How To Best Care For A Blind Cat & Keep Them Safe

Thinking of adopting a blind cat? Or has your buddy gotten a bit cloudy around the eyes as they’ve grown older? Not to worry – caring for a visually-impaired cat isn’t too different from a sighted one. With a few tweaks and adjustments to your environment, you can help them adapt and make their way around just fine.

Importantly: blind cats can lead happy, deeply fulfilling lives despite their visual difficulties. So here’s how you can care for yours – and prevent them from venturing too far away from home.

How can I tell if my cat is blind – or getting there?

If you’re getting the nagging suspicion that your buddy might be slowly losing their vision, here are a couple of signs to watch out for:

• Changes in your cat’s eyes. Look for clouding, discoloration, or unusual reflections. Sometimes, their pupils might be unevenly-sized or don’t respond to changes in light.
• Behavioral changes. Does your buddy seem a bit…jumpier than usual? Or just more cautious than before? A blind cat may be reluctant to jump or run and might bump into walls or furniture more often.
• Difficulties getting around. A blind cat might find it difficult orienting itself or finding its way to familiar places. Like food or water bowls, especially if you’ve moved them elsewhere.
• Lack of response to stimuli. You could test your cat’s vision and senses by standing in front of it and throw some small object – like a cotton pad or tissue. (Something that doesn’t make much noise landing on the floor.) If your cat picks up on it (especially before it touches the ground), they might still have their sight.

⚠️ If you do suspect that your cat is blind – or slowly losing their vision – drop by your vet right away. As pros, they’re the only ones who can make a correct diagnosis, figure out what’s caused it, and advise you how to best support your cat.

What can cause cats to go blind?

A whole range of reasons can result in cats losing their vision over the years. In fact, kittens are actually born blind! They only open their eyes around 7-10 days, which is 100% normal and no need for concern.

But what can make a cat go permanently blind? Or experience vision problems down the line? Here are a couple of causes:

Blindness from birth

If your cat is genetically predisposed for it, they may be congenitally blind as kittens. (Meaning, they were born blind.)

Else, hereditary diseases – such a progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) – may also play a role. PRA involves the gradual degeneration of the retina, which eventually leads to blindness.

Likewise, if Mama Cat was sick during pregnancy, these infections can also play a role. When passed on to the kittens in utero, these diseases can lead to eye problems, infections, or even blindness:

• Toxoplasmosis
• The feline leukemia virus (FeLV)
• The feline herpes virus

Nutritional deficiencies are another factor that could lead to congenital blindness. If Mama Cat isn’t well-fed during pregnancy, the lack of nutrients can slow down the development of the kittens’ eyes and nervous system. Which, left unattended, can lead to permanent visual damage.

😺 So if you’ve got a pregnant cat at home, it’s essential that you spoil them rotten, feed them plenty, and let them rest as much as possible – so Mama Cat can give birth to a healthy litter of kittens.

Read more: Is My Cat Pregnant? What To Watch Out For

Vision loss over the years

If your cat seems to be slowly losing their vision over the years, there may be medical reasons behind it. Including:

• Cataracts, which cause the lens in the eye to become cloudy and can impair vision – leading to complete blindness over time. This condition may be congenital or develop over the course of a lifetime. It may be caused due to injury, inflammation, or systemic disease.
• Glaucoma, which creates great pressure on your cat’s eyes, which can damage the optic nerve. This condition can lead to pain, vision loss, and ultimately blindness if left untreated.
• Retinal degeneration, which include all diseases affecting the retina – like progressive retinal atrophy (PRA). These can lead to a progressive loss of retinal cells and eventually to blindness.
• Uveitis, which is an inflammation of the uvea, the middle layer of the eye. It’s usually caused by infections, autoimmune diseases, or trauma. This inflammation can impair vision and lead to blindness if left untreated.
• Infections, like the feline leukemia virus (FeLV), the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), and fungal infectinos can all lead to inflammation or other eye problems in cats.

• Diabetes mellitus can cause a whole bunch of health problems, including eye problems like diabetic cataracts. High blood sugar can lead to a buildup of sugar in your cat’s eyes, attracting water, and causing the lens to swell and cloud. Diabetic retinopathy, likewise, can affect the blood vessels in the retina and lead to vision loss over time.
• High blood pressure can cause bleeding or retinal detachment, which can impair your cat’s vision.
• Tumors in the eye or eye socket can also affect your cat’s eye structure and vision.
• Aging, which may involve degenerative changes in your cat’s eyes that affect their vision.

🐈 Got an outdoor cat at home? Or just one that loves to explore – even if they’re experiencing some vision loss?

Another reason for blindness in cats include injuries – especially traumatic injuries to the eye, like scratches or punctures. All of which can severely damage their eyes and lead to permanent blindness.

Which an outdoor cat is more likely to run into, especially if they get into a tussle with another cat (or animal) over:

• Mates,
• Hunting grounds,
• Territorial spats,
• or just to show them who’s boss.

💡So whether you’ve got a blind cat or a sighted one at home – tracking where they’re off wandering throughout their territory is how you take an active role in their safety and well-being.

Which you could do by hovering over your cat 24/7…or you could track them remotely with a GPS tracker – right from the comfort of your couch.

(Like a growing family of over a million loving, responsible cat parents around the world – just like you.)

😺 Because with your trusty Tractive GPS strapped to your cat’s collar, you can now track them:

• In real-time,
• Over an unlimited range,
• No matter how dark it is outside,
• Right across their territory,
• And even while on vacation – or 175 countries if you’re on a Premium subscription

All with just a glance at your phone.

Because when it comes to a blind cat making their way around outdoors – why leave their safety up to chance?

Discover Tractive GPS

How would a blind cat make their way around?

Cats are resourceful little creatures. Even with their lack of vision, they can still make their way around through a combination of other senses and their instincts. Including their:

• Sense of smell, especially for food, water, bedding, litter box, and other important spots. Cats use scent marking from the pads of their paws to “claim” little bits of territory around your house – and outdoors – which can help them navigate their environment.
• Sense of touch, through their whiskers, which can help them gather information about their surroundings. These include movements in the air and even obstacles in their path. Likewise, cats’ paws are also very sensitive and can help them recognize different surfaces, like mats and rugs.
• Sense of hearing, with cats being able to detect sounds from a great distance. Cats can also get used to the sound of your household appliances, like the humming of your fridge or the ringing of your doorbell, to help orient themselves.

• Memory and spatial awareness. Cats have great memory and can remember how furniture and other obstacles in their environment are arranged. This can help them avoid obstacles and move around safely. Blind cats tend to follow fixed routes to move around safely, getting from one place to another by using specific paths and points at home.
• Vibrations in the ground can help cats gather information about their surroundings – like footsteps or the tapping of objects – and find their way around.

So be patient with your senior cat – or newly-adopted one. They might seem like helpless little creatures, but rest assured – cats are highly adaptable and can get used to new environments with a little time.

Read more: Want To Adopt a Cat? What To Expect & How To Prep

How can I let a blind cat outdoors – safely?

Supervised outdoors time is one of the best gifts you can give your cat – they benefit tremendously from the sunlight, exercise, and the sights, sounds, and smells of nature. (Yes, even indoor cats.)

However, if your outdoor cat is slowly growing blind, the lack of sensory stimulation can be an even bigger blow than if they preferred the outdoors.

Even so, despite the risks of letting a blind cat outdoors, it shouldn’t be something you restrict completely. Yes, we mean even if your buddy’s slowly losing their vision.

• An outdoor cat that’s lost an eye in a fight or due to age can still make their way around their territory with their sense of touch, hearing, smell, and even vibrations in the ground.
• A cat that’s been blind from birth has had even longer to learn how to make their way around, so they could benefit from short periods of supervised outdoor time.
• Blind cats in general tend to be on the more cautious side – so they’re less likely to stray too far by themselves entirely.

⚠️ Besides, cooping up any cat indoors for too long is a recipe for endless caterwauling, claw marks on your furniture, and a stressed out cat howling out of boredom. (And likely gaining weight over the years due to the lack of activity!)

So if you want to let your blind cat outdoors, here are a couple of your options for max safety.

Never let your cat out unsupervised

It might seem uncharacteristic – but as it turns out, cats can and do adjust pretty well to collars, leashes, and even harnesses! You’ll have to spend more time and effort getting them used to it than compared to a dog, but the resulting safety is always worth it.

Because when it comes to letting a blind cat outdoors, we’d strongly advise you to do so only when you’re able to supervise them at every step. Blind cats might be savvy, but even they’re vulnerable to all manner of dangers outdoors – like from passing cars, cyclists, open pools, other animals, poisonous plants, and more.

So if you can get your cat used to a harness and long lead, you can take them out to enjoy some fresh air together. A harness and lead help your cat walk around in a controlled manner, providing a safety anchor in case your cat spooks from a loud noise and bolts.

⚠️ Should you carry your blind cat around outdoors? Vets don’t recommend it. The resulting lack of sensory stimulation can actually make your cat feel more confused and disoriented!

Cats tend to leave a scent trail behind with their paws. So if you let yours wander around in a safe, supervised space, they can gradually learn to “remember” the path back home.

Ensure your backyard (or outdoor space) has a secure fence

If you have a garden, a secure fence can go a long way helping keep your cat indoors. In fact, an outdoor cat enclosure – or a catio – can help give your buddy some safe outdoor time without compromising on their safety.

Read more: Catio: What Makes The Perfect Outdoor Cat Enclosure For Your Cat

💡And if an expensive physical fence isn’t in your budget – why not try a Virtual Fence for a change?

😺 From your Tractive mobile app, you can quickly and easily mark a “safe zone” around your home and backyard – so your tracker starts monitoring your cat’s movements within this area.

Now the minute your buddy tries venturing past this “safe zone” – you get an escape alert on your device, within seconds.

So you can intervene and bring your cat back to safety – but without compromising on their outdoor time.

Set Up A Safe Zone Today

Be extra mindful around balconies or terraces

If you’ve got a balcony, it’s both a fantastic supervised outdoor space for your cat – but also a highly risky one. (Especially if you live a few floors above!) Which is why it’s always a good idea to never let your cat out into a balcony or terrace without you being around.

Besides, you can also cat-proof your balcony with special wire mesh or another safe covering that can allow your cat some sunlight and outdoor time – without risking them falling off. Some of your other options include:

• Balcony netting
• Plexiglass panels
• Mesh cloth
• Bamboo fencing

Read more: 10+ Tips To Create The Purr-Fect Cat Proof Balcony

💡Besides fall- or escape-proofing your balcony, it’s also a good idea to get your cat used to wearing a collar with an ID tag. Ideally, one with your contact details.

Or better yet, get your cat microchipped to have a permanent ID tag implanted in their shoulder blades. Make sure you’ve updated your contact details on the national microchip database after.

All these steps can help ensure your cat isn’t mistaken as a stray and sent off to a shelter or rescue organization instead!

Living with a blind cat: Our top tips for a safe, happy life indoors

Whether your cat is slowly losing their vision due to age or you’re adopting a blind cat from a shelter, it’s helpful to set up their indoor environment for success. With a few tweaks and adjustments, your little buddy will thank you for it.

If you’ve just brought a newly-adopted blind cat home, give them time to explore and navigate their surroundings – preferably one room at a time to prevent them from getting overwhelmed.

So here’s how to:

Cat-proof your indoors

A blind cat might be more likely to bump into furniture or walls than sighted cats. So you’ll find it helpful to:

• Secure any dangerous areas indoors, like stairs, windows, and balconies with netting or grids to prevent falls.
• Keep your doors either fully open or fully closed, if possible.
• Watch out for window sills, especially those in sunny spots! Tilted windows can be a huge temptation for cats to sneak out from. Consider attaching a non-slip mat on your window sills (or other surfaces your cat likes) to prevent an escape attempt.
• Be mindful of any sharp or pointed objects your cat might bump into.
• Do your best not to shift your furniture around too much, else you risk messing up your cat’s “mental map” of your home layout. Which can be confusing and disorienting for them and risk them getting some bumps and scrapes. For example, using a specific mat or rug to signal “living room” or “bedroom.”

Watch out for any risky indoor hiding spots

Sighted or not, all cats are at risk of squeezing themselves into risky hiding spots indoors. Including:

• Washers and dryers
• The space between your bed and the wall (especially if one of their toys has fallen there)
• The space between your fridge and the wall (especially if they smell some food there!)
• Rafters, from where a blind cat might easily fall off
• Garages, especially the warm, cozy spot under your car – where you might not notice them
• A cabinet, cupboard, or even a drawer – where they might get stuck

From where you might not hear yours crying out for help – or even be able to reach them without getting the fire department involved.

💡Luckily, your trusty Tractive device even helps you find your cat indoors, or at close-range! (Aka, in areas where GPS might not be the most helpful.)

Here’s how you can locate a lost or stuck pet indoors with your tracker’s nifty Radar Mode, which uses your phone’s Bluetooth functions instead:

Else, you could also:

• Enable Augmented Reality (AR) mode to see a pin with an overlay with your cat’s name on it.
• Locate your cat visually or audibly via Light and Sound – either trigger an LED light or a high-pitched melody from your cat’s tracker.

Find Your Cat Indoors

Create a stable routine

A consistent, predictable routine can help your blind cat relax and adjust more easily to their surroundings. This can look like:

• Keeping your furniture layout the same, so your cat knows where to go for food, water, scratching posts, or to the litter box.
• Following regular meal and play times, so they know what to expect at specific times of the day. Your cat’s nose for food will help guide them to the food bowl well enough!
• Gently introduce your cat to any “new” furniture or objects by letting them sniff and bat at it with their paws. With time, they’ll register it as a part of their mental map and remember to avoid it.
• Call out your cat’s name softly to attract their attention, else they might startle if you approach too quickly or suddenly.

💡Want to teach a newly-adopted blind cat where their litter box is? (They might be reluctant to go to the toilet in a new, unfamiliar environment.)

• Just rustle the litter in the toilet so they can hear what’s in the box.
• You can also try putting them in if they don’t mind you picking them up.

Keep your cat active

Even blind cats need regular playtime and activity – and especially games that make use of their other senses, like hearing, smell, and touch. Besides keeping them healthy and trim, daily activity can help prevent your cat from experiencing age-related health conditions, like cognitive decline.

So here are a couple of ideas for playtime with a blind cat – fun for both you and your buddy:

• Use “noisy” toys, like rattle balls, crackling toys, or plush toys with built-in squeakers. These help your cat locate the toy by hearing it. Even some laser pointers come equipped with an audible beep or sound!
• Scented toys filled with catnip or other safe scents can help your cat keep their sense of smell sharp. Hide these around your house for an indoor “scavenger hunt”!
• Toys with different textures, like plush mice or balls with nubs can appeal to your cat’s sense of touch.
• Interactive toys like food mazes or puzzles, where your cat has to use its paws and sense of hearing and smell to find treats. (A great way to keep them occupied when you’re not at home!)
• Feathers and ribbons that make some noise as they move through the air. Perfect for attracting your cat’s attention, even if they can’t see them.

💡Want to keep your cat active – and also get rewarded with numbers, plus a bit of healthy competition?

Your trusty Tractive device actually helps you set them activity goals, count how many calories they’ve burned, and even compare how active your cat is to other, similar cats around the world!

😺 With its built-in motion detector, your Tractive device logs in your cat’s movements throughout the day as they play, explore, and investigate their environment.

Which, with time, can help you figure out:

• How active your cat is on the regular
• Where your cat ranks on your community leaderboard – or other cats around you
• If there’s a weird drop in your cat’s activity, which might signal they’re sick, injured, or in pain

Discover Activity Tracking

🪫Worried your Tractive device’s battery won’t make it monitoring your cat’s location and activity 24/7? We’ve got you covered.

Just set up a Power-Saving Zone by connecting your tracker to a trusted network – like your home WiFi. Which helps you massively cut down on battery usage while also notifying you your buddy’s safe within it.

(Plus with a Tractive Base Station, you can set up a Power-Saving Zone wherever you go!)

Regular vet checkups

Your vet is your #1 ally when it comes to caring for a blind cat – or one with other disabilities. With regular checkups, you can:

• Catch on earlier to any signs your cat might be losing their vision
• Learn how to best care for a blind cat at home – and outdoors
• Prevent any other eye diseases or conditions from worsening over time

👩‍⚕️So don’t skip out on your regular vet visits and keep yours updated how your buddy is managing and any challenges you run into.

With your vet’s support, you’ll be on your way to helping your cat live a happy, healthy, deeply fulfilling life by your side.

Ready to help your blind cat live their best life by your side?

Whether they were born that way or grew that way due to age (or their outdoor adventures), your blind cat is as resourceful, creative, and savvy as any other. With their sharp senses of hearing, smell, touch, and even taste – as well as their innate instincts and memory, they can navigate their environment with some time and patience.

So make sure you:

• Set up your indoor space to follow a safe, predictable layout of furniture, food bowls, toys, and litter boxes in the “same” places. So your cat can learn to orient themselves and navigate through a mental map. Do your best not to shift these around too much, else you’ll risk confusing and disorienting them.
• Watch out for risky indoor hiding spots your cat might squeeze into – like washers or dryers, narrow spaces between walls and beds (or fridges), and even high spots, like rafters.
• Always supervise your cat when outdoors, or in a backyard or balcony. Consider training them to getting used to a leash, collar, and harness. (Ideally, with an ID tag and microchip to signal they’re a house cat and not a stray.)
• Create a stable routine of mealtimes and play time to help your cat adjust easier to their environment.
• Make regular activity a priority with toys that make use of your cat’s sense of smell, hearing, and touch. All of these can keep their senses sharp, maintain a healthy weight from the exercise, and slow down any age-related health conditions like cognitive decline.

And most importantly…

• Plan ahead for an emergency – like if your cat’s snuck out and has gone MIA. Meaning you’re now stuck with a “missing cat” situation you could avoid entirely.

Because it doesn’t matter how well-fed, well-treated, or well-cuddled they are – cats run away from home due to a whole bunch of reasons. (Yes, even blind ones – especially if they’re used to having their outdoor time.) Whether it’s from curiosity, boredom, wanting to find the purr-fect mate, hunting instincts, or just needing to defend their territory from the local squirrel population.

So you could hover over your cat 24/7, monitoring their every move…

💡 …or you could let your trusty Tractive GPS do the hovering and monitoring for you instead, 100% remotely.

😺 Like these happy cat parents have found out for themselves:

Know everywhere your cat goes

See where they are in real-time, no matter how far they go. Get alerts if they roam too far from home. Find out where they’ve been and discover their favorite spots. Let others track with you. Track sleep and activity.

Discover Tractive GPS

Want to see how living with a blind cat might look like in action? Here’s Rudy the newly-adopted cat who likes to show affection by surprise-attacking everyone!

And if you’ve liked this post, share it with a friend or a loved one – and let’s help build a safer, kinder world for our furry friends together.