If your cat went blind, would you have him put to sleep?

It would take a lot for me to have a pet put to sleep, but if I thought his quality of life was not good, I would have to think about it.
My cat, Toonces, has had one eye removed because he had a virus and an infection. Now, his other eye is looking like...

the other one did in it's beginning stages. So, I'm wondering what I would do if he went blind in that eye too. I have antibiotic drops to put in his eye so he may be ok. But what would you do? Just imagine what it would be like for him. He loves the outdoors but would never be able to go out. Yes, he could hear me speaking to him and he could feel me petting him but is that enough and is it my place to make that decision even if a good veterinarian said he would be better off if he were put to sleep?

I would keep him... don't make it your decision...

Well if he is in pain and you dont see much hope, than yes.
But if he is just blind an hes healthy, I see no reason to put him to sleep.

Only blind, and not in pain??? Hell no! A blind cat will adapt way faster than a human...and will get to a place where only those who know it's blind will be the only ones who know it...

phrannie

PS...blind cats can still catch mice...now THAT'S adaptability at it's finest!

Indeed, cats are HIGHLY adaptable. And he will still be happy as long as he's still with you...

No, he's not in pain except for his surgery and the Vet had to redo his stitches a couple of days ago.

I don't really care if anyone knows he's blind. I just want to know how he will feel. We live at an intersection so there's no way he can go out. It's bad enough now with him being blind in one eye.
We don't have a problem with mice and, besides I wouldn't want him to kill a mouse
.
I just wonder if he would be happy or, at least, content, being blind. We would give him all the love possible.
captain, thank you, that was sweet and thanks to all who responded.
Carol

My cat can't see either... he is perfectly happy, it seems... and he goes outside... I would say keep him for sure!

From the looks of the hiway, having two eyes that work great, isn't that much of an asset in keeping a cat from getting hit by a car...(just an observation)

p

Hello I have a suggestion. Why are you letting him go out? My cats do not go out and they can see.

Here are the reasons your cats should not go out. They get ran over, they have kids that may catch and torture them. They can get dieases like Cat Luekemia from other cats running loose. They can get into fights and be seriously injury. Etc. etc.

Ok. I bring all the above up because if your cat is blind keep him in the house and he will be fine. Do not put him to sleep.

Cats are very dangerous to other creatures outside also. My Cats are living to a healthy old age, in my house! The average life span of a cat out doors, in town is about 2 years, if he is a smart cat.

I live at an intersection, but there's hardly any cars. I live in a small coastal town and more people ride bikes and walk than they do, drive cars. The cars that do pass, go slow. I live a block from the beach.

I hardly ever let him out but when I do, it's only because he likes to go out to do his thing (pee crap) and he likes to lay in the yard in the sun. He was just neutered and doesn't care about fighting other cats anymore.

I'm not allowed to have pets where I live (in a duplex) but his owner took off and left him with us (a long story. I'll attach it). Sometimes the landlord comes down and we have to hide him. We're trying to find a home for him but they have to be very special people to have him because he's been with my son and I for about 7 years and we love him very much.
Carol

Here's the story of Toonces (mainly when he got sick recently and how nice the Vet was to us).

About Toonces

My son, Joe and I first met Toonces (Spidey, as his owner called him), when we moved into the duplex apt. where we still recide, 7 years. later.

We weren't allowed to have pets here. I even asked if I could have a cat and the landlord said 'No'. She went on to say that the previous owners had dogs and that they had torn the place up.

We respected their wishes and didn't get a pet. Joe thought it was probably for the best because we are both disabled and he was afraid that having a pet would be too hard on us.

However, we love animals and this cat kept coming around. He was a plain, grey striped cat and a bit stand offish but I was determined to win him over so I tried and tried until I finally gained his trust and he let me pet him.

He would come back to our yard from time to time so I put food out because we thought he was homeless and I felt sorry for him. As a child, my family was fortunate enough to have lots of land and we always had plenty of cats and dogs. I rescued many of them from our local shelter and my parents never complained.

Once, when I worked for a Veterinary Hospital, I brought 5 dogs home with me, after learning that they were going to be put to sleep (their owners had left them after receiving treatment and they had been there a long time). Eventually, I found homes for them.

I began to call the cat Toonces because he looked like Toonces, the driving cat from Saturday Night Live. One day, there was a knock at the door. It was a neighbor from up the road. He said that had seen us feeding his cat and that looked like we had gotten attached to him. The neighbor said he owned two cats and that Spidey, as he called him, didn't get along with the other cat. He went on to say that they were moving soon and asked if we would continue to feed the cat. He said that he would supply the food. We had to agree. Who else would feed him? Even though we knew it would be hard on us to, basically, take care of him, what else could we do? It seemed that the neighbor was going to leave him regardless.

We left him out as much as possible because of the 'no-pet' rule, but if the nights got too cold, we had to let him inside and he seemed to do well as an inside cat. He didn't even need a cat box because when he needed to pee, he would go to the door and meow.

The neighbor brought food a few times and, eventually, never returned. We've had Toonces ever since then and that was about 7 years ago. We have grown to love him very much as he has become one of the family.

About a month ago, he got sick. We thought he had a virus. He was sneezing and his left eye was full of mucus and was glued shut a few times. I tried to clean it and we kept him inside as much as possible so he could rest.
Joe called a local Four Paws Animal Hospital and the Veterinarian was going to make a house call but had a death in her family and could not so one of the employees, who live nearby, brought out some antibiotics (for his eye and internally). Joe had told them that he had a Feline Herpes virus after looking on the Internet and seeing that he had all the same symptoms of the kitty Flu such as Sneezing, runny nose, discharge in eyes, possible ulcers in mouth, fever and depression.
They only charged $30 and that was for the cost of the medicine. They didn't even charge us for a house call. They knew about our disabilities and that we lived on Social Security.

We started him on the medicine and he took it like a champ. Together, Joe I administered the drops/antibiotics and were successful in doing so. Then we rewarded him with some canned Salmon and let him outside. I had doubts about letting him out but he is an outside cat and has been wanting to go for days. We knew that, for his peace of mind, it would do him more good than harm. We felt like there were things out there that he needed like grass, fresh air, sunshine

He seemed to be getting better after about a week but then he got another infection in his eye. His eye turned completely red, then a greyish color. After 2 weeks had passed, he was in very bad shape and began to have a limp in his left leg. Joe called the Vet back Linda came by to drop off a carrier. She would pick him up the next morning on her way to work.

She picked him up and, a couple of hours later, called to tell us what the doctor had found. She said that his left eye would have to be removed (he had gone blind in that eye). She said that he had not been neutered and that one of his testicals was undescended (grown inside). So, he needed to be neutered. He also would need a Rabies shot since we didn't know if he had ever had one and that his limp was probably caused from being in a fight with another cat because the doctor saw bite marks. Actually, she said that he didn't have a virus but that he had been fighting with other cats.
While they had him 'under', they clipped his claws, did an ear cleaning and treated him for fleas.

Later that day, Linda called to say that Toonces came through the surgery very well and that he was resting. They wanted to keep him for a couple more days for observation. The total for everything came to $249.71. She said they were able to get some of his bill paid.

Three days later, Linda brought him home. She handed Joe the bill and went over all the charges. Later, after reviewing the bill, we noticed that there was a check written for $25 and a Visa for $25, payment toward his bill. We don't know where the money came from but we have an idea.
They didn't even charge us for boarding. They knew that we didn't have a lot of money because both of us are disabled and live on Social Security. They even told us that we could pay $5 a month toward the bill if that was all we could afford.

We have a special relationship with Toonces, ever since that first day about 6 or 7 years ago when he walked up in our yard and into our hearts. He gets in our laps, flips over on his back, stretches his arms legs out. He's so comfy and sometimes I sing to him. Usually he jumps down, but a lot of times, he puts up with my whinny voice.

Now, with one eye missing, his belly with a few stitches and still a little limp, he's just as precious as he ever was, even more.

Toonces means a lot to us. I think he gives us all the love that a kitty can, possibly, give. You know cats are kind of stingy with love.

We appreciate everything that the Four Paws has done for him (and for us). They went out of their way to make sure that all of Toonces needs were taken care of and cost didn't seem to be a concern to them, only that they tried to keep it at a minimum because of our income.

It is the kindness of the people at Four Paws, that has made Toonces a new and happy kitty again and we are, forever grateful to them.

Keep him t's obvious that you love him very much.He in no way needs to be put down.My aunts cat Blackie had to get an eye removed at 6 years old b/c he has diabeties.He is huge he weighs 23 lbs.

NO I would never do that I love my cat (omar) .. would never hurt him ... he is like a lil kid to me lol

DONT MOVE YOUR FURNITURE/ LARGE HOUSEPLANTS!! IT WILL MAKE ADAPTING EASIER/ POSSIBLE IF YOU DONT!

I wouldn't.
AS long as he isn't in pain.

Everytime I see a blind or recently abused animal I want to keep them.

Like at The shelter there was a puppy that they rescued from a puppy mill.
It was blind in one eye and was missing part of it's bottom jaw.
I wanted to take it home with me.
It was so cute!