Cat Cataracts

MaryL wrote:

"Poe" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the feedback. Since everyone sounds on the same page, I
just called my vet for a referral to a specialist and I will get him
seen asap :-)


That's great. Thanks for doing this for your little furbaby.

You have probably read some of my messages about Duffy. He is blind but
can do almost everything that any sighted cat can do. He gets around so
well that I thought for awhile that he might have some vision. That's
the reason I originally took him to an ophthalmologist--to determine if
he had some vision and find out if there was anything I could do to
preserve whatever sight he has. Well, I learned that he has no vision,
but Duffy simply does not know that he is "handicapped." He just goes
ahead and does everything. Your cat is so young that I wanted to
reassure you that he will be able to function very well (and remain
happy) even he he loses his sight. Of course, you want to do everything
possible to prevent that from happening.

MaryL

Photos of Duffy: 'o'
Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Duffy conquers the Christmas tree: http://tinyurl.com/clal7


I didn't know Duffy was blind, but I was just re-reading the responses
to make sure I captured all the nuggets of information, and was going to
respond again to you about Duffy.

So he seems happy, purrs, and can get around with regard to finding his
litter box, food/water, comfort spaces, etc.? I was looking through your
pictures of him and he's up and about, looks playful in some shots, can
climb his scratching post and all that. Very cool. I'd hate to lose
Peanut but want to do what is humane, especially if it turns out he will
lose his sight. I don't see any signs of distress in your photos, or
depression (what I can glean from photos, that is). I am hoping to
preserve his sight, of course - if I need to do surgery I can just get a
loan. I guess if it turns out he goes blind, it will happen gradually,
and he won't really realize he's handicapped either. IDK - will talk to
the specialist about that aspect of it. I am really glad to see your
photos of Duffy, though, it is very reassuring.

I do think Peanut has impaired vision. I was noticing just in the past
week or so he's chasing shadows far more than usual, and the vet said
the placement of one of the cataracts would cause him to rely more on
peripheral vision in that eye to compensate for the distortion looking
straight-on.

Here's a few pics of him...

Baby picture w/ hubby feeding:
http://www.hyacinth.us/Pictures/gig-peanut.jpg

A little older, with his brother Monk:
http://www.hyacinth.us/Pictures/monk-pnut.jpg

Posing for his SexyKitty centerfold:
http://www.hyacinth.us/Pictures/sexy-pnut.jpg

Thanks again for the excellent feedback and insights into living with a
blind cat, and the potential for quality of life :-)

wrote:
On Mar 4, 10:41 am, Poe wrote:
wrote:
We have a cat (who is 8 now) who has cataracts in both eyes. They
developed at quite a young age, about 2, and we did opt to see an
animal opthamalogist (who we continue to see regularly). In our case,
the specialist believes Benny was born with these cataracts. One of
them is quite small and has little affect on his vision.
However, in the other eye, the cataract is quite large and mature, and
he has almost no vision in this eye. On top of that, in the past
couple of years, he's developed glaucoma in that eye, and it's been
getting progressively difficult to control the eye pressure.
In our case, cataract removal is not an option due to the uveitis that
he's had. Our only option is to treat the eye with drops, and if that
fails, remove the eye (which we haven't explored yet, but may have to
someday). We are trying to treat him for now, so he keeps his eye for
as long as possible.
I would suggest seeing a specialist and get his/her opinion. I agree
with Peter in saying to get him tested regularly for glaucoma.
As for costs, we pay about $75 per visit to the specialist plus the
cost of meds. I would recommend getting prescriptions written for any
meds so you can fill them yourself (some of them can be had for $4 at
Walmart or Target).
I would be interested in learning more about your situation. It sounds
similar to ours, and from what I've learned, cats with insipid (born
with) cataracts are quite rare. Feel free to contact me.
Thanks for the response. I will take you up on emailing to correspond.
I'm going to take Peter's and your advice and get to a specialist.
Thinking it through, just because I begin the specialist process doesn't
automatically mean spending thousands of bucks immediately (I just got
over a very expensive bout with this same cat for what ended up
remaining "fever of unknown origin" where he was vomiting, stopped
eating and drinking, thus ended up on IVs with lots of tests, Xrays,
ultrasound, blood work etc., so I was hoping for a reprieve!).

And as I said in my response to Peter, I believe he was born with them.
I used to bottle feed the little bugger and spent a lot of time looking
at his face - he always had unusual eyes that probably boiled down to
this all along.

Don't feel too bad if he does lose some sight. Though Benny only has
sight in one eye, you would never know it. They adapt very well.


Thanks - I am feeling more reassured after reading some of this. Before
this I was thinking, if he goes partially or fully blind, it would be
akin to a human, where it would be SO hard. But it seems like he can be
made quite happy regardless (still hoping to preserve his sight, though!).

On 2009-03-04, Poe wrote:
Poe wrote:


Good morning. Yesterday at his annual checkup I was told he had rather
large cataracts in both eyes.


Grrr - yesterday at my CAT'S annual checkup I meant to say. He's 1-year
old.

One year old is pretty young for cataract. My 15 year old has a cataract.
About 50% of cats that age have them.

Bud

On 2009-03-04, Poe wrote:

Anyone here have experience with cataracts (in their pets) that can
share what they learned? I realize it varies, each case will be unique
to a degree. Still, I'd be interested in other's experiences. Like, how
slow is slow wrt progression? Can they ever simply remain as-is? I read
somewhere that eyedrops exist that might dissolve them (the vet said I
can find snakeoil, but the bottom line is surgery or live with it). Has
anyone actually found alternatives to surgery that worked? How bad is
the quality of life for a blind cat?

Cataracts are common in old cats. I would not consider surgery as cats
do not seem to suffer and surgery is expensive and not without risk.
You might want to make sure the cat doesn't have diabetes or some other
chronic disease where you have increased incidence of cataract.

Bud