Blind cat losing way more suddenly

[cardmt]

I adopted an older cat a few years ago who lost her sight shortly after I got her. I work from home and am in my office all day so she's more or less isolated herself to this one room since I'm here most of the day. Her food and water are in this room and litter box in a room connected and she had no problem getting around. I keep the floor as open and clear as possible. All of a sudden, she started "getting lost" and taking detours going to her food or litter and also banging into everything, where before she was just walking directly to it. Is this possibly neurological problems or does this happen sometimes to blind cats? I'm not sure of her age because she was adopted but she's somewhat older, anywhere from 8 to 10, possibly older than that. She just had a clean bill of health from the vet right before this started. Thanks!!

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

It doesn't sound like "blind" syndrome, could be anything else. She didn't seize beforehand did she? Sounds likemy AllicksBlindPup's post ictal. Also sounds to me like neuro. Or her balance is gone. When they lose their maps, it generally takes a quiet time for them to 'find' their maps again. For my Gabriel, a touch on the rump returns him to planet earth when he loses his map.

[critters]

I agree with GDBPF--definitely not blindness alone. Senility is a possibility, along with a load of other stuff. Did her "clean bill of health" include testing for kidneys and diabetes?

[cardmt]

I'm not sure about the kidneys and diabetes testing. Whatever is standard for a cat her age. I have to call the vet and ask and probably take her back for another visit just to see if he can see if anything's changed in her blood work or any other way. At least I'm here and can help her almost all day. Thanks both of you for the suggestions!!

[suem]

I am wondering if you ever found out what was going on with your cat? My Pug has been blind for a year and navigates really well in the house and outside. You would never know he was blind. Now, for the past month and a half e is lost, bumping into things like crazy! His hearing has gotten significantly worse - he may be completely deaf and I am thinking that might be his issue. My vet thought maybe he was having pain or something that was distracting him, or possibly dementia - but we can't figure it out! Please let me know if you found anything! Thanks.

[Christine]

Hi suem,

Welcome...has the vet done any blood tests on your pug? Did he give you any thoughts on ways to check his hearing? If he is losing hearing that could be causing him confusion right now. How old is he? Be sure to read the information in the Blind and Deaf section - there is a wealth of great information and tips there. You may also want to check out http://www.blinddog.info/msgbd/ and also http://pugspot.com/community/topic/537/ ... -need-help.

My dog was blind for the last years of her life and I helped her by placing rugs over slippery areas (making a kind of pathway for her) and also placing pillows in front of hard or sharp places she might encounter. I worried about her the most at night because, due to a lot of issues, she could not tolerate a crate so I changed my living room around every night so that both of us could sleep through the night.

http://www.handicappedpet.net/helppets/ ... age#p60727

Maybe others will be along with more help. Please keep us posted and if I find anything else, I will be back.

[cardmt]

suem, I'm the original poster and I'm sorry I didn't answer your question before. I didn't see any notification when you'd posted... Not until the one today when I was notified. Anyway, yes, you're both right.... we did go to a new vet and this one told me that my Persian has lost most of her hearing, which is what is probably causing the unsteadiness. She's mostly confined herself to one room (my office where I'm at most of the day) so we've just kept her food, water and litter in this room or the one next to it and she seems to have finally learned her way again to all three.

Thanks for the link to the blind/deaf site! I will definitely be looking at that for more help!!