Blind cat adoption tips?

bookie wrote:
dear all
i am seriously considering adopting an old cat who is blind, or rather
has had to have her eyes removed because of eye infections which woudl
not clear up. What i am wondering is how she will cope in a new house
and what i can do to make life easier for her to get about. I already
have one old-timer puss who is about 15 or 16yrs old, fairly laid back,
came from a house with other cats previously before I took her in so is
used to sharing her space although she has been an only cat for the
last 18 months with me, and I am wondering how best to approach
integrating them? any tips on this? I am worried that my old cat jessie
will not take to the new cat (mabel) and maybe bully her and mabel will
not be able to stand up for herself as she is blind and fairly
arthritic (mabel is also 16 yrs old but not nearly as spritely as
jessie puss), or do you think that jessie will be ok and not feel that
mabel is a threat because she is blind and so decrepit and will
therefore leave her alone?

I don't want to make life miserable for either of them by taking this
new one on. i wonder whether it would be better to leave mabel in the
shelter until such time that someone who doesnt' already have cats
comes along to take her home, but she has been there a long time
already and is not likely to be homed by anyone else in a hurry, what
do people think?

sensible answers only please, no stupid crap from sad ****s who don't
actually have cats but only post to this site to wind people up because
they have nothing else in their tragic little lives, you know who you
are.
cheers Bookie


I really hope you adopt Mabel. I think that Jessie will adapt fine if
she is as laid back as you say. I had a wonderful Siamese named Dudley
with me for the past 2 years. We sort of inherited him as his mommy died
and she was a friend of the family. Anyway, point is, he was blind AND
deaf and 12 years old with a host of health problems. Oh boy. It's hard
to talk about him. He just went to the bridge overnight on August 28th,
so my heart is still pretty broken.

When he first got here, we didn't even KNOW that he was deaf and blind.
I have to say that it was absolutely amazing to me how he learned his
way around our house. YOu definitely want to be careful about moving
furniture around, but Dudley adapted well to any and all changes that
happened here!!!! My other baby, Luna, was never fond of Duds. She
basically just tolerated him. Sometimes she'd try to swat at him and
stuff and he WOULD fight back. It was kinda funny. Usually though, she'd
just end up running away. Even though he tried to find her and did a
good job following her scent, he'd eventually lose her completely. I
don't think it is a myth that their other senses are heightened. I think
that dudley's nose worked overtime!!!!

I say give it a try. follow MaryL's suggestions on
separation/integration and I think you will have one happily purring
household in no time.

What a wonderful thing for Mabel.
Post pics when you bring her home!!!!!

Pam

"bookie" wrote in message
oups.com...
dear all
i am seriously considering adopting an old cat who is blind, or rather
has had to have her eyes removed because of eye infections which woudl
not clear up. What i am wondering is how she will cope in a new house
and what i can do to make life easier for her to get about.

After she's in your house for a few weeks, you won't believe she's blind!
Blind cats are brilliantly adaptable creatures! Just get her toys that make
noise- some with little bells inside. If your other cat can handle wearing
a break-away collar, get her one with a little bell so she doesn't startle
your blind cat. The bell with also help her follow your other cat around.

Here're some pictures of one of our blind cats. Same circumstances as yours-
severe infection in the eyes + ringworm all over her face. She recovered and
adapted so well that if you didn't see her face you wouldn't know she was
blind. She runs all over the house and even *jumps* and lands with
pin-point accuracy! She's amazing!

http://maxshouse.com/bitsys_page.htm

The cats of this world need more people like you!

Best of luck & congratulations!

Phil

bookie wrote:
dear all
i am seriously considering adopting an old cat who is blind, or rather
has had to have her eyes removed because of eye infections which woudl
not clear up. What i am wondering is how she will cope in a new house
and what i can do to make life easier for her to get about. I already
have one old-timer puss who is about 15 or 16yrs old, fairly laid back,
came from a house with other cats previously before I took her in so is
used to sharing her space although she has been an only cat for the
last 18 months with me, and I am wondering how best to approach
integrating them? any tips on this? I am worried that my old cat jessie
will not take to the new cat (mabel) and maybe bully her and mabel will
not be able to stand up for herself as she is blind and fairly
arthritic (mabel is also 16 yrs old but not nearly as spritely as
jessie puss), or do you think that jessie will be ok and not feel that
mabel is a threat because she is blind and so decrepit and will
therefore leave her alone?

Hello,
MaryL has already given you some wonderful advice. Thank you for
thinking (and hopefully adopting) this kitty! I currently have a 6 yo
cat who is blind in one eye and "impaired" in the other (born with
cataracts in both eyes). He adapted wonderfully and I can't even tell
he has a disability. In fact, I've heard stories of owners whose cats
had gone blind, but they adapted so well, the owners didn't even know
until much later.

Phil P. wrote:

Here're some pictures of one of our blind cats. Same circumstances as yours-
severe infection in the eyes + ringworm all over her face.

My God, Phil, that is one of the worse cases of eye/face infection I
have seen. Please tell me she was outdoors and not an *owned* cat.

-L.

-L. wrote:
Phil P. wrote:

Here're some pictures of one of our blind cats. Same circumstances as yours-
severe infection in the eyes + ringworm all over her face.

My God, Phil, that is one of the worse cases of eye/face infection I
have seen. Please tell me she was outdoors and not an *owned* cat.

-L.
it does look really grim, must have been horribly painful, was someone
supposed to be looking after her when she got into this state? did you
manage to find that person and break their legs? i would have found it
hard not to myself. Poor little mite, how come it affected her
beautiful face or did it affect elsewhere too?

absolutely terrible

"-L." wrote in message
ups.com...

Phil P. wrote:

Here're some pictures of one of our blind cats. Same circumstances as
yours-
severe infection in the eyes + ringworm all over her face.

My God, Phil, that is one of the worse cases of eye/face infection I
have seen. Please tell me she was outdoors and not an *owned* cat.

She was definitely an owned cat at some point because she loves being pet
and held. I think she might have been dumped because of her condition since
she was found wandering around in circles meowing in the street.

Phil P. wrote:

She was definitely an owned cat at some point because she loves being pet
and held. I think she might have been dumped because of her condition since
she was found wandering around in circles meowing in the street.

It's **** like that which makes me hate people.

-L.

She was definitely an owned cat at some point because she loves being pet
and held. I think she might have been dumped because of her condition since
she was found wandering around in circles meowing in the street.

that is ****ing awful, that someone takes on an animal and then dumps
it when that animals need help the most, makes me ashamed to be human
really. This happens all the time and it really sickens me; people
ignore their responsibilites of properly looking after a pet, they shun
that responsibility which we as a species took on centuries ago when we
domesticated these animals for our benefit to catch vermin etc. We owe
these animals a duty of care and to allow an animal who has loved us
and been there for us and who we have got accustomed to a certain level
of comfort and security to continue in such pain and suffering is
unforgiveable, it is evil really to do this kind of thing.
i believe in 'what goes around comes around' and i truly hope it really
happens in this case to the scum who left her in this state

B

bookie wrote:
dear all
i am seriously considering adopting an old cat who is blind, or rather
has had to have her eyes removed because of eye infections which woudl
not clear up. What i am wondering is how she will cope in a new house
and what i can do to make life easier for her to get about.

One thing's for sure... You'll need a high-sided littler box. IBen
involved with a blind cat before. When it took a dump, it would
constantly let it's rump hang over the side (since it couldn't see a
thing). Another little tip,... don't be rearranging the furniture. They
get used to everything being in the same place. It's kinda funny with
the kids, but we know it's not really funny at all, watching Kit-Kat
walking around with a bruised nose all the time.
Just take heed of the little box thing. That's my advice..

To the rest of you.... I know you're reading this. And I know the
drill. Just wanted to let you know I'll be here for awhile. If any of
you wanted to take a vacation, now's the time. Believe me.
IBen Getiner

One handed typist "IBen Getiner" wrote in message
oups.com...

To the rest of you.... I know you're reading this. And I know the
drill. Just wanted to let you know I'll be here for awhile. If any of
you wanted to take a vacation, now's the time. Believe me.

Looks like IBen's "wife" snicker has left him (without an air pump to
inflate "her"):

"I am going away for a while. I will not be back here or in any of these
groups for a spell. These late nite hours.... Oh, MAN. I just can't
keep this up. I have a real life (whether you believe it or not) and
there are others in it. This **** has just got to go."
From: "IBen Getiner" , obviously has no "real life".
Message-ID: .com