by Dayle
(Toronto, Ontario)
I have a male white deaf blue eyed cat. Michael is approximately 7 years old. Around his eyes there is a lot of tear staining.
But recently over the past month or so Michael has been looking at the sheets on the bed for example…as if he sees shadows and he smacks the sheets with his nails like he is afraid to touch it but wants to know what he is looking at.
I believe that Michael is starting to go blind.
Does anybody have any thoughts on this bizarre behavior?
He seems like he is starting to age considerably.
Dayle
Hi Dayle….. thanks for visiting and asking. I hope someone can advise other than me.
White cats are sometimes deaf in one or both ears as you seem to know. This is congenital deafness. The gene that causes the cat to have white fur can also affect the hearing mechanism. However, I cannot find any references to white cats going blind or the an association between white cats and blindness.
You say your cat is a “mutated breed”. I am not sure what that means in this instance. Tear staining is common with the modern Persian cat because the tear ducts are misshapen due to over breeding a flat face. I don’t think the tear staining is relevant in this instance unless it is so bad as to affect the eye itself.
At seven years of age, Michael is not an old cat. He is about midway in his life. I don’t think this is a problem that is directly age related (such as senility).
You say he looks like he has aged considerably. What you seem to be describing is a cat that is acting as if he is old meaning becoming weaker and perhaps losing weight etc.. This might be a symptom of underlying illness not old age.
It might for example be a sign of liver disease. Liver disease can cause “intermittent apparent blindness” as the nervous system can be affected.
High blood pressure (hypertension) in older cats (Michael could be considered an “older cat”) can cause blindness.
As you don’t mention that there is anything that looks wrong about the eyes, underlying illnesses might be the problem – if indeed Michael is showing signs of becoming blind (I trust your assessment by the way).
Well, I have rambled on long enough. My conclusion for what it is worth is that if Michael is indeed going blind the cause is an illness. Hypertension would seem to be the most likely. The most common cause of feline hypertension is renal failure. Another cause is feline hyperthyroidism.
I would consider a visit to the vet as soon as possible for a check up.
