and going.

Did they measure her blood pressure ?

IF high blood pressure is causing this.....and....IF she is not treated....she will become PERMANENTLY BLIND.

You have to act on this now......no time to waste! Get the blood pressure checked !

(Phone first and ask if they have the equipment to do this....if not, find out who does.)
.

 

[katkatrosie]

A glaucoma test is the measurement of blood pressure in her eyes.

 

[katkatrosie]

I don't think you read that link I gave you.....here's what it says:

"Your cat may also walk differently, perhaps keeping to the side of rooms, or walking through food (because s/he cannot see it)..."​

Does that sound like your cat ? I think so !


Did they measure her blood pressure ?

IF high blood pressure is causing this.....and....IF she is not treated....she will become PERMANENTLY BLIND.

You have to act on this now......no time to waste! Get the blood pressure checked !

(Phone first and ask if they have the equipment to do this....if not, find out who does.)
.[/QUOT

Her blood pressure was normal.

 

[white shadow]

Her blood pressure was normal.

All else being equal (equipment functioning/competent Vet/testing done properly) that probably indicates that her BP is spiking....here's the part on that: Spiking

(And, you seem to understand that testing for glaucoma is the equivalent of testing "Blood Pressure"....it is not. So, when you say "her bp was normal" and you're basing that on a glaucoma test, well, the logic is flawed.)

This is how BP is measured: How to Measure Blood Pressure

Here's another interesting section....the last paragraph speaks about starting the cat on a BP drug even if you can't get specific evidence of high BP....because it's a relatively safe bet: If Vet Refuses to Treat

And, there's a part in there which I think sums everything up:

"Let me spell this out loud and clear: if your cat has untreated hypertension, it could kill him or her."​

(IF you're going to look for another Vet, competency is everything - and, we know they're not all created equal - a good place to start looking would be a cat-only clinic.)
.

 

[FakeGourmet]

Ok, a couple of things. I personally think the glaucoma test isn't going to tell you squat about high blood pressure, but hey, I don't know enough about those systems in cats. I can tell you that in humans the pressure in the eyes have nothing to do with the pressure in the rest of the body.

Did he check for diabetes? That could also have both of those features of simultaneous vision loss and hearing loss in humans that is temporary.

 

[katkatrosie]

All else being equal (equipment functioning/competent Vet/testing done properly) that probably indicates that her BP is spiking....here's the part on that: Spiking

(And, you seem to understand that testing for glaucoma is the equivalent of testing "Blood Pressure"....it is not. So, when you say "her bp was normal" and you're basing that on a glaucoma test, well, the logic is flawed.)

This is how BP is measured: How to Measure Blood Pressure

Here's another interesting section....the last paragraph speaks about starting the cat on a BP drug even if you can't get specific evidence of high BP....because it's a relatively safe bet: If Vet Refuses to Treat

And, there's a part in there which I think sums everything up:

"Let me spell this out loud and clear: if your cat has untreated hypertension, it could kill him or her."​

(IF you're going to look for another Vet, competency is everything - and, we know they're not all created equal - a good place to start looking would be a cat-only clinic.)
.

Thanks for your help. I did take her back to the 2nd vet but they said her blood pressure was going to be high because she didn't like them there and that was her 3rd time going to the vet that day. It is not easy to find a place where they take a cat's blood pressure. My vet said blood pressure in cat's is normally combined with some other illness. All her blood work came back fine except for her amylase. They checked and she had pancreatitis. The pancreatitis would not cause the high blood pressure.
She has been home since then with no episode of blindness or deafness. The vet would not give me the medication to treat high blood pressure without doing tests 2 days in a row. I read somewhere that Walmart might caryy a blood pressure machine for cats. I will see.

 

[katkatrosie]

Ok, a couple of things. I personally think the glaucoma test isn't going to tell you squat about high blood pressure, but hey, I don't know enough about those systems in cats. I can tell you that in humans the pressure in the eyes have nothing to do with the pressure in the rest of the body.

Did he check for diabetes? That could also have both of those features of simultaneous vision loss and hearing loss in humans that is temporary.[/QUOTE
My cat is diabetic and we have her on insulin twice a day. Normally with diabetes they progressively go blind but not all of a sudden and then they don't regain their vision which my cat actually did. We are treating watching her closely and checking what she eats because she did come back positive for pancreatitis. Pancreatitis itself will not likely cause high blood pressure.

 

[Antonio65]

Thanks, I did take her to the vet. They did a glaucoma test and it is normal. She was blind deaf dor aprox. 6 hours and then regained her vision and hearing for over 3 days. Once again yesterday she lost her vision and sight for about 4 hours only to regain it later. We took her to the vet after her first episode and did a glaucoma test that was normal. Took her again today and CBC and all other tests were normal. No explanation for her vision coming and going.

The cat you see in the profile photo had the same thing for about 12 months.
Got suddenly blind one evening, was visited the next morning, was found with high BP, was put on amlodipine, she regained the sight 30 minutes after the first pill, then, for the rest of her life, she was blind or was able to see every second day or every second week.
The high BP was caused by a very rare disease called hyperaldosteronism. It is highly unlikely that your cat has the same disease, there must be something else.

He retinas got detached, but then they reattached, and no opthalmologst was able to explain what was going on.

 

[Antonio65]

I read somewhere that Walmart might caryy a blood pressure machine for cats. I will see.

Do not trust off-the-shelf machines for reading BP. Even those that cost lots of money are not reliable.
A vet told me that a good BP machine for cats can cost thousands, and then you still need to be able and trained to use it without fail.

 

[FakeGourmet]

To the original poster. I missed that diabetic mention. Sorry. To Antonio, for the home blood pressure monitors , do they at least give consistent results despite not matching what's on the vet's machines? Just like my oxygen monitor doesn't match the one at the hospital, it does give information if there is a significant change for the doctor to pay attention to it.

 

[Antonio65]

As far as I have seen at the various vet practices and clinics, there are two different way to measure BP in cats.
The first one looks rather simple.
The portable device has an small inflatable cuff to wrap around the cat's tail, at the base of it, then an electric pump starts inflating the cuff and a display reads min, max pressure and pulse rate.
The other one is called "doppler effect" device. It has an inflatable cuff that can be wrapped around one of the front legs, at the wrist, then it has a special microphone to be applied to one of the veins, and a headset for the doctor.

When I asked to one of those vets which is the best equipment, he told me that the "doppler effect" device is way more accurate, and it costs thousands.
The other one costs one third, but it's not totally reliable.
And however, a trained person is necessary to use it.

A couple of years ago, when my cat had BP issues, I wanted to invest in a good device. I asked a vet near my home, she told me she didn't have it in her practice and that she would have been glad to buy one for me and split the cost. The one I had found was around 500 euro, was nearly automatic and required little experience to operate it.
When I asked the other vet that I mentioned above, he told me that the device I had found was "a toy".