Some of you may remember Sir Humphrey, my prodigal, FIV+ ex-stray. He was diagnosed with stomatitis 18 months ago and by a combination of holistic options and a full-mouth extraction, his mouth is now a healthy shade of finger pink.
I first noticed something potentially amiss with his eyesight in March this year. He loves snoozing in the conservatory and would stay in there all night if I let him. It was still quite cold at night back then, so I was bringing him in at bedtime. One night, I picked him up and brought him in to the kitchen and set him down whilst I locked up. When I turned back, I found him just stood there, motionless and facing the corner. I wondered if he'd found a buzzy bug or something but on closer inspection, there was nothing - just the bare walls. He actually looked completely lost in the corner. I thought maybe the transition from the dark into the light had just dazzled him. I steered him into the lounge and thought no more of it.
Over the next few weeks, there were a few more incidents that made me think something else was going on. He would occasionally bump into the corner of the coffee table, or the door frame when going from room to room. He was also starting to walk slower and with his paws spread slightly futher apart. I only ever noticed it indoors (he doesn't go outside, other than on a harness for a wander or a laze in the sunshine) and in low or artificial light, after the daylight had faded. His pupils become so large and fixed, they covered the whole of his iris, and when I could get him to look at me in the right light, I could see a cloudy greenish sheen to them. He stopped venturing upstairs in the evenings and would only use the litter box in the conservatory. I watched him try to walk straight off the sofa one evening, and decided to take him to the vet to get his eyes and blood pressure checked out. The vet had no concerns about his BP - it was around 155 which she was happy with (allowing for white coat syndrome). She looked at the back of his eye with her 'scope and said there was nothing obvious going on, and it definitely wasn't cataracts, but she mentioned that she couldn't see the surface of the back of his retina very clearly. She said she would send a message to a colleague from another practice - a vetinary opthalmologist - for an opinion, especially given Humphrey's viral status, and get back to me, but I'm still waiting to hear from her, nearly three months later. I have chased her up in the meantime, and had a message via the receptionist to say they'd 'missed each other' due to holiday leave, but I still haven't heard anything, so I think I need to start looking elsewhere for some answers.
I'm being careful not to move any furniture around and he seems to navigate his way around relatively well. He uses the litter box without issue and can even still use the cat flap to the conservatory. He is eating and drinking just fine and if anything, he's probably a bit overweight. He's making up for all those years on the streets, scratching around in the dirt for a living. He knows the difference in texture from the conservatory floor, the kitchen lino and the laminate and rugs in the lounge and I think that helps him get around. He can find the sofa and armchair too and will readily jump up for a snooze. He sometimes bumps into to the other cats which can get a bit awkward! I wonder if they even know that he can't see them.
I can't be certain but I think it may now be starting to affect him earlier in the day, whilst there is still some daylight. He is probably early- to mid-teens in age.
Does anyone have any experience with night blindness in cats? Is this how full blindness begins? I understand that cats see differently in poor light and in the dark, and UV light has something to do with how the retina receives light signals. I have read a bit about PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy) in non-specific breed cats (usually adult-onset) which presents as night-blindness at first, and also Posterior Uveitis, which might explain the inflammation of the retina, but I haven't yet been able to raise these options with the vet.
Sir Humphrey "Bump 'n' Go" and his night blindness (not BP-related)
Re: Sir Humphrey "Bump 'n' Go" and his night blindness (not BP-related)
When we brought Mitz home he’d spent two years in a fairly awful rescue centre (an unheated barn with little natural daylight), so no one noticed he had gone blind as he knew his way round the small pen so well. I had no way of knowing if this was becoming evident before he and Lily were surrendered, but he had no other health issues. He was 8 years old when we got him. It became obvious as soon as we got him home that he had only limited vision in natural daylight, mainly just peripheral vision, but could see very little at night or in dim artificial light. Oddly though, he did love to go out at night (don’t worry, the garden was completely secure and safe for him).
It’s hard to say whether it got worse as he got older as he adapted to the house so well. Several vets had a look, more out of curiosity than anything, as it was clearly untreatable, and they said he had very little blood supply to the retinas. He had that same pupils dilated glazed expression that you describe in poor light. He was happy going up and down stairs, and could even navigate his way round the garden (he realised going up hip was away from the house, and downhill was the way back in (it’s not a big garden so he couldn’t get lost). He knew he could run eight laces across the lawn before he fell into the flower bed, and loved mooching around in the shrubs or sunbathing. He used to follow Lily sometimes, specially if something spooked them, but she had no concept of his blindness and just thought he was a blundering idiot when he bumped into her, and frequently whacked him, so despite him being almost twice her size, we would often find him meekly sitting near her waiting for her to move so he could leave the room!
We took very similar precautions as you, not moving things around, keeping stuff off the floor so he wouldn't trip over it, not putting things right on the edge of the bed so he didn’t land on them when he jumped up, and always rubbing my fingers before I went to stroke him so we didn’t make him jump. We learnt to find ways to stimulate him, as he did get bored and depressed sometimes, a trip round the garden always worked, and he loved Yeoww catnip toys, skating across the floor on tissue later, or a velvet snake thing on the end of a stick that he could hear moving across the floor. He was a sweet adorable cat, such a gentleman, and so stoic. We were heartbroken to lose him very suddenly to cancer when he was 12, but I was so glad to have given him such happy years at the end of his life after that long incarceration, he was a fabulous creature.
I’m sure your cat will also adapt well, it sounds like you’re doing all the right things. It will be sad seeing his confidence change as he loses his sight more, but he can still have a loving, happy and safe life with you.
It’s hard to say whether it got worse as he got older as he adapted to the house so well. Several vets had a look, more out of curiosity than anything, as it was clearly untreatable, and they said he had very little blood supply to the retinas. He had that same pupils dilated glazed expression that you describe in poor light. He was happy going up and down stairs, and could even navigate his way round the garden (he realised going up hip was away from the house, and downhill was the way back in (it’s not a big garden so he couldn’t get lost). He knew he could run eight laces across the lawn before he fell into the flower bed, and loved mooching around in the shrubs or sunbathing. He used to follow Lily sometimes, specially if something spooked them, but she had no concept of his blindness and just thought he was a blundering idiot when he bumped into her, and frequently whacked him, so despite him being almost twice her size, we would often find him meekly sitting near her waiting for her to move so he could leave the room!
We took very similar precautions as you, not moving things around, keeping stuff off the floor so he wouldn't trip over it, not putting things right on the edge of the bed so he didn’t land on them when he jumped up, and always rubbing my fingers before I went to stroke him so we didn’t make him jump. We learnt to find ways to stimulate him, as he did get bored and depressed sometimes, a trip round the garden always worked, and he loved Yeoww catnip toys, skating across the floor on tissue later, or a velvet snake thing on the end of a stick that he could hear moving across the floor. He was a sweet adorable cat, such a gentleman, and so stoic. We were heartbroken to lose him very suddenly to cancer when he was 12, but I was so glad to have given him such happy years at the end of his life after that long incarceration, he was a fabulous creature.
I’m sure your cat will also adapt well, it sounds like you’re doing all the right things. It will be sad seeing his confidence change as he loses his sight more, but he can still have a loving, happy and safe life with you.