Lady Galadriel Starfire

So recently, Lady Galadriel Starfire has slowed down a bit. At first we thought it was just the process of aging slowing her down. She is fifteen now after all. But then we started noticing that certain things she was doing a little differently than she used to.  For example, we have a gate that separates where we feed the dog and where we feed the cats which is has a door that is open during non feeding times, but which is raised up so that the cats can crawl under it but the dog doesn't fit.  (this is because the dog will go in and hoover up all the cat food the instant they walk away from their food if he is not blocked from it, and the cats will eat a little food and then wander around a bit and then go back to it, so their food stays in their bowls for about an hour, where Blooper eats all his food right then and is usually done within two or three minutes.) We noticed last week that even when the door to the gate was open that Star was crawling under the gate instead of stepping over the bottom rung through the door.  We also noticed that she was approaching the stairs differently than she usually does.  She goes up by feeling her way with her whiskers, and goes down by feeling her way with her right hand first, and then once that hand is on the next stair down, she would go down a step before reaching down for the next one. She didn't hop hop onto the bed from floor to hope chest to bed or back down any more either, but did so much more cautiously. These things clued us in that she was not seeing as well as she should, so I looked at her more carefully, and noticed that a) she was not tracking my hand in front of her face unless I got close enough that she parsed me with her whiskers, b) her pupils were thrown about as wide as they could go, and did not react as strongly to light as it seemed they should, though they do still react somewhat.  c) her expression has always been fairly wide eyed when she's paying attention, but now she seemed more to be staring blankly than staring at you when you call her.  We reached the conclusion over a couple of days that she had gone blind.  I did some research online and learned that sudden blindness could be a sign of hypertension in cats.  Often this is caused by hyperthyroidism, or renal issues. (More often hyperthyroid, but hyperthyroid can also mask or mimic a renal problem.) 

So off we went this morning to see the vet to see what was going on with her.  Our vet's office is very nice and everyone is pleasant there. Star had not seen a vet for a while. She is exclusively an indoor cat, so she doesn't have as much risk for infectious disease etc that an indoor outdoor pet would need to be concerned with, and she has been remarkably healthy.  However, at 15, I knew it was only a matter of time before she would need more frequent visits to maintain her good health.  First the vet tech took a history, and checked a few things. Temperature (good), Weight (9lb. slightly less than the last time she was weighed I believe but not a whole lot less.) Mostly she just talked to me about what I'd observed and also watched as Star parsed her way around the unfamiliar room and figured out what was what, familiarized herself with the new person and was generally herself and in good spirits, despite the ride in the car and strange people and getting a thermometer where she didn't want one. 

Then the tech went out and discussed her case with the vet for a few minutes and then the vet came in and checked her over.   Felt her thyroid glands, of which one was enlarged and the other she said she 'couldn't feel' which I interpret to mean she couldn't feel anything wrong on that side.  Star was more annoyed at having her kidneys palpated, since thyroid overproduction can mask or mimic kidney issues too.  Then they whisked her out to get blood for a full workup (expensive...) and to get her blood pressure. Result?  We won't know what the lab results are until tomorrow, but Star's blood pressure is very high (as suspected vis a vis her sudden blindness) and needs action right away.  The Vet agreed with me that Star is profoundly blind and upon looking into her eyes, her retinas are definitely detached due to the unbalanced pressure pushing them off the back of her eyes.

Now we're back home, and star has her little blood pressure pills, of which she is to take a quarter per day.  She has had her first dose, taken with a very minimum of fuss.  Once the lab work is back, then we'll know what additional steps will have to be taken. Despite her 'ordeal' today, Star is in good spirits, busily napping in the next room at the moment.  The good news is that once her blood pressure is under control, Doc Bahns believes that there is a chance her retinas will float back into place and over time reattach, which mean her vision may be restored. So any good thoughts any of you can have towards that I would appreciate for her sake. Even still, if she remains blind, and is restored otherwise to good health, I will be happy with that. Star is compensating for her blindness extremely well, and does not seem very distressed about it at all.  The doctor did comment that for her age, Star is in remarkable physical condition. i.e. not overweight, not underweight, strong and muscular and active despite her blindness.  She seemed pretty happy about that.  She also said that once her thyroid was in balance, that it would be as reasonable expectation that the condition of her coat (which I just assumed had started to deteriorate due to her age) would improve.

P.S.  I am finished having winter now, so if we could please move on to spring now I'll be very happy. Thanks, and keep me and Star in your thoughts.