Can you help me save a friend?

weekendrider

weekendrider

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My friend of almost 20 yrs.

She has been stone cold deaf for 3 years and blind for the last three months.
While she hasn't had problems navigating from the barn to the shop or her bed in the manger. She is slowly losing her instinct for where she is at.
She disappeared two days ago. I figured time has taken it's toll. An exhaustive search of the barn and shop didn't turn up anything. The next thought was nature had taken her.
An owl, coyote or stray dog. Sad to think she passed knowing the terror of being gravely hurt.

This morning while chore-ing I heard the her familiar cry.
She was down in the creek pasture intently looking at what only the blind from age see.
AMAZING, coyotes frequent this pasture almost every night, how did they miss this free morsel?

So my dilemma.
She has NEVER been contained.
The one time she ventured into the house, she freaked!
What is normally a very calm demeanor turned into a fit of claws and biting teeth.
I really don't want to stress her by caging. She needs to feel the wind and sun.

Any suggestions would be gratefully received.
Thanks
 

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20 years!!!??? I've had one make it to 17, and her health declined rapidly by then.

I'm thinking your friend knows something.
Mine will wander off for that final solitude.

Are her gums turning white? (Blood problems, kitty leukemia)

Kidney failures happen. If she complains when you gently squeeze the kidney area, could be a sign, but really need a blood test for that. Quite common, reason for "urinary" oriented diets.

I feel for you both. Hate it when this happens...
 
Hi 2M
She is in good health, other than being deaf and now blind.
She is active and enjoys the company of an abandoned kitten she raised about 10-12 years ago. She didn't nurse him but made sure he had a steady diet of mice, rabbit and frogs. He now takes care of keeping her ears and face clean and they sleep together which helps keep her warm. She was pretty well worn out after two days gone so spent the day napping in the sun. She has a general idea of breakfast/supper times but doesn't know exactly when it gets put out cause she can't see us about.
It would be different if she was suffering, I have no problem stopping the suffering of an animal. But I don't feel like she/we are there yet.

I'll be trying puppy panels in the manger, their cubby hole for the night is in there and she is used to it. Just not used to having to stay in there. The panels will mainly keep her from venturing into the corral and getting under a cows step. I hope.
 

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Well, that's reassuring. Sounds like she just got lost from wandering.

Local shelter had a grey longhair like her, blinded from birth. They kept him inside, but free to wander the halls and offices. His exploring pattern was to maintain contact with a solid surface on his right side, like solving a maze. A complete round trip would take him about 20 minutes.

So, she may need something tactile to help with navigation. Walls and ground sensations. Unfortunately, new/unfamiliar things will add confusion. She'll need time to learn new cues. Babysitter needed...
 
We had a feral cat by the name of George, a female orange tabby. She and her mother showed up at the house one day and adopted us. Mom was a pastel calico and as friendly as could be but George was a scared kitten.

At the time my youngest daughter, an infant, was in the hospital recovering from surgery due to pyloric stenosis. We came home to find momma cat on the porch with her entrails hanging out. We took her to the vets explaining that she was a stray and we didn't want to incur an outrageous bill as a round of .22 cal only cost a few cents. On examination the vet found that the injury was terminal and put her down and that left us with the kitten. We had named her George but actually had never sexed the kitten, couldn't sex the kitten as it was so wild.

After a while my oldest daughter finally befriended George enough to coax her into the house, but only on George's terms. Petting her was out of the question. If you picked her up the legs would go straight out along with the claws. It was at this time we discovered that George was a she and if she was going to be part of the household she was to be fixed. We made an appointment at a pet clinic run by country snobs, you know the type - fat, short haired women that smelled of cat piss. We caught George up and put her in a carrier and dropped her off. A day later we got the call to pick her up. We were informed that George was a wild cat, that when they opened the carrier she leapt out and they played hell trying to catch her, and not to ever bring her back.

Fast forward seven years with George on her terms. We decided that we were done with Jersey ......rules, regulations, ridiculous taxes and the influx of city idiots turning our part of the Pinelands into bedroom communities for Atlantic City casino workers. We put the property up for sale, got a buyer and started heading for south east Indiana with George in the carrier.

The first night going west we stayed in a motel near Carlisle, Pa. Second night was in a motel outside of Dayton Oh. No problems with George. Let her out and catch her up for the next move. We finally arrived at a longtime friends farm and set up house in our tipi. The wife, myself, three daughters, dog and George. We let George out of the carrier to roam but would keep her food and water in the tipi. After about two weeks of sending the girls off to school in the morning and us looking at places for sale during the day we found our frame cabin. Caught George up when she came in to eat and moved her to the new home.

She was a grand old dame and made the transition rather effortlessly.
Through the years I would tell her that when she died I would hold her and pet her. I'd get a look of "no way". George lived to be twenty one and in her waning years she took on the appearance of a bad taxidermy mount. One night in the winter I let her out and she disappeared. We searched for her but didn't find a hair. Interestingly she made several peripheral ghostly appearances in the house over a couple of months.....under the kitchen table and one time underfoot, almost tripping me up. It's been ten years now since she's been gone, I've about given up on ever finding any remains. She went out on her terms, no way was she going to let me hold her and pet her up.

Thinking on your situation, maybe a chicken wire enclosure? Wouldn't have to be too high and maybe a place where her buddy could get in and out with a step.
 
Pretty kitty, sounds like she will live on her terms or not at all. Not such a bad thing all in all.
 
Shes gorgeous !....thats a great age for a cat ...only heard of a couple that have survived longer so she has done very well.

As you know, the primary sense used by cats ..(.like dogs) is their superb sense of smell . Sound ,vision and touch is secondary and supplementary to smell.

Being both deaf and blind she will constantly feel extremely vulnerable as she cannot hear or see other animals or threats. You might provide a couple of small wooden boxes in her territory that would provide a refuge and safe haven where she feels safe and less vulnerable .

She currently finds her way around by predominently smell first... then textures under her feet, vibrations and perhaps the feeling of wind or sun on her body .

You could maybe spray or rub a recognisable scent on a few select branches twigs or stones etc to guide her around her usual terrain . It will help her get her bearings around her patch relative to the 'smell' that she associates with your home ie food, cooking, laundry etc.

You could also sprinkle some sand or ash in select places so the she can feel her way round the area by the change in texture .
Hope thse suggestions are helpful:thumbsup:
 
Thanks for the suggestions peanut.
We have had to resort to kitty prison(a large dog crate). My wife and I work split shifts so between us she gets yard time, where we can watch her, 4 times a day.
She does navigate by smell for personal business and knowing it is us.
Also by feel. She knows concrete and works out the two steps up into the shop by herself sometimes when she is ready to get back in.
If she is ready but can't locate the steps she vocalizes her dismay. Sometimes she isn't ready to go in but is feeling lost so simply standing next to her so she can smell us will calm her.
She still eats/drinks well but hasn't completely adjusted to our time schedule and has "accidents". A collection of used motel towels rotated as needed keeps her clean and dry. A reflector with a 40 watt bulb hung in the crate keeps her warm.
The food bowls we tried at first were a problem as they tipped over easily if she stepped on the side. A set of HEAVY crock bowls has fixed that. Her buddy comes in to lay beside the crate occasionally if the shop door is open.
So we just keep on "doin it" day by day.

@hardrock
Thanks.
 
Hat off to you weekend, that is simply so selfless. So glad she walked into your life! A lot of people would have put her down by now, as it is a "hassle" to give an animal so much attention. Really sad.

She is gorgeous! And her mate too!

I have two cats - A brother and sister called Tiger and Lily! - and I adore them. Both 10 years old in March, and they are getting on. They cost a fortune in "special food"(they both have intestinal and bladder issues), bottled water, and the annual immunization, but they are worth it!
 
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