Moon's Graden

My beloved kitty, Franjean, is 11 and has been experiencing some health
problems.  Anemia, suspected FIP (but later tested negative) abdominal
infection, digestion problems, and, lately - seizures - in his sleep.

I feed him Maxicat Senior (after trying a dozen different wet & dry foods until
we found the one that he doesn't throw up), mixed with an herbal vita-mineral
mix &  holistic supplements.  The combo of food, herbs and supplements have
gone a long way to improving his health since the FIP scare and his tummy
problems began.  But -

After the first seizure he seemed disoriented, then snapped out of it and was
fine.  After the second one of his eyes was dialated, but he seemed unaffected,
and after about 2 weeks the eye returned to normal.  He had a third on two
nights ago, and fell off the bed in a limp heap.  I panicked after waking him
up - he wandered aimlessly, his hind legs played slightly, and he ran into
walls and seemed lost.  After checking his eyes, I realized they were both
completely dialated and he didn't react to light at all.

Took him to the vet that morning.  After tests and x-rays, the results are
either a brain tumor - untreatable; infection (he's taking antibiotics); or
stroke - untreatable. Regardless, he's now blind.  And not handling it well at
all.

He ate eagerly yesterday - today, he wants no food or water.  I had to force
feed & water him (otherwise the vet said he'd have to be admitted for an IV).
Yesterday he paced all around the apartment, stopping just short of running
into things.  He found and used the litterbox.  Followed my voice and footsteps
everywhere.  Today he just wandered aimlessly, head down, running headlong into
things.  He won't try to go around things - he cries and tries to climb over.
He jams himself into the tiniest spaces and cries - but then fights when I try
to pull him out.  He bumped the litterbox, then peed where he was, making no
attempt to climb in like he did yesterday.  

I can tell he's depressed and is very frightened and is giving up.  I've
started "kitty-proofing" for a blind cat - removing things from the floor,
blocking access to places he could get stuck, etc. - but I don't know what else
to do.

We also have two female cats who have become very hostile since he went blind.
After I've been holding him (which is most of the time when I'm sitting) they
hiss at **me**, now.  I plan on belling them to give him a fair chance, but
short of restricting him to the bedroom forever, I don't know what to do about
them.  I know cats react angrily to things that make them uneasy, so I know
**why** they're attacking him...but what can I do?

Vets & medicines are one thing...but what **else** can I do for a depressed,
withdrawing kitty who's suddenly gone blind at 11?  I love Franjean very much
and can't give up on him after all we've been through together.

Diane

I almost hate to suggest this but have you talked with your vet about the
possibility of using antianxiety *** for your two females, maybe just for a
few days?  I really prefer behavi***approaches, but not too long ago I faced
a situation during the introduction of a new cat where I had to deal with a
very anxious and alternately hostile, aggressive, and withdrawn cat, and on
advice I found the use of an herbal antianxiety preparation very useful.  It
wasn't a cure, but it reduced the cat's anxiety to where the behavi***
approaches had a *chance* to work.  Exchange of odors (I rubbed my hands with
a very little of my usual scent, then rubbed everyone with my hands, and then
every day at grooming rubbed everyone down with rags I left in everyone's
bedding, indiscriminately), positive reinforcement with treats, lots of
reassurance and cuddling on demand, that sort of thing -- you're probably
already doing these.

Rather than belling the other cats, what I'd suggest is something that would
give a lesser noise -- maybe collars with metal ID tags.  These jingle a
little, but the noise isn't as loud, intrusive, and irritating as that of
bells.  Believe me, I had belled collars on my cats once, and it drove both me
and them nuts!

It sounds to me -- well, I've not dealt with blindness, but based on what I've
dealt with in terms of severe illness and resultant debility in a multi-cat
household -- that you're doing the right things.  About all I can suggest is,
if you're limber at all, rather than always cuddling him on your level, on
your lap, try getting down to his level, on the floor, and cuddling and
encouraging him there.  I'm thinking here of another situation I was in, with
a very ill and debilitated cat, where, being not at all limber myself, I found
when I put him down he'd stagger a couple of steps and then sit and cry until
I picked him up again.  I wound up carrying him everywhere in the house with
me, in a sling.  Since your Franjean's condition is chronic rather than acute,
I don't think you'd want to encourage this sort of complete dependence.  
Anyway, it's all I can think of.

Stacy Scott
slscott at sirius dot com
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