Poppy's Eyesight

Minxrat

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Nov 15, 2017
Messages
209
Purraise
233
Location
Southampton, UK
Poppy is my 13 month old beauty shown in the my profile picture. She's an indoor cat.

For a while now I've noticed her eyes are almost permanently dilated unless in sunlight. She is clumsy too. The vet looked hard at her eyes the other evening and concluded that she is partially sighted. The retinas are not detached.

She is not totally blind as she played with the laser toy this morning. Yesterday I noticed that she bumped into the coffee table, my leg and Milo twice. The morning before she walked into a wardrobe door that was open.

Does anyone have any ideas about anything that may be wrong with her? The vet thought it may be underdeveloped eyes and said an ophthalmic vet may be the next step but seeing her playing with the laser just threw all my thoughts into turmoil. Could it be tunnel vision? Short or long sighted?

Your experiences of blind/partially sighted cats would be appreciated.
 

Antonio65

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 27, 2017
Messages
6,054
Purraise
9,674
Location
Orbassano - Italy
My cat was blind only in certain moments. There were days when she could see normally and days when she was blind.
Her retinas got detached after a blood pressure peak, but then they got reattached. She was visited a few times by different ophthalmologists, all of them with different opinions.
Anyway, even during moments when she was blind, she was able to dodge obstacles that she didn't know were there.
 
Last edited:

Kieka

Snowshoe Servant
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Sep 6, 2016
Messages
11,394
Purraise
19,964
Location
Southern California
Cats are amazingly adaptable. I’ve heard of fully blind cats who no one realized they had gone blind until they rearranged the furniture. Partly sighted cats will go after any movement in play so going after the laser isn’t really a sign of sight.

I’d follow up with the specialist, if only to confirm that it isn’t caused by a medical problem. Beyond that try not to move things too much in the home (keep doors open a consistent amount for example). She’ll do the rest.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

Minxrat

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Nov 15, 2017
Messages
209
Purraise
233
Location
Southampton, UK
Well the laser was perfectly still in my hand and I just directed the beam on the bed as we were all lying on it, and her paws were hitting the dots each time so I suspect she can see something, if not a lot. It was dim in the room and the laser is bright.

She is doing remarkably well but if this has been happening for a while then I guess she has adapted as she went along as she is still very young.

I think I will follow up just to get a diagnosis really. Does make me laugh when she walks into Milo as he'll either hit her or lick her (he's 7 months old).
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

Minxrat

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Nov 15, 2017
Messages
209
Purraise
233
Location
Southampton, UK
My cat was blind only in certain moments. There were days when she could see normally and days when she was blind.
Her retinas got detached after a blood pressure peak, but then they got reattached. She was visited a few times by different ophthalmologists, all of them with different opinions.
Anyway, even during moments when she was blind, she was able to dodge obstacles that she didn't know were there.
I only noticed when she walked into a sideways on mirror and squeaked. Now I know there's something wrong I'm following her around like a concerned mum. Poor baby!

She is overweight according to the vet, but I'm not convinced as she's Maine Coon mix and the breed is large. She weighs 12lb.
 

Antonio65

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 27, 2017
Messages
6,054
Purraise
9,674
Location
Orbassano - Italy
Yes, you need a good ophtalmologist who has to run a thorough visit with all possible tools.

I'd have her blood checked too. A lack of Taurine can give sight issues, talk to your vet and see if this could be one of the causes.
 

Furballsmom

Cat Devotee
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jan 9, 2018
Messages
39,271
Purraise
53,927
Location
Colorado US
Hi! You probably know this but regarding her weight, she's likely not done growing yet so if her appetite is large still, I'd keep feeding her as much as she wants (and the same with Milo - kittens need to be fed as much as they will eat). When her growth finally slows down her appetite probably will also.

There are adult cat body condition charts on the internet for when you get to that point, and also, when you lightly feel her ribs, you should be able to detect a thin layer of fat over them. If so, you, and she, are in good shape :heartshape:.
 

Kieka

Snowshoe Servant
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Sep 6, 2016
Messages
11,394
Purraise
19,964
Location
Southern California
Body condition chart I like, in regards to Furballsmom Furballsmom comment,

It could be the brightness with the laser pointer. Cats with limited vision can still see shadows and lights, along with movement. I really wouldn't worry too much about her actual sight and focus more on the cause. Her sight is what it is and she's handling it well. Making sure it doesn't get worse or, if it's possible, being able to treat a possible cause to restore some sight would be my focus. A specialist should be able to better identify if there is a driving cause and options from there. However, it is fairly common for kittens to be born with underdeveloped eyes or sickness/infection at a young age to leave permanent damage. Not much can be done with either of those issues.
 

Margret

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
6,497
Purraise
8,927
Location
Littleton, CO
I strongly recommend this book: Homer’s Odyssey by Gwen Cooper - BookBub. If you don't want to spend money on it you can almost certainly check it out of the library.

Homer was an astonishingly competent cat - he could leap into the air to catch a fly just by sound! - and he had no vision at all. Gwen talks about how she made sure Homer knew where his bowls and litter boxes were and how she optimized her home so that he could easily find his way around, as well as telling fantastic stories about how Homer helped to take care of her. And her account of 9-11 (she lived and worked near the Twin Towers at the time) is utterly harrowing.

Not everything about Homer will apply to Poppy, of course, but the book should give you a few clues about what to expect along the way, and how to deal with the problems that arise.

Margret
 

Willowy

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
31,886
Purraise
28,287
Location
South Dakota
There's a cat at Petsmart right now, from a local rescue. . .they say she has mild cerebellar hypoplasia, and the only sign of it is that her eyes are always dilated and she's a bit clumsy. I don't know how they diagnosed her---I'm just going by what her adoption papers say, lol---but that might be something to look into for your kitty.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #13

Minxrat

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Nov 15, 2017
Messages
209
Purraise
233
Location
Southampton, UK
Hi! You probably know this but regarding her weight, she's likely not done growing yet so if her appetite is large still, I'd keep feeding her as much as she wants (and the same with Milo - kittens need to be fed as much as they will eat). When her growth finally slows down her appetite probably will also.

.
She prefers dry food but I don't see that she overdoes it, nor the wet. Milo has got to that point in kittenhood (7 months) where he stops inhaling wet food and just eats when he's ready, so it means she gets a chance to eat hers without him diving on in :eek:
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #14

Minxrat

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Nov 15, 2017
Messages
209
Purraise
233
Location
Southampton, UK
There's a cat at Petsmart right now, from a local rescue. . .they say she has mild cerebellar hypoplasia, and the only sign of it is that her eyes are always dilated and she's a bit clumsy. I don't know how they diagnosed her---I'm just going by what her adoption papers say, lol---but that might be something to look into for your kitty.
Oh! Ok I'll have a little read up and mention it to the ophthalmic vet when we go.
 

Margret

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
6,497
Purraise
8,927
Location
Littleton, CO
I read that book a couple of years ago, nice book, but sometimes it seemed to me that Gwen exaggerated too much on Homer's abilities.
I've been assuming that it wasn't exaggeration. In fact, I really think that it wasn't.
  • Homer was essentially blind from birth - he had never had vision so he had never learned to rely on it.
  • Homer had all the normal instincts of any cat, including pouncing on the other cats in the family, but no understanding of the need to first hide so the other cats couldn't see him coming, and he never did figure out why his humans became inexplicably clumsy (tripping on him) when they got out of bed to use the toilet in the middle of the night. :lol:
  • Because Homer had never had vision he was unaware that there were things he was "supposed" to be unable to do, so he just went ahead and did them. Sounds like perfectly normal cat behavior to me.
I have a friend who is legally blind (as opposed to totally blind - more like Poppy than Homer, but human). She reads with the book held about an inch in front of her eyes. And when she was in elementary school she used to steal Weekly Readers from her classmates, because the school wouldn't subscribe a "blind" kid to Weekly Reader. When she needs to navigate a new space she counts her steps and creates a mental map of the entire area, much like Homer learning where the food and water bowls are kept, and the litter boxes. And she's taken martial arts lessons and it can be very dangerous to startle her.

Margret
 

Willowy

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
31,886
Purraise
28,287
Location
South Dakota
Yeah, I have a young male who's mostly blind. One eye is gone and the other is very scarred and cloudy. I know he can see a little because he responds to visual stimuli but I don't think he sees very well. He's clumsy and misses jumps sometimes. . .but he still goes for it. It doesn't bother him a bit.
 

Margret

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
6,497
Purraise
8,927
Location
Littleton, CO
Dang - no kidding?! What an impressive thing to do - good for her!!
I think it helps with her balance, and her sense of where her body is. And I know that part of it was simply that part of the training is how to fall properly, so you don't get hurt. Since she tends to take her lap harp and guitar to Renaissance Fairs and spend the summer working that circuit, with all the crowding and uneven ground, she really needed to know how to fall safely.

Margret
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #19

Minxrat

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Nov 15, 2017
Messages
209
Purraise
233
Location
Southampton, UK
Yeah, I have a young male who's mostly blind. One eye is gone and the other is very scarred and cloudy. I know he can see a little because he responds to visual stimuli but I don't think he sees very well. He's clumsy and misses jumps sometimes. . .but he still goes for it. It doesn't bother him a bit.
I feel incredibly sad for Poppy that she is not seeing everything she used to see. Rather than leave her in her little world when Milo is upstairs asleep and I'm at work, I'm going to leave the radio on for her every day, with more of a chat than music station. I know she won't "listen" to it but it's better than silence. She's good with getting up one side of the bed (hers) but when she jumps up on mine, it's a huge jump and she nearly overshoots :lol:

I know she can see neon lights in the dark as she can see and play with the laser pointer. Off to make a new post about toys now.....:biggrin:
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #20

Minxrat

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Nov 15, 2017
Messages
209
Purraise
233
Location
Southampton, UK
Update on Poppy: the ophthalmic vet says that she has retinal degeneration and that she may be able to see light/dark contrasts but that may go in time. I know she can see bright lights in the dark but that's about it. She's adapted amazingly well and I know it sounds silly but it's almost like she knows that I know she's blind now, she's just a little sweetheart. Her little nutty brother Milo is so good for her, he just needs to realise that she can't see and then it will be great. He likes to ambush her and of course she can't see him coming.....
 
Top