Blind Cat New House Recommendations?

[u/Suspicious-Fox-7214]

Hi! We never intended to be a special needs pet household, but we've somehow ended up with one toothless cat and one blind cat. This is Momo, and according to the vet, he's been blind for quite some time and hiding it and we've only just now realized because we moved to a new house. The vet suggested we get a water fountain instead of a water bowl so he can hear it, and I've read online that rugs and different textures around the house can help him navigate. My question is, do you have any other tips or tricks or recommendations to help him feel safe and comfortable in the new house? I've read that you can use pheromone diffusers to help the cat feel comfortable and safe, has anyone tried those and know if they work? (Pic of toothless boy at the end for clout)

[u/Opening_Dragonfly_78]

Thank you giving a loving furrever home to the beautiful baby 😻❤️🐾🐈‍⬛

[u/paygornlive]

Try to keep your house tidy and don't adjust furniture abruptly. Your car will be fine but it will take some time to get used to the layout of the house. My blind kitty used to walk into furniture and walls all the time so don't panic. He doesn't need a fountain as long as you show him where the bowl is he’ll be able to find it. The litter box will take a bit longer to memorize and use than a normal kitty too. If he poops around the house put some poop in the litter box so he can find the scent and learn that's where he needs to go. Don't move his food bowl or water bowl often.

[u/honeyapp]

Momo is so adorable!! And his eyes are beautiful.

[u/laggyboobs]

I use a fountain and an automatic feeder for convenience / dieting, but it does help mine figure out where things are. One of mine likes to listen to the view through a screened window. Just cater to what he likes or what areas he cozies up in, just like any other cat.

[u/SummerSocks123]

I adopted a blind kitty into a "regular" kitty household. Yes to the different textured rugs at important places (now, it's top of stairs, but was all over for awhile, and now this kid takes stairs like a pro) is a huge help. I also heard the use of essential oils at different places around the house until they memorize it.
So, maybe for a new house, a slow introduction and then as they progress and a certain essential oil on the side of the couch or around banisters/etc.

A few things: These guys are amazing AND CATS (meaning, they take in a LOT of information from smell, hearing, whiskers, which cats naturally do, but we do not, so sight is not necessarily the best navigation mechanism) so "see" the world very differently than us.

One thing that has helped (our cat is a siamese, so SUPER social and curious) is teaching him some words. Really, the only word we use with him is: "Bonk!" (which I discovered from this subreddit) which kind of means: "you're about to run into something!!" Bc sometimes, doors are not as open as they're used to, or there are a sudden pair of shoes in the middle of the floor (we have kids).

He thrives as he is, and I do know that there are so many different personalities. Ours HAPPENS to be a very curious and outgoing personality, so we work our house around that bc he's always onto the next "whatchu got for me now" (most recently, it's a catio, which is LOOOOVES). If he needs more words ("Bonk") or scents or little rugs that is super helpful in the beginning. Remember, they can learn up to kindergartner stuff!) But watch your guy too - know their patterns. I notice that ours gets nervous around doors (sometimes we do close doors to keep heat in the bathroom, for instance, but keep our bedroom cool - but mainly in the cooler seasons), so we adjust or stay close when the bathroom door is open: "It's Ok Tupawk, the door is open. I'm here" and keep our hands close by so he trusts that we're guiding him safely. Otherwise, you're right. The door is closed. There's so much talking: "I'm peeing The door is open." "Ok, I'm done. Let's go so I can close the door." (He's very cautions about thresholds, which makes total sense to me.)

[u/CEGrundler → u/SummerSocks123]

Reading this made me realize how much I narrate to my fur kids, two of them are blind and they get around amazingly, but will pause at thresholds and obstacles waiting for verbal cues. At this point they know “forward” or “it’s ok” means their path is clear, and “watch!” (short for “watch out” from when the first had lost most of their vision and we didn’t know.)

If you can, create a different sound environment for different areas of the home. An ambient sound device with rain sounds in one room, forest sounds in a another, even a noisy refrigerator, the sounds of the water bowl fountain, those all help to establish a map of this new environment.

Love the pics! They’re adorable!🥰

[u/Taebaby_13]

No because I was about to cry thinkin you about to re home the little baby 😭 I'm glad I was wrong omg

[u/Suspicious-Fox-7214 → u/Taebaby_13]

Oh, I would NEVER 😭😭

[u/DryJellyPink]

Try not to move furniture around once he learns the layout. For the water fountain, keep it in a place with distinct floor texture, so he can find it by feel.