How to help my 19-year-old blind cat with dementia adjust to old age?

It sounds as though Bella may have some signs of developing dementia. Just like humans, elderly pets can develop dementia. The treatment for this is a behavioral modifying drug, like trazadone. Selegiline is another option that is commonly used to treat age related behavioral changes in cats. You can also try using a Feliway diffuser if you do not want to medicate Bella. This works by releasing pheromones that help calm anxious cats.

Sadly, many of the ailments of human senior citizens can also occur in our canine companions. Impaired vision or blindness can occur in dogs and can be due to things like cataracts, glaucoma, etc. The good news is that these diseases, if caught early enough, can be treated and sometimes even reversed or cured! My best advice is to take Baby to your local veterinarian as soon as possible to have a complete ophthalmic examination performed. Some of the tests you should ask for are as follows: a menace test, intraocular tonopen test, schirmer tear test, and fundic exam. I hope this helps. Have a great day.

It may not be his time yet but he does need to be examined by the veterinarian today. The disorientation and potential blindness is concerning for low blood sugar, hypertension, a brain tumor and a few other conditions. Some of these conditions respond very well to treatment and some don't but first, you must know what is happening so you know the treatment options. Just like humans, diseases are best diagnosed and treated early so have him examined today. I hope he gets this figured out quickly! Please feel free to post any additional questions.

This sounds like she may have retinal detachment which can be a result of uncontrolled high blood pressure. The blindness may be permanent. I would absolutely take her in right away since she has other symptoms also and the sooner she gets treatment the more likely she will be able to recover. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Liza.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I am sorry to hear about Cassie. This could be a number of things including diabetes, severe arthritis, a brain tumor, infection, inner ear infection, and others. Regardless, it is clear she is not doing well. She needs a thorough visit with a vet to figure out what’s wrong and how to make it better. It is also completely reasonable and possibly the best choice to humanely euthanize her if we can’t get her comfortable. Best luck in whatever you decide.

What a beautiful girl! It does look like her left eye and pupil are larger than the right. There could be a few reasons for this including increased pressure (glaucoma) or a mass behind the eye that pushes it forward and makes it appear larger. I would strongly recommend an examination by a veterinary ophthalmologist to fully evaluate her eye and her vision to see what can be done for her.

I would recommend seeing a veterinarian who can examine Zaboo's eyes. Some of the more common causes of vision loss in an older cat include high blood pressure affecting the retina, infectious diseases, and cancer. The supplement you are referring to could be taurine which is an amino acid that cats need in their diets and can cause blindness and vision loss if deficient. If Zaboo eats commercial cat food, taurine deficiency would be extremely unlikely since all cat foods are required to have enough taurine.