How to help a nearly blind cat find the litter box

[les26]

Sugar is about 17, and four years ago she developed a cancerous tumor on her throat and when the vet had her under to remove it and do some dental work she had a HORRIBLE reaction to the anesthesia, they couldn't control it and had to take her 1 hour away to a vet hospital and a week and thousands of dollars later she came home, but her sight was greatly affected thanks to this episode and also by a med they had to give her. She has recently been getting worse, bumping into things, I noticed her third eyelid was showing so I took her to the vet and got antibiotic eyedrops and of course that problem isn't helping her sight issue but she still can see a little bit the vet thought upon exam but she is having some issues navigating and finding the litter box; when she finds it she is okay, but if she gets near it and can't find it she'll pee on the floor. Is there anything we can do to help her find it, any kind of scent markings or anything to do so she can find it? We have 1 box in a seperate area and she will use that, it is closer than the other 5 in another room, but at times she will still venture to those too. But any help on this and also how to help her in general would be appreciated. We do know not to move anything in the house as she has it sort of mapped out and probably is remapping it in her head, and at night we leave night lights on for her and the others (and us).

Thank you for any advice! The litter box is the big issue at the moment.

 

[di and bob]

Make sure the sides are low enough for her to navigate too. She SHOULD be able to smell the litter box, maybe she has a hard time smelling too. With her third eyelid showing she may have congestion. She may do better if she is confined to a smaller area. Of course, you don't want to stress her out any more than you have to also. You might get some DMG for her, it helps build up the immune system, she may need it now that she is older. Maybe some Nose Relief from Amazon too.

 

[Furballsmom]

Along with that great reply, maybe leave a piece of her poop in it?

 

[les26]

Make sure the sides are low enough for her to navigate too. She SHOULD be able to smell the litter box, maybe she has a hard time smelling too. With her third eyelid showing she may have congestion. She may do better if she is confined to a smaller area. Of course, you don't want to stress her out any more than you have to also. You might get some DMG for her, it helps build up the immune system, she may need it now that she is older. Maybe some Nose Relief from Amazon too.

She gets cat vitamins and fish oil and a homeopathic remedy called "Oral health" for her teeth and gums since there is no way anyone in their right mind will put her under again after that fiasco 4 years ago, but the big hitter we started about 12 days ago is "5 Defenders" mushroom supplement for cats, years ago Serenity had a brain tumor and mushrooms helped her live 1.5 years and it was a good life so we are hoping lightning strikes twice! And yesterday was the first time Deb said that she could see an improvement in her, I have seen it before that, but yesterday she came out to eat, and even went and ate out of the regular bowls after eating hers so we were thrilled! I contacted the company and told them her story and asked if we were dosing it okay for her weight and they told us that they have gotten many great stories from pet owners dealing with this type of issue and that it helps a lot, and they told us we could give her more than what we were giving her, so the night before she gave her more and yesterday morning she ate like I said and this is without any appetite stimulants! And this morning she was up on the back of the sofa, walking around, exploring, so she must really be starting to feel her oats! She was a bit unsteady and reaching out to feel her way but I didn't trust it, didn't want to come home to seeing her laying on the floor in pain so I put her down, but that I think is a HUGE sign of improvement, if she didn't feel well there's no way she would've went up there! And she does still jump up on her recliner and her favorite chair and now the dining room chair, so she still feels like doing this and does it, she is about 17 and thin but when we go to put her eyedrop in it's like she weighs 200 pounds, she fights like crazy lol!!!

She does have mucus and sneezes somewhat and sometimes will expel strings of clear mucus from her mouth, but we don't know if it is from her tooth issue or upper respiratory issues or if the mushrooms are kicking it out of her, but she did have two shots of Convenia, I know it was needed at least the first one but that knocks her for a loop, I much rather she has these natural things and the reviews for the "5 Defenders" are wonderful so we are giving it to her whether the issue on the side of her mouth is from her teeth and gums or is cancer, she had that cancerous tumor removed 4 years ago, they said there was a 20% chance it could come back, but we are NOT going to take her to a dental vet 1 hour away to have a biopsy done like they suggested, no way at her age and what she has been through are we going to do that and stress her and us out even more, and if it is cancer we wouldn't treat her with chemo or radiation so we are trying these things and I swear the swelling on her left side of the face is not as big as it was, so based on that and the last few days what she is doing I believe the mushrooms are really helping her!

She's sleeping now and sleeps most of the day but at 17 she will, heck half the house is sleeping right now, these sleepyheads lol!!!

 

[les26]

I also wanted to add that she I am sure has some neurological issues too, when this horrible thing happened 4 years ago she stopped breathing for about a minute as her breathing tube got clogged with mucus, and then a day or two later they said she had a seizure.... So she has that going against her too sadly.

She loves to lick a catnip filled fabric filled "tube", don't know the exact right name for it but she loves to lick that, maybe it helps her mouth feel better? And she was walking around before and now is washing away on a dining room chair, the chair next to at least 20 year old Simba who is sleeping away lol!!

 

[Caspers Human]

Take a piece of toilet paper or paper towel, use it to soak up some of her pee and leave it inside the litter box.
This will concentrate the smell of her urine, giving her a stronger scent trail to follow.

Just change it out every so often to make sure the scent is fresh. Probably when you clean her box each day.

 

[les26]

Take a piece of toilet paper or paper towel, use it to soak up some of her pee and leave it inside the litter box.
This will concentrate the smell of her urine, giving her a stronger scent trail to follow.

Just change it out every so often to make sure the scent is fresh. Probably when you clean her box each day.

Interesting idea, thank you!

 

[les26]

She just ate and ate and ate supper, she was on a chair and I took it in to her and she ate and got her mushrooms and fish oil and oral health support and she ate as much if not more than some of the others! I don't care if I have to take it in to her, I'll do that for her as long as it takes and as long as she eats it!

I forgot to mention the vet did bloodwork weeks ago and despite a heart murmur nothing horrible was revealed thank God, I would think if she truly had cancer something would've been out of whack? But I don't trust bloodwork 100%, we've already had cats that had it done and were told they were "fine" and were dead very soon after, but nothing horrible stood out.

 

[Pjg8r]

I don’t know if her vision is the issue. I have a cat who has been blind the entire 3 years I’ve had her and finding the litter boxes has not been an issue. It may be a mobility issue because of her age - getting in and out of the box.

 

[les26]

I don’t know if her vision is the issue. I have a cat who has been blind the entire 3 years I’ve had her and finding the litter boxes has not been an issue. It may be a mobility issue because of her age - getting in and out of the box.

I believe it is her vision as she is struggling more to walk around without bumping into things, and like I said this morning she was on top of the back of the sofa and was reaching down and around to find out where she was; when she finds the box she seems to be able to get in and out no big issues, and also still jumps up onto chairs so I do believe it is her vision but she is older and more frail too.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

If she is reliably able to find the right room, you might make a "pathway" with carpet tiles to the box. The difference in sensation on her paws will let her know she's headed in the right direction. Learned that one from a friend who has FIVE blind cats, all rescues.

 

[Caspers Human]

Cats use visual, scent, auditory and tactile cues to build a 3-D map of their world.
If a cat loses one of those sensory inputs, they will have to rebuild that map, using other cues to fill in the gaps.
It will take some time for that to happen.

Since your cat has only recently become (partially?) blind, I think that she's still in the process of rebuilding her map.
It's probably going to take some time for that to happen.

In the mean time, I like a lot of the ideas that people have given, here.
Nightlights. Floor mats. Scent trails. All good ideas!

What about an auditory cue? What can we think up for that?
Could you, maybe, hang a bell or a small wind chime in her litter box room?

I don't know, really... What do other people think?

 

[Pjg8r]

I’ve never used it, but maybe someone can comment on Cat Attract litter and whether that may be of help.

 

[Mighty Orange]

She gets cat vitamins and fish oil and a homeopathic remedy called "Oral health" for her teeth and gums since there is no way anyone in their right mind will put her under again after that fiasco 4 years ago, but the big hitter we started about 12 days ago is "5 Defenders" mushroom supplement for cats, years ago Serenity had a brain tumor and mushrooms helped her live 1.5 years and it was a good life so we are hoping lightning strikes twice! And yesterday was the first time Deb said that she could see an improvement in her, I have seen it before that, but yesterday she came out to eat, and even went and ate out of the regular bowls after eating hers so we were thrilled! I contacted the company and told them her story and asked if we were dosing it okay for her weight and they told us that they have gotten many great stories from pet owners dealing with this type of issue and that it helps a lot, and they told us we could give her more than what we were giving her, so the night before she gave her more and yesterday morning she ate like I said and this is without any appetite stimulants! And this morning she was up on the back of the sofa, walking around, exploring, so she must really be starting to feel her oats! She was a bit unsteady and reaching out to feel her way but I didn't trust it, didn't want to come home to seeing her laying on the floor in pain so I put her down, but that I think is a HUGE sign of improvement, if she didn't feel well there's no way she would've went up there! And she does still jump up on her recliner and her favorite chair and now the dining room chair, so she still feels like doing this and does it, she is about 17 and thin but when we go to put her eyedrop in it's like she weighs 200 pounds, she fights like crazy lol!!!

She does have mucus and sneezes somewhat and sometimes will expel strings of clear mucus from her mouth, but we don't know if it is from her tooth issue or upper respiratory issues or if the mushrooms are kicking it out of her, but she did have two shots of Convenia, I know it was needed at least the first one but that knocks her for a loop, I much rather she has these natural things and the reviews for the "5 Defenders" are wonderful so we are giving it to her whether the issue on the side of her mouth is from her teeth and gums or is cancer, she had that cancerous tumor removed 4 years ago, they said there was a 20% chance it could come back, but we are NOT going to take her to a dental vet 1 hour away to have a biopsy done like they suggested, no way at her age and what she has been through are we going to do that and stress her and us out even more, and if it is cancer we wouldn't treat her with chemo or radiation so we are trying these things and I swear the swelling on her left side of the face is not as big as it was, so based on that and the last few days what she is doing I believe the mushrooms are really helping her!

She's sleeping now and sleeps most of the day but at 17 she will, heck half the house is sleeping right now, these sleepyheads lol!!!

I have been using mushroom defense, it has kept my cat around for 19 extra months with lung cancer, average life is 6 months.

I wish you continue to have good fortune with your cats treatments.

 

[les26]

I have been using mushroom defense, it has kept my cat around for 19 extra months with lung cancer, average life is 6 months.

I wish you continue to have good fortune with your cats treatments.

Is it the "5 defenders" or another brand, and how much do you give your cat per day?

Thank you and great to hear your success!!

 

[les26]

Last night Deb dreamt that Sugar had died, she said she came down to check on her and she was laying against the wall in the spot where Sylvester goes to get his eyedrop and wouldn't lift her head up. Later she came down and said she was laying in the kitchen with her head against a dustpan that leans against the wall by the frig, and there was pee in the kitchen so she didn't find her way to the litter box. So it is safe to say last night was not a good night for both of them....

This morning she was up and eating both some of her food with the vitamins and mushrooms in and also some of the other cats food, so we'll just chalk it up to being a bad night I guess.

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[les26]

I asked the vet to call me and Deb to talk about Sugar, she isn't in today but will call tomorrow. As I was typing to her how she is doing it occurred to me that maybe she is depressed because of the lack of sight, and it is in the kitchen that she has issues and at times pees because she gets "stuck" and can't find her way out, so I want to see what she thinks about that being a big factor in her status, it makes sense to me?! She still eats and drinks, and loves to lick her catnip "kicker", I know I would be depressed if this was happening to me.

We will see what she thinks, just want to talk to her and bounce things off of her, not asking her to make a decision for us just asking for advice, we are the ones that will make the decision unless Sugar makes it for us.

We'll see what she thinks but I just thought of that....

 

[Furballsmom]

I don't know about depressed, but she's having to work a bit to adapt

 

[Caspers Human]

It could be depression but she could also be scared.

How would you feel if everything suddenly went dark?

Even though cats do depend on vision, they really do use all their senses.

Their hearing is excellent and they can actually locate the source of a sound in 3-D space, around them.
They use sensory input from their whiskers and tiny hairs on their paws, on their legs and the sides of their bodies to augment their sight and hearing. They use their tails as a kind of a "feeler" to gauge the position of things around them. Many people think that a cat's sense of smell is even better than a dog's.

Like I said, above, your cat is going to have to learn how to use its other senses to fill in for the lost information from her sight.
This will happen to some degree or another but it will take time.

In the mean time, she'll probably be depressed and scared but she will gradually "reprogram" her sensory inputs and start to come around.

Maybe you could talk to her a lot, in hopes that hearing your voice will comfort her and help her to learn.

I have even heard stories of cats that lose their vision will start to meow a lot more.
Some people might think of it as a sign of distress but, in reality, the cat is using its voice for a kind of echolocation.

You can even try it, yourself! Close your eyes and click your tongue like the way you would tell a horse to "giddyup" then listen for the echo. It actually works and, if you practice, you might actually be able to find your way around your house in the dark.
There are actually blind people who do that!

Basically, this is what your cat is going to learn. Just give her some time.