Re: PING MARY L
- From: Karen AKA Kajikit <kajikit@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2007 10:43:00 -0400
On Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:13:56 -0700, "Sheelagh >o<"
<sheelagh_madden@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Mary. I wonder if you could possibly advise me on something please?
I have a friend who works for the Cat Protection League, & we have
just found out that one of the cat's kitten's, that she is fostering,
has no sight. Initially she didn't pick up on it. the only thing that
was different about this kitten was that it cried more than most of
the others did.
Today, she took her down to the vet's surgery that she goes to, & she
was told that the kitten is actually blind, as we suspected :( she
doesn't have any pupil's- her eye's are just plain dark blue). It
occurred to me that she might be because although she has her eye's
open, she is unable to keep her eyes open all the time & often sleeps
with them half open. The vet called her condition blind, & has been
diagnosed as Microphthalmia. Apparently that means small eye's- but
they don''t look that small. Although we know that she is blind, we
don't know exactly how much she can see. Our test initially was to see
if she showed any reaction to putting a finger near her eye's & move
it slowly, but she didn't even blink! In fact you can see her sniffing
the air if she suspects there is something of interest near her.
She is unwilling to come out of mothers nest, & another thing that
worries me, is the fact that she is a totally white cat. I'm not sure
if this is true, but I'm' sure that I read somewhere that pure white
cats are prone to be deaf. Do you know if this is true? Either way,
there is no worries there- she can hear with no problems & turns her
head towards noises, & her ears twitch towards noise too.
This kitten is 3 weeks old now, & given that we only have certain
funds available to us, The League are not able to fund a trip for one
kitten to see a specialised vet, & her normal vet suggested putting
her to sleep, mainly because her mother has started attacking her!!!
This has never happened until yesterday. It is as though she is
shooing the kitten away from the litter....
(It is worth pointing out that we live not far from Cambridge where
there is a veterinary school, if that makes a difference?)
Since the vet trip for all of them, Gill has taken her away from her
mum & is now hand rearing her. Neither of us has the heart to put her
to sleep, but having said that, neither of us are in a position to
keep a blind cat- Or, even know how to find anyone that would be
willing to take her on.
How Hard is it to keep a blind cat, & what is the best way to search
for a speacial care adoptive mummy. Can you help us with some
information please Mary? I need to be able to explain what care she
will need (providing we can find a speacial adoptive mum or Dad of
course!?), & I have no idea where to start. How hard is it to care for
a blind cat, & does it take someone speacial to care for one?
Yes, I have considered having her myself. My main concern is to my
established residents. I have a commitment to them first & foremost.
If I were to take her, I want to be sure that I am capable of caring
for her, that she will have a fairly good quality of life, & that I am
not prolonging her suffering.
I do get assistance with veterinary care, but I can't take on
something that is really beyond me.
Also, If we were to look for a new foster mummy or her- what do we
look for in a candidate.
She was born blind and she's only three weeks old. She doesn't know
that she's missing anything... she's not 'suffering' from her
blindness sweety.
If she doesn't have any other serious health problems or birth defects
aside from her eyes, she should grow up perfectly fine and healthy and
well-adjusted, just a little different. Right now she's afraid of the
world because it's all so new to her, and her mother's started showing
agression towards her because she couldn't survive in the wild - she'd
be a handicap to the whole litter and she might cost someone else
their life in the wild. But she's not IN the wild. She's in a nice
safe protected house where there aren't any hostile predators waiting
to carry her away.
As a hand-reared feline she should be fine! She doesn't need any
special care aside from putting her food and water and litter box
close enough to her for her to find them and showing her where they
are (probably more often than a regular kitten...) She's got a nose
and whiskers and ears to help her find her way around - she just needs
to take the time to learn to use them. :)
.
- References:
- PING MARY L
- From: Sheelagh >o<
- PING MARY L
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