Sebastian's eye surgery

[HappyHollyDays]

My young Exotic who was blind through a genetic disorder suffered ulceration of both eyes over Christmas and I agonised over whether to have him PTS or put him through eye removal. The ulceration was also a genetic problem and would have reoccurred.

After speaking with the vet and going with my gut I elected for the surgery. He had it done yesterday and I picked him up this morning. Well what a difference, I knew he was in pain and very depressed but within 24 hours he has returned back to his old self. He is purring, wanting his head rubbed, has eaten a whole tin of food and has spent the past 20 minutes washing.

I rescued him 3 years ago and knew he had issues when I took him on and I never thought I would get so attached to him. He is almost 5 now and the vet agrees he was worth saving and hopefully will have many pain free years ahead of him.

A bit of a pointless post I know but I am so relieved he has come through so well after a very stressful fortnight for us both.

 

[thewonderhorse]

Hello, Didnt want to read and run. Im glad he is feeling much better. In your position though, i would have to be honest i would have probably PTS as i feel that a totally blind cat would have a considerable loss of quality of life with no vision.

However, i can see it must have been a decision you made with love and i wish you both the best x

PS, Give him lots of cuddles Brave boy.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Thank you for your kind words. It was a tough decision but as he was already blind because of the retinal atrophy and knows his way round the house and garden I felt he would cope ok. I was more worried about his depression and him not coming through that but I needn't have worried.

Had he lost his vision just because of the ulcers I don't think I would have gone for surgery either. Going from full sight to no sight would have been too much for him but so far it doesn't seem to have made any difference to him.

He is asleep in the bathroom at the moment and seems quite contented. When he wakes up I will give him lots of cuddles and he will be on the bed tonight.

 

[pines of rome]

My cat lost his sight a few months a go due to a stroke, he was confused at first, but is now coping well.
He knows his way round the house and garden and is still his happy little self!

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I am sorry to hear your cat has gone through a stroke and blindness but pleased he has made such a good recovery. The vet told me that even fully sighted cats adapt really well as all their other senses kick in to compensate and your cat seems to have proved him right.

Sebastian had a good night and managed to find the litter tray without any help this morning which is more than he does most days. Puppy pads are brilliant for those little accidents.

 

[Umbongo]

Glad to hear he is doing well.

I have a cat who had one eye removed due to glaucoma. For months before he would just keep himself to himself and sleep at the bottom of my bed. I just thought he was getting old and wasn't very cuddly anymore.

Once I had his eye removed he was suddenly a much happier cat, coming up to me for cuddles and following me everywhere. It is funny how you don't realise how much these things can affect them. My cat must have been in pain but only really showed it by being slightly less affectionate.

My cat is overly affectionate now and has been since the operation....it was 3 years ago and he still won't leave me alone! Ever since the operation he has to be as close to my face as possible and cuddles my face in bed....it sometimes gets quite annoying

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Umbongo how you have described your cat is exactly how Sebastian was. He went from really loving to not wanting to be touched and I didn't have any idea why. It wasn't until the vet found the ulcers and I realised how much pain he was in it all made sense.

I felt so guilty for waiting two weeks before taking him to the vets because all I thought he needed was some Prozac. Then he had to go through another 2 weeks of intensive treatment to try to get the ulcers to heal before realising they weren't going to and making the decision to have the surgery done.

In future he will be at the vets straight away if he so much as sneezes.

 

[thewonderhorse]

Aw its lovely to hear hes doing so well