New Kitty! Special case, any tips?

[Serria]

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So we just adopted a new family member! This is Coco! She's a 12 year old Siamese who is blind. This is a first for us but so far she has been an absolute sweetheart and a half. She has a few other problems but I just wanted to know if any of the other season fur parents had any tips I should know. I have never had a cat like this but I am looking forward to having her in my family.

so far she's in a separate room from the other two fur balls until everyone is a bit more comfortable and until she knows her surrounding better.

[Munin-Hugin]

Re: New Kitty! Special case, any tips?

Aww, congrats on your new fur-child! I've gotta say, that it's wicked awesome of you that you adopted a disabled kitty. It's just so sad to see that many of these animals end up being put down because of their issues, when they still have so much love and joy to give, and so much life left to live. So right off the bat, my hat goes off to you for taking her in. Thank you

While I've never had any cats that have been blind, I've seen and heard that it doesn't seem to be anywhere near as much of a disability for cats as it is for humans. Of course, the jumping and running might be a bit rough at times, but it seems that the navigating about goes along pretty well. I'd say to keep things easier, try your best to keep as much as possible very low to the ground so that it would be easier for her to get to her food, or to use bedding and the like. Also, try to get a hold of toys that make noise and/or have a compartment for food inside so that she can play with them by smell or hearing. I've seen online somewhere (I wish I could remember where) small balls that give out soft clicks, even when they're at rest.

I've never really done the separate room thing when introducing new animals, figuring that it takes less time to just let them sort it out as quickly as possible, but in this case I'd agree with it. She looks gorgeous, by the way! Good luck, and don't forget. You're awesome!

[Serria]

Re: New Kitty! Special case, any tips?

Thank you so much for your reply! We adore her. She only wants to be cuddled. Like that's all she wants from life. We could barely get her out of the shelter. Everyone wanted to say goodbye to her. My mom and I always had a soft spot for cuties like her, this is just the first time we broke down and went to get her. It was a weird morning this morning when we made the decision. It went like this:

Im in bed sleeping and my mom comes in and wakes me up, "Abigail, I think we need to get Coco."
My reply, "I've been thinking about her for days."

luckly, we will be volunteering there on the weekends so the staff will get regular updates on their favorite sweetheart. I had to post a video on their Facebook when she came home so they felt better haha.

[Munin-Hugin]

Re: New Kitty! Special case, any tips?

Two out of my three cats were given to me as kittens by friends, but the third I had gotten from the local PetSmart. If you're not familiar with the stores, they take in abandoned and surrendered cats, spay/neuter them, give them all their shots, and then put them up for adoption. At the time, I had just one cat, who was only a few months old at the time, and since both my ex (who I was living with at the time) and I worked all day, we wanted a playmate and friend for her. So, off to the store I went! In one of the little kitty cubicles they had there was this ragged, sad looking creature with matted fur curled up as far away from the glass as felinely possible. I didn't even hesitate and said that that was the one. The staff was surprised, because she was the newest one they had taken in, and had bitten and scratched a few employees there already.

Turns out, she was just scared and had been living outside for a while. For the first 4 months I had her, she hid under the bed and came out only late at night to get food and water, then went right back under. I was the only one who she would go near, but now ... She greets everyone who comes in the house, meowing and bumping up against them, begging for attention!