Mary Allen
Does your kitty have trouble finding her bearings, seem insecure and confused? Your cat may have gone blind. The causes of vision loss are varied. Eye injuries can be behind it, but also infections and other diseases.
Even if a cat is blind, it can still have a very nice life. Nevertheless, it is good to know the causes that can lead to blindness. Because not all, but some of these causes can be avoided. In some cases, you can also limit the extent of the blindness if you go to the vet in good time and, for example, pay attention to a healthy cat diet.
Causes of Sudden Blindness in Cats
If your cat suddenly stops seeing, it could be due to an eye injury. Less obvious causes are chronic underlying diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or nutrient deficiencies. For example, diabetes can cause a sudden clouding of the lens, known as cataracts, and high blood pressure can cause bleeding inside the eye. In turn, a lack of vitamin A can lead to acute inflammation of the optic nerve head, leading to blindness in the cat. However, such inflammation can also result from some toxins or autoimmune diseases. Another possible cause of sudden blindness is increased intraocular pressure caused by so-called glaucoma, also called a green star.
You can easily prevent many of the causes mentioned. A nutrient deficiency can be avoided, for example, by giving your cat a healthy, balanced diet. In this way, you can also prevent diabetes and high blood pressure in your cat. Because these can often be attributed in part to being overweight.
Some drugs or toxins can cause acute retinal detachment and blindness. It is best to ask your veterinarian about the possible side effects of medicines. In addition, the retina can suddenly change or detach without any apparent cause, leading to blindness in your cat. In what is known as central blindness, the cat’s eyes are healthy, but the optic nerves are damaged and the brain can no longer process the information that the eyes take in. Furthermore, untreated conjunctivitis can lead to blindness in cats. Conjunctivitis can be triggered by bacterial and viral infections, but also by allergies or foreign bodies.
Cat is Gradually Going Blind: That Could Be the Reason
All kittens are born blind. Some kittens’ eyes don’t develop properly, so they remain blind for life. Other cats only go blind later, for example, due to a cataract that develops only slowly. Other chronic eye diseases can also lead to slow retinal detachment or a gradual change in the retina in cats because a lack of taurine in the diet gradually causes the cells on the retina to die off. However, some cats also have a congenital misalignment of the eyelids or the second row of eyelashes. Like tumors in the eye or herpes infection, these can lead to inflammation of the eyes, which gradually go blind if left untreated.