Caring for a Cat When You Are Visually Impaired

I have a severe vision impairment caused by a degenerative eye condition called optic nerve atrophy. Having very little vision makes everything from finding what I need at the grocery store to reading books by my favorite authors a challenge. Though caring for my two special needs cats can be challenging as well, I find caring for my precious fur babies to be the most rewarding thing I do each day. Through the years, I've learned several tricks for caring for cats I'd like to share in hopes that other visually impaired and completely blind individuals can care for their kitties with ease and confidence.

Locating Your Cat

Some people find the bells on cat collars annoying. Personally, I find them to be very helpful in locating my cats. While my two cats are different colors – Carmine is an orange tabby while Lita is a blue lynx-point Siamese – I cannot differentiate between the two if they are more than a few feet away from me.

I learned that putting differently-pitched bells on their collars helps me know who's who when they're moving around. Lita has a high-pitched bell on her collar while Carmine's bell has a lower pitch. It can be challenging to find bells with different pitches, but if you check your local pet supply stores, you should be able to find collars with differently-pitched bells on them for your cats.

How Can I Make Life Easier for My Blind Cat?

 

A cataract developed on Carmine's left eye when he was young. As time went on, the cataract continued to grow in his left eye, and he eventually developed a cataract in his right eye, too. Now, at nearly 16 years of age, Carmine is completely blind in his left eye and can see very little out of his right eye.

Carmine and I have always shared a very special bond. I believe his progressive vision loss has only brought us closer. As someone who is legally blind and struggling with progressive vision loss myself, I can relate to what Carmine is going through in a way few other people can.

Despite the challenges progressive vision loss brings, Carmine has adapted quite well to being nearly completely blind. In fact, if you didn't know him, you probably wouldn't guess that he has any vision issues here at home.

Over the years, I've learned quite a few ways in which I can make life easier on Carmine. I want to share what I've learned in hopes that it will help others with blind cats, too.