My cat is blind in one eye - any vets in the house??

[JCJD]

DH and I went to his grandfather''s funeral this past weekend, left Thursday morning, and my sister and dad took care of our cats. Katie was fine Thurs morning and Thurs evening, but Friday morning my sis and dad noticed that it looked like she had a bad cataract in her Left eye!! Otherwise normal behavior, some nervous vomiting, but no pain or anything. We took her in to the vet first thing Monday when we got back and they ruled out most everything. She''s on 2 meds for asthma, but they''re not causing the eye trouble. Her blood pressure is normal - she stayed overnight and they took several readings. It''s not likely cancer because of how quickly it came up. The most curious thing is that the vet looked and looked and looked and cannot find her lens! The cornea looks clear, the retina is not detached, but there is absolutely no iris response to direct or indirect light. At this point, the vet thinks that her lens either fell into the posterior cavity of the eye or has basically disintegrated. Anyone ever heard of this before? The vet says there is minimal risk that it will happen to the other eye, but given her age (13), who knows. I''m taking her back next week and the week after for reexaminations (free of charge) too. Any input would be appreciated! I really like this vet and trust her, but if any vets here have any experience that could help, that''d be great.

 

[partgypsy]

Sounds like she ruptured the lens in her eye, that''s why your vet cannot find it. This is normally due to physical (blunt force) trauma but may be other causes as well. Unfortunately unless she has a lens put in and any debris taken out she will not be able to see much of anything out of that eye.

 

[JCJD]

Thanks for the response PG. We''ve been pilling her twice a day, involving prying her jaws open to get the pills in and holding her jaw shut to make her swallow. Could the ruptured lens be something we caused?

 

[FireGoddess]

I don''t think a ruptured lens would be anything you caused.

I noticed a few months back that Chloe (my 10 year old cat) seemed to be winking with one eye and saw she had a weird mark on the side of her eyeball. I took her to the vet and apparently she somehow caused some physical damage to it (I think she was trying to squeeze herself into a hiding place she didn''t belong) and I had to give her some weird neosporin gel on her eye twice a day. She will always have scar tissue there. So she could have somehow caused herself physical trauma to her eye.

 

[Gypsy]

Regarding pills... have to tried pill pockets? My Hally is a PITA but the vet got these in for her (vet knows what a monster she is) and they work!! ANd I saw them at Petsmart yesterday too. Cost more at Petsmart... but it''s easier to pick them up there.

 

[tracys126]

Hi JCJD,

This exact thing happened to my cat. Same exact symptoms, everything. I had to take my cat to kitty eye specialist and it turns out that his lens has slipped. They said because the lens is not in place he might get headaches. Lately his eye has been more watery/oozy. But there is a surgery you can have done, they basically put in a prosthetic lens, though it doesn''t help his eyesight. The quote for me was about $1300. I didn''t have it done.

Do you have an animal eye specialists in your area? I am in San Diego. Let me know if you have any questions.

Tracy

 

[tracys126]

By the way, this happened to my cat after he was transported from Florida to San Diego as plane cargo

I am sad I opted to have him shipped this way, and would never ever do that again.

 

[Lorelei]

We do have our PS vet, Ecf, hopefully she will see this and respond. She only works with cats so she would be a great person to give you advice. Good luck!

 

[JCJD]

Thanks for all the comments everyone! Katie has been doing very well, considering. The day after I took her home from the vet, the afternoon of this original post, she was acting very cautious, confused, a little bit scared. But the next morning, she was the same old Katie again! Purring, jumping up on my lap, great appetite, etc. Sammy (our adorable little troublemaker) has been nicer to her lately too. Usually, she attacks/plays by pouncing on Katie from behind or around a corner. Since the eye happened, she''s been attacking from the front and being more obvious about it to Katie.

FG - Thanks for the reassurance. The vet did a pretty good job of reassuring me, but I guess I needed a bit more!

Gypsy - I wrap Katie''s pills in american cheese and follow it with a syringe of water through her front teeth. If I get the cheese far enough back in her throat, she swallows it herself. I''d heard about pill pockets too, but she chews her food too much, I''d still have to shove it in.

tracy - There was actually an eye specialist in town on Thursday only at a clinic in town, but for some financial reasons, the fact that I''d been away from work for 4 days already for the funeral, and since I really don''t want to put her through surgery that will probably not help her vision much (she still has one good eye), I opted not to bring her in. We''re in Nebraska, and my vet is as close to an eye specialist as we have in our area. How''s your kitty doing? How long ago did this happen?

Lorelei - Thanks! I hope Ecf chimes in too!

 

[moremoremore]

So glad your baby is doing well...It''s totally not anything you''ve done....

As for pilling....cats eat raw meat in the wild and have a different system than humans...after researching, I cut the tiny pill into 3 pieces and slip it into a *very* small piece of raw chicken. Scotty goes CRAZY for it. Doesn''t know there is a pill in there. Granted, he only has 4 teeth and swallows his food...

 

[JCJD]

Katie is not doing well. Last night I noticed her blind eye had a reddish tinge, and sure enough, there was blood in her eyeball. Took her to the vet this morning and after they reexamined her and the x-rays, they noticed her abdominal arteries are calcified. She''s also lost a whole pound in less than 2 weeks. She would eat when I put food in front of her, but not a lot. Now the vet thinks that everything - the lung problems, the eye problem, the weight loss, and now the recently discovered artery problems are symptoms of something greater, and the prognosis isn''t good. I''m going to talk to them later on today about specifics of her prognosis, but unless they can tell me she has a good couple of happy weeks left, I think I''m going to have to put her down. I know she''s had a good life and all, but it''s still really hard. I''ve had her since I was 11 and I don''t really want to let her go, although I know I''ll have to. I don''t want her to suffer either.

Could you all please just pray that I''ll be able to handle all of this, that it won''t affect my work today and this weekend too badly? Also, that Katie will be comfortable. Thank you all.

 

[ecf8503]

Sorry to chime in so late here - I''ve been out of town and this is the first I''ve seen this thread! I''m so sorry to hear about how Katie and that she isn''t doing well. I''ll offer whatever input I can -

I''ve read through the thread quickly, so please correct m if I''m remembering anything incorrectly. I''m glad they''ve checked her blood pressure and that it is normal - that is one very big cause of eye problems in cats, and not a lot of vets out there do this very simple procedure or do it correctly (I''ll assume yours has). If the cornea and the retina are ok, but the lens is nowhere to be found, it most likely partially or completely detached and fell somewhere - they don''t just spontaneously disappear or discintegrate. Just as a side note, they can still see without a lens - they just can''t focus (as long as the retina, cornea, etc are all working correctly) - in fact, lens removal is a treatment for cataracts in some cases as it can not only provide some blurry vision but also reduces the incidence of secondary glaucoma. However, the blood in the eye now is a big concern - and having not seen it myself, I can''t really comment any more than that.

Veterinary ophthalmologists are a great resource if you have one - and just because you have someone look at their eyes and give an opinion doesn''t mean you are committing to anything more than just that. The eyes are the window to the rest of the body and can give big clues as to other underlying diseases - and they are nothing to mess around with. That said, they are tricky - and not very many day-practice vets actually have the training and knowledge to really diagnose eye problems -

It sounds like she has something bigger going on though - the lung problems (is this new?), the calcified abdominal arteries (an odd and rare occurrance in itself), etc combined with the eyes and weight loss are big clues that something is very wrong, as I''m sure you know.

Medicine is not an exact science - for everything wethink we know there is so much we don''t yet (think how far medicine has come in just the last 100 years!). If you trust your vet and you feel confident that you and they have done exactly what you want done for Katie, then that is good for everyone. I''ve at times actually talked clients (owners... parents...) out of expensive procedures and treatments because it isn''t in the best interest of the animal. That''s where you come in - you know your cat better than anyone else - the vet included. If YOU think she isn''t feeling well, if you look at her and she looks at you with a look in her eyes of "yeah I feel like crap but I still want to be here" then it isn''t time. On the other hand, if she looks at you and says "mom, I''m done - I''m tired, and I don''t want to feel like this anymore" then it''s time to let her go.

Remember animals have no concept of "death" - that is a human emotion we project onto them. They don''t know what is coming - all they know is they feel sleepy at the time. Euthanasia is a priviledge in my opinion, not something to be taken lightly at all, but a wonderful gift the animal loving community has been given to relieve animals from their suffering and at times to prevent it from occurring at all.

I don''t know if that helps at all, but I certainly wish you all the best in this very tough time.

And as an aside - please, everyone, PLEASE don''t ever give your cats raw meat!!!!!!!!

 

[FireGoddess]

Oh JCJD...I am so sorry to hear this. My prayers are with you and Katie - that you have the strength to complete your necessary tasks today to the best of your ability and that Katie is not suffering. I hope she''s okay but if not, that you can find the strength to let her go. **hugs**

 

[JCJD]

ecf - thanks for all the replies. Yes, you got all the details right. The lungs are recent. She had been coughing periodically for a couple months until the attacks were almost once a day. I finally took her in to the vet about a month ago and following bloodwork and an x-ray, she was diagnosed with severe asthma (very cloudy lungs, although not likely to be cancer because of the good condition of her other organs, including good steady heartbeat and normal-sized heart). She was put on prednisolone and another drug starting with an A for the asthma, her appetite improved temporarily, and she has had 2 coughing attacks since then, during a period of humid and rainy weather last week. The vet isn''t sure if the blood in her eye is new, whether it''s clotted blood, etc, but it is a drastic change from when she saw her just on Tuesday. It hasn''t changed that I could tell from last night to this morning. We go to an all-feline vet clinic, and this particular vet seems to be the resident eye expert - she said she''ll get out of bed for two things - eye problems and a queen that can''t have her kittens. On another note, she noted no response to direct or indirect light in the affected eye, so she seems to actually be blind in that eye.

Thanks again. I''ll know what I have to do when we go pick her up this evening...

 

[moremoremore]

I''m so sorry to hear this. Sending head bonks your way....

I know what you are going through...and I can see how much you love your baby...no matter what you need to do, you are being the best kitty mom you can and are doing the best thing for her....Hugs...

 

[HOUMedGal]

JCJD, I''m sooo sorry. I know how hard this is.

Sending thoughts of peace and comfort to you and Katie!!!

 

[Lorelei]

JC, I am sending out my strongest prayers to you and Katie. Hugs to you both.

 

[AndyRosse]

Oh JCJD, I''m so sorry to hear that Katie isn''t feeling so great

My thoughts and prayers are with you both.

Please keep us updated.

 

[JCJD]

Hello again all,

Katie is not suffering anymore. She died on her own yesterday afternoon. It was really hard the last couple hours, not knowing what I should do, whether I should take her to the emergency vet service in town, whether she was going to get through it. I took her home Friday afternoon because she definitely didn''t have that "look". Then Saturday at about noon she took a huge turn for the worse. She''d been breathing heavily all day, but then she started hiding in dark places, really labored breathing. I decided it was time and we drove to the emergency vet, but they couldn''t do anything for her. She died within minutes. Her last few minutes were peaceful, and I was able to say goodbye earlier in the day, although I didn''t know at the time it was goodbye. We buried her next to my sweet dog at my dad''s house. Thanks for all the prayers, head bonks, and thoughts. I''m actually doing a lot better knowing that she''s not hurting and that she decided when to go so I''m not second guessing myself on making that decision for her. Thanks again.

 

[Lorelei]

I am so terribly sorry for your loss JCDC. Hugs to you and know that Katie is at peace now and will never be far from you.

 

[AndyRosse]

Oh JCJD, I''m sooooo sorry for your loss

But like you said, at least Katie is no longer in pain. **HUGS**

 

[moremoremore]

Oh I''m just so terribly terribly sorry. What a pretty princess she was. I''m so sorry for your loss...you gave her the best and it is a gift that she went so quickly when it just was her time. Head bonks and nose touches to you. So sorry. I know you will miss her terribly...

 

[Kaleigh]

Oh sweetie, I am so sorry for your loss. Katie is at peace now, and I send you the biggest hugs possible. Hang in there JCJD, and know you did all that was humanely possible for her. I know first hand what it feels like to loose a beloved pet. Give yourself the ability to grieve, and know she's right there with you.

Lisa

 

[FireGoddess]

So sorry to hear this JCJD. This one''s for Katie.