Blind Pets

kittymom

kittymom

Cathlete
My cat is a diabetic and monday night he went into real bad diabetic shock. He has been having ceasures and the vet told me he is now blind. I have been crying uncontrollably for two days. Is he going to have a quality life being blind? I am trying to figure out the best thing for him. The vet says the next 24 hrs are critical, I dont know what to do. ;(
 
(((Kittymom))) Having a sick pet is so difficult to deal with. Is your kitty an in-door kitty? If he is, you shouldn't have too many problems with his quality of life. If he's not...that's another story completely.

My biggest concern would be the diabetes. I'm sure you are doing everything you can to control that but it has got to be difficult.

I recently had to put down my 14 year old cocker who was in congestive heart failure. While he still got excited to see me when I came home from work, he was having difficulty getting up the stairs & coughed like an 80 year-old man with congestive heart failure.

A friend told me that we need to remember that our fur babies can't tell us when it's time. We have to make that decision for them. They will always greet us with love. Kitties will purr when we give them love, puppies will wag their tails. That's how they are made. For me, that was what I needed to hear...I didn't want him suffering.

It was very difficult to make the decision. My vet was AWESOME! I called & spoke to her before bringing my baby in. We talked about how he was behaving--the cough, slow moving, but still wanting to play. She told me that I was making the right decision--she had no qualms with it.

When we brought him in, the entire staff was wonderful. We were taken to a special room & treated very compassionately. They let us stay with him until the end & told us to stay as long as we needed after he went to "sleep." That's how it looked. He closed his eyes & let one last sigh. Even now I'm tearing up thinking about him laying in my lap that night. But it was the right decision for us & him.

It wasn't easy & it hurt like hell (a month later, it still does). But I know in my heart that it was time.

My heart goes out to you as you try to decide what is best for you & your fur baby.
 
My kitty is an indoor kitty. Thank you for your heartfelt words. I think this is one of the toughest decisions to make. I love him so.
 
In 2002 I lost my cat to diabetes. The little guy was a champ and fought to stay.

In my case, I think that Tigger was diagnosed too late; the damage had been done. He was also treated by a vet who did not know what he was doing. We live in a very rural area of Utah. Most of the vets here specialize in livestock.

After all of this time has passed, I still feel a pain in my heart for his struggle. I gave him morning insulin shots and monitored him closely only to lose him no matter my best efforts.

It is good that you have a vet who understands the seriousness of your cat's condition. I am so happy for you. I believe your vet will be good for you during this time and I envy that.

I wish I could give you advice, the only thing I can offer is a shoulder. When a pet is sick, it tears your heart out.

Melissa
Paragonah, UT
 
{{{{{kittymom}}}}}

I'm sorry about your cat. I had a 12 yo Boston Terrier, Chelsea, that had a bout of cluster seizures last August that caused her to be temporarily blind. Since was an older girl, and not incredibly active anyway, the blindness wasn't detrimental - she still loved to snuggle, eat peanut butter out of a Kong toy, go for rides, and chew her bones. Her quality of life was still quite good.

Here are a couple of web resources about blind pets, one of them is a little more dog-centric, but it may still be useful.

http://www.veterinaryvision.com/public_forum/Blind.htm
http://www.blindpets.com/

Sending you and your kitty lots of positive vibes.
 
I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty! I have a diabetic cat, too, and worry about him.

I used to have a blind cat. She could maybe see the difference between the white bathtub and the surrounding area, or big contrasts, but other than that, she was blind as a bat. She got along amazingly well (when I first got her, I put her at the bottom of the bed to sleep--because I was allergic to cats at the time--and in the morning, I woke up, and she was at the top of the bed, lying on her side, with her head on the pillow and her top paw on my arm!). She could sniff out food whereever it was. And when I visited my parents, and took her along, she amazingly found the litter box in the basement and went down and up again by herself (I had brought her own litter box so she wouldn't have to do that, but she did well on her own).

Blindness isn't a death sentence, so that shouldn't be a concern. It may take him a while to adapt if he suddenly went blind, but just make sure his litter box is in an area that's easy for him to find, and make sure there are clear paths for him to get around.

I would be concerned about theh seizures, though. And if they continue, that doesn't sound like a good way to live.
 
A couple of years ago, my first cat was diagnosed with feline leukemia. He was a HUGE cat and over a few weeks lost a tremendous amount of weight, then started having seizures and wasn't eating and having him put down was the right thing to do. However, it was TERRIBLE for me and he was only a couple of years old, so that part was really awful. I felt so badly about the whole thing and he was such a wonderful cat. ;( However, it was the right thing and my vet was really great. She cried right along with me and made me feel good about the decision.

Good luck. I do hope it works out for you.

Marie
 
I don't have any kitty advice, but I have many ((HUGS)) to send! Sending you good vibes and healing thoughts, too.

Whenever I am not sure what decision to make for my pets, I ask my vt what she would do if it was her pet.

Colleen
 
i don't have cat advice either, but just wanted to say how sorry i am that you little one is having trouble. it is so hard as they rely so much on us to take care of them. i hope whatever the outcome is that you will find peace with it at some point.

also, johnswife, i started bawling reading your post about your cocker spaniel. i have an 14 year old pug that i know i is coming to the end, and just reading your description made it so real to me. i am so sorry for all of the pet losses on this thread...
 
I had a toy fox terrier that went blind due to glaucoma when he was about 6 years old. He lived another 11 1/2 years! He got along wonderfully for many years. Could even go up and down stairs and find his way around the house and yard (he was an indoor dog),jump on the sofa, etc. As he got older, he started to lose his hearing and that seemed to affect his ability to get around. I wish you the best, I know how difficult it is to watch a pet (or child!) have a seizure. Marnie (((hugs))).
 
Sorry that you and your kitty are going through this. Just remember, animals are very resilient. They adapt alot easier than we do. My neighbor had a cat that was blind and he did very well. Just don't switch out the furniture too often. They had a chair that he liked to get in and they moved it a few feet back to make more space in the room. That first day he would go to where he normally jumped up from and jump into the air. I think they ended up moving the chair back.

Jean
 
Thank you all for your kind words. I had my beloved Blackie put down yesterday. The vet said that he would never fully recover it was one of the hardest decisions i think ive ever made. I miss him so. I know he is in a better place. I just wish I could quit crying. ;(
 
I, too, don't have kitty advice, just {{{HUGS}}} because I am also a kitty mom. I have 3 purr babies and love them to pieces. I can't imagine what you are having to deal with right now, but I hope that you can make a decision that the best for you and your furbaby.

Again, {{{{HUGS}}}}
 
i am so sorry for your loss and that you had to make such a hard decision. you are a very strong woman for having put your baby's situation ahead of your need to have him in your life. he will be waiting at the rainbow bridge for you, and is now playing with all of the other kitties that are already there. you cry all you need to, and we are all shedding a tear for you as well.
 
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