Blind as a... Cat?

Since late last week Ed has been wandering around bumping into things. We weren't quite sure what to make of this. Today we took him to the vet, who thinks he may have detached retinas due to hypertension. She gave us a prescription for some pills that may improve his blood pressure but not his eyesight.


We're faced with a hard decision. He still seems to enjoy eating (but eats very, very little and doesn't drink a whole lot either) and being scratched under the chin. He doesn't look at all happy about not being able to find his way around. He has no idea where the litterbox is.

Have you ever had a blind cat? Can he learn to find his way around? Is it time to let go? I'd appreciate any and all advice.

Update: Thanks, everyone, for all the kind words and great suggestions. Ed has figured out where the food and water are, although it seems sometimes to take him several passes to find them. He's definitely still interested in eating. I had set up a bed for him (just a cardboard flat with a towel in it) on the other side of the kitchen near a heater, but he didn't seem to want to use it. I noticed that he was napping in the middle of the floor very close to the food and water dishes, so I thought he might not want to get too far away from them, and I moved the bed close by. He now uses it when I guide him to it.

Unfortunately, leaving the litterbox where it was wasn't feasible: it was upstairs, and the food and water are downstairs. We've moved the litterbox to the downstairs bathroom and shown Ed where it is; with luck he will find his way to it eventually. He's just been going eight or ten feet from the food and peeing on the floor, fortunately not a whole lot at a time. I've had worse cleanup jobs.

We're hoping that as Ed gets comfortable with his new state he will widen his horizons a bit. For now we are giving him lots of stroking and chin scratches, which he still enjoys, but not picking him up so as not to disorient him. We'll see what we can do about white noise — one thing I didn't mention is that he is just about 20 years old and doesn't hear very well either, but it's worth a try.

All the other cats except Fluffy seem to understand that when he blunders into their space he's not trying to be aggressive, just doesn't know they're there. Fluffy spends most of her time outdoors anyway (her choice), and we try to keep them apart when she's in. She definitely wants that promotion to boss cat, but luckily seems unaware that she could beat Ed up with three paws tied behind her back.

We won't give up until Ed does.