This article was contributed by community members. The views expressed here are the author's own.

For many reasons, cats and dogs may become blind gradually or suddenly. Diabetes can cause cataracts, which eventually lead to lens opacity and blindness. Retinal disease at the back of the eye can cause gradual or sudden blindness. Other causes include glaucoma, eye trauma, and genetics.

Signs of pet blindness Blindness may not immediately attract attention. You can start to solve possible vision problems by looking for signs (for example, your pet hits something or is more likely to be frightened). Generally, cats with reduced vision misjudge their height when jumping on or off furniture.

If you look at the eyes of your furry friend, you may notice that the pupils have not changed under bright light.

Involve your veterinarian in vision problems. If you think your pet may have vision problems, take them to the vet. They will perform tests to assess their vision and find out the cause of blindness. Sometimes, if diagnosed and treated early, vision loss can be reversed.

For example, early treatment and diagnosis of glaucoma can reduce intraocular pressure enough to restore vision. However, in many cases, vision loss is irreversible.

Irreversible vision loss is not as severe as you think. Cats and dogs are very good at adapting to their blindness. Sometimes it may be the owner that is difficult to adjust. If your pet is blind or has gone blind, there are many ways to keep them safe and happy.

To help your pet adapt to blindness, you need to allow time to adjust. Pets who are gradually blind will learn to gradually adapt to their vision loss. When they are completely blind, they will know how to navigate their environment well if you don't change it.

A dog or cat that is blind overnight needs more time to adjust. If your friend is suddenly blind, please give them a few weeks or more to adjust to the loss of vision.

Also let your pet draw your house. Blind pets need to create a new internal map for their environment. For blind cats, place them in the litter box as a reference point and let them navigate your house from there. Doing this helps your cat always know the location of the litter box and its location in relation to other locations in your home.

At first, keeping a newly blind cat in a small room will help. Sometimes this brings them comfort. However, change slowly so as not to cause them anxiety.

Blind dogs should walk around the house on a leash while getting snacks on the way. For small dogs, you may want to pick them up and take them to different rooms. However, this confuses the dog. It is best to let blind dogs navigate their environment by walking on their own.

Try to put your furniture in the same place. When the blind pet creates a new internal map, put all the furniture in the same place. The movement of the furniture can cause the blind pet to be disoriented and confused. If there are sharp edges in the furniture, it may even cause a safety hazard.

Eliminating and identifying safety hazards always prevents access to potential hazards. Normal household locations or items can become dangerous to blind animals. To ensure their safety, please check your home from the inside out to identify potential safety hazards. Some common hazards include open toilets, stairs, furniture corners and underground swimming pools.

After recognizing these hazards, prevent pets from touching them. Place a baby gate at the bottom and top of the stairs. Keep the bathroom door closed to prevent them from drinking from the toilet. Blind cats can easily fall into the toilet.

If you have an outdoor swimming pool, consider setting up a fence around it.

Use hints to help blind pets. Just like blind people, you can use hints on blind animals. Blind pets use their other senses to navigate their environment. If you use different types of prompts, you can help your pet recognize what to do and where they might be. For example, scented oils such as vanilla and lavender can specify certain rooms.

If your pet can use the stairs, the running carpet on the stairs can help your pet know where they are. In the backyard, lay down the gravel to let your dog know when they left the grass and entered a potentially dangerous area.

Stimulate other senses when playing with pets. Blind animals still need to play and exercise. If you modify the game time to accommodate blind animals, it will become both fun and simple.

Even if your animal’s blindness is irreversible, it’s still important to see the veterinarian regularly to observe any changes in your pet’s eye health and maintain your pet’s overall health.

Paws Up Inc provides personalized pet care, dog walking and dog training in the following neighboring cities Snellville, Lilburn, Lawrenceville, Stone Mountain and Tucker.

Visit our website https://2pawsupinc.com/

The views expressed in this article are the author's own. Want to post on the patch? Register a user account.