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How much (more) work is a 1-eyed quadruped?


Gil
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We have a poodle with only one working eye.  No extra care needed. Our vet did recommend that we leave his whiskers intact so he can use them as an extra sense to navigate obstacles.  (poodles often have their whiskers trimmed when groomed.  I have not idea if this applies to cats or not.)

 

 

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With a car I'd expect a slight decline in depth perception for jumping and balance. But all the one eyes I've known have done very well.

 

Now, the kitty whose whiskers I cut off when I was four was miserable for a few months :o. That seemed much more debilitating. Whoops.

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Our dog is nearly 13 and losing sight in one eye.  He's tentative on the stairs and sometimes when I toss him a treat he misses.  That's about it.  

 

I think the only problem might be medical.  Sometimes an actual lost or damaged eye may need ongoing medical care for the area.  You might want advice from a vet on the specifics.

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A dog might have a tendency to be surprised into fear or aggression (depending on the breed/personality/history of abuse) with decreased senses but with a cat I don't think that would be an issue.

 

Enjoy your new pet!!!

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Am I the only one who remembers back to when Gil swore up and down that there would be no pets for his family... and then maybe a kitten... and then it was two kittens.... and now he seems to be thinking of adding another four-legged pal to the family, and a one-eyed one at that!

 

I think we brought Gil over to the Dark Side... He's an Animal Guy now! :D

 

Gil, you're doing a really nice thing!!! :hurray:

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Now, the kitty whose whiskers I cut off when I was four was miserable for a few months :o. That seemed much more debilitating. Whoops.

 

Yes it was. Cats whiskers help them navigate their surroundings. Mil's last cat had its whiskers cut off as a kitten. She didn't do it; the mother cat's owners did it after Mil had picked out the kitten she wanted--so it would be obvious which kitten was hers. That cat was never quite right and Mil wondered if the cut whiskers had something to do with it. Seems it did. From PetMD:

 

Why Do Cats Have Whiskers?

 

A common mistake people make is assuming that cat whiskers and human hair are alike. The whiskers, unlike human hair, are actually touch receptors. These longer, stiffer hairs -- also called vibrissae -- are embedded more deeply in the cat’s body than the shorter top-fur coat. The vibrissae are connected securely to the sensitive muscular and nervous systems, sending information about the surroundings directly to the cat’s sensory nerves, giving it a heightened sense of feeling and helping the cat to detect and respond to changes in its surroundings - sort of like kitty radar.

 

. . .

 

Grooming, trimming or cutting off a cat’s whiskers is a big no-no. Without their tactile hairs, cats become very disoriented and frightened. In short, whiskers enable cats to gauge and make sense of their environment.

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Yes it was. Cats whiskers help them navigate their surroundings. Mil's last cat had its whiskers cut off as a kitten. She didn't do it; the mother cat's owners did it after Mil had picked out the kitten she wanted--so it would be obvious which kitten was hers. That cat was never quite right and Mil wondered if the cut whiskers had something to do with it. Seems it did. From PetMD:

 

Why Do Cats Have Whiskers?

 

A common mistake people make is assuming that cat whiskers and human hair are alike. The whiskers, unlike human hair, are actually touch receptors. These longer, stiffer hairs -- also called vibrissae -- are embedded more deeply in the cat’s body than the shorter top-fur coat. The vibrissae are connected securely to the sensitive muscular and nervous systems, sending information about the surroundings directly to the cat’s sensory nerves, giving it a heightened sense of feeling and helping the cat to detect and respond to changes in its surroundings - sort of like kitty radar.

 

. . .

 

Grooming, trimming or cutting off a cat’s whiskers is a big no-no. Without their tactile hairs, cats become very disoriented and frightened. In short, whiskers enable cats to gauge and make sense of their environment.

I know, I feel so bad in hindsight. At the time I was just trying to give my cat a haircut!

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Am I the only one who remembers back to when Gil swore up and down that there would be no pets for his family... and then maybe a kitten... and then it was two kittens.... and now he seems to be thinking of adding another four-legged pal to the family, and a one-eyed one at that!

 

I think we brought Gil over to the Dark Side... He's an Animal Guy now! :D

 

Gil, you're doing a really nice thing!!! :hurray:

 

:hurray: :001_wub: :Angel_anim:

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We had a dog that had her eye removed. It didn't cause any extra work for us. Frankly, she was much happier without it. It'd been bothering her and we had no idea. She sometimes ran into things on that side but not excessively. She was a Shih Tzu and had a scruffy look anyway, so you usually couldn't even tell it wasn't there.

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