Dogs and cats can go blind for various reasons. However, this does not mean "the end" for our beloved four-legged friends. Dogs and cats in particular, who live together with us humans, are very good at compensating for their loss of sight with other senses and can continue to lead almost normal lives.
In the vast majority of cases, blindness is caused by eye diseases that lead to damage to the lens (cataracts) or the retina. Blindness can develop slowly or occur very suddenly. Injuries to the eye, general or hereditary diseases such as SARD (sudden acquired retinal degeneration) and diabetes, or a wide variety of infectious diseases can also cause blindness.
How can you tell if your dog or cat is going blind? Painful eye diseases usually manifest themselves through clear symptoms. However, immunological or infectious changes to the retina are not painful and can therefore often occur without any noticeable symptoms. This makes it difficult for you as the owner to recognize the onset of blindness.
In addition, both dogs and cats have a very keen sense of smell and hearing, and vision is less important to these animals than it is to us humans. This explains why dogs and cats are much better at coping with blindness than we are. Animals can compensate for even slightly impaired vision in familiar surroundings with their other senses, so that it also remains undetected for a long time.
In cases of more severe impairment, including complete blindness, clear symptoms of confusion and disorientation occur, at least initially. Especially in unfamiliar surroundings, affected animals may bump into obstacles or walls. However, after a period of adjustment and adaptation, these animals can also learn to cope well with their "handicap."
Despite the animals' ability to cope with the situation, a visit to the vet is essential to determine the cause of the blindness or any underlying disease and to treat it. During a general examination, the vet will assess the dog's overall health and examine the different parts of the eye in detail using special equipment.
In general, blindness is irreversible. However, it is not a reason to euthanize the animal! Depending on the cause of the blindness, different treatments are necessary and advisable, for example to prevent the disease from progressing in the early stages or to treat a potential underlying condition. In the case of painful changes, pain relief is the first priority. If lens opacity (cataracts) is the cause of blindness, vision can in some cases be partially or completely restored by surgically removing the cloudy lens.
In addition to veterinary treatment, you as the owner can help your pet cope better with the changed circumstances by taking the following simple measures.
At first, it is very difficult for a blind animal to find its way around a room. The better it knows its surroundings, the easier it will be for it to find its way around. Therefore, do not move furniture around in your house, apartment, or garden, and avoid placing objects where they do not normally belong. Designate a fixed place for food and water bowls and for your pet's sleeping area, and do not change these places. Always approach the animal by talking to it a lot or making noises. If there are other sighted animals in the household, this can be very helpful for the blind dog, as it can use them to orient itself. Sometimes it helps to attach small bells to these items so that they can be heard. Sharp edges, stairs, and open bodies of water, such as pools, ponds, or rain barrels, must also be secured to prevent accidents. Blind dogs can relearn how to climb stairs, but it takes some time and practice.
At first, walks with a blind dog should be on a leash and only in familiar areas to make the dog feel safe. Over time, the dog will get used to the new situation so that it can run off-leash in open areas. This requires, of course, that the dog responds reliably to your acoustic signals. To prevent misunderstandings when encountering other dogs, it can be very helpful to mark the affected animal with a blind badge or a cloth when out walking, as this immediately signals to other dog owners that this dog cannot see and therefore cannot read the body language of other dogs.
Even though the disease is incurable in most cases, there is still a good chance that the affected animal can lead a worthwhile life despite blindness.
Given the many different causes of blindness, there are no general preventive measures. However, regular veterinary eye examinations can help detect many changes and diseases at an early stage so that they can be treated before blindness occurs.
The tendons are part of the musculoskeletal system and act as the connecting links between the muscles and the skeleton. They consist of strong, flexible tissue, transfer energy from the muscles to the bones, and thus enable targeted movement. Their special structure, consisting of parallel connective tissue fibers grouped together in bundles, gives them enormous tensile strength and elasticity. The flexor tendons of the front legs are particularly exposed to extreme stress in horses, as more than half of the body weight has to be carried by the forehand. Tendon damage is one of the most common causes of lameness, especially in sport horses. In most cases, the structures affected on the front leg are the superficial flexor tendon, the deep flexor tendon, the suspensory ligament, and the fetlock joint (see diagram). As there are very few nerves and blood vessels in the tendon tissue, healing is very slow.
Myiasis is the medical term for fly maggot infestation in rabbits, which occurs primarily in the warm summer months and in injured or weakened animals. The disease is often underestimated, but can be life-threatening for rabbits.
This muscle disease, which was only discovered in recent years, occurs primarily in Quarter Horses and cold-blooded animals and is characterized by the storage of excessive amounts of glycogen (animal starch stored in cells) in the horse's muscles. It is known as polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM).
Syncope refers to fainting or circulatory collapse that occurs suddenly without warning and leads to a temporary loss of consciousness in animals. The dog collapses suddenly and shows no signs of life. After a short time, it regains consciousness and behaves as it did before the syncope.
Ectropion is a malposition of the eyelid that mainly affects the lower eyelid. The outer edge of the eyelid is turned outward and hangs down, which is why it is also referred to as a "drooping eyelid." This malposition prevents the eyelid from closing normally, leaving the eye permanently slightly open.
Tracheal collapse is a condition in dogs that causes the windpipe (trachea) to collapse. It mainly affects small breeds such as Yorkshire terriers, miniature Spitz, poodles, and Pekingese. The condition often manifests itself in the first few months of life, sometimes with severe breathing problems.
Neoplasms of the mammary gland account for more than half of all cancers in female dogs. These benign or malignant tumors occur primarily in older, unspayed female dogs and initially appear as small, nodular changes along the entire mammary gland, which can later become very large. Different types of mammary tumors can occur.
Most horse owners are now familiar with Cushing's syndrome and its symptoms in horses. A disease with very similar symptoms is equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). In its early stages, it is therefore often confused with equine Cushing's syndrome. But what is the difference?
Toxoplasmosis is an infectious disease that primarily affects cats but can also be transmitted to humans, which is why it is classified as a zoonosis. Humans are considered intermediate hosts, although clinical symptoms do not usually occur. It only becomes truly dangerous when pregnant women come into contact with toxoplasma for the first time and the pathogen infects the unborn child.
Just like in humans, the lung tissue of dogs can become inflamed. Medically referred to as pneumonia, this condition is also a serious illness in dogs and can lead to death if left untreated.
Heatstroke occurs when the internal body temperature rises above 41 degrees Celsius, which can cause life-threatening physical damage. Sunstroke, on the other hand, refers to heat accumulation in the area of the meninges caused by intense sunlight on the animal's head, which can also lead to the death of the patient in severe cases. The body temperature does not necessarily have to be elevated in sunstroke.
The air sacs of horses are part of the upper respiratory tract. They develop in foals as a mucous membrane protrusion on both sides of the Eustachian tube (the connection between the middle ear and the nasopharyngeal cavity), each with a capacity of approximately 300 ml. Air sacs are found exclusively in equines and some other odd-toed ungulates, making them a unique feature. There are various theories about the function of the air sacs. The most likely is that they serve to cool the brain. There is a connection between the horse's throat and the air sacs, which is why infections of the upper respiratory tract can also spread to the air sacs. The most important diseases of the air sacs are described below.
