Sight problems in kittens

Rowreach

Rowreach

Adjusting my sails
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13 May 2007
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Poor George went to the vet today to be neutered, and the vet noticed that when he came round from the anaesthetic, his eye reflexes were a little odd.

Now, I found George in a hedge a couple of months ago, tiny, bedraggled and starving, and looking a lot younger than his actual (according to the vet) age. Over the past few weeks he's grown and thrived, and has appeared perfectly healthy, but we did notice that when we were playing with him, he wasn't very aware of things very close to his face. His long sight seems completely fine.

The vet doesn't have much to say other than suggesting I take George to a specialist - I'm more inclined to play it by ear and see how he copes, and whether it gets any worse.

Any thoughts, Wise Cat Owners of HHO?
 
George may not have the same thing but my cat was born with retinal atrophy where the rods and cones start to deteriorate once the kittens open their eyes. It's a genetic disease and there's is no cure. Sebastian came to me at 18 months old because he couldn't cope in a family environment and they were going to have him PTS. I took him straight to the vet for a full eye check up and they said he had about 20% sight and would be totally blind by the age of 4. He managed really well and even at 5 he could still see a little but then developed corneal ulcers in both eyes and the vet gave me two options. PTS or remove his eyes. After much soul searching I chose the latter and he has flourished ever since. As he is half Persian it just looks as though he has his eyes closed all the time. He plays with toys, goes out in the garden and follows me around like a dog. Obviously he isn't allowed out of the garden and I have 3 ft high mesh all the way round to stop escapes and pond is also fenced off for his safety but other than that he leads a normal cat life. His hearing is acute and he proudly catches leaves for me 😁 As you can probably tell I adore him.
 
Lucky Sebastian! He obviously adores you too. That is good to know, that he is a happy cat without his sight, thank you.

I have a feeling this might be something similar, and I'm going to have a chat to the senior partner (who knows me well and tells it like it is), so at least we will know what is likely to happen.

He is a delightful kitten so whatever we can do we will.
 
Cats do struggle with seeing things very near their face anyway, but if you think he is struggling more than normal then it's a good idea to talk to the senior partner. I would be fairly reassured by the fact that his mid and long range sight seems fine, but it's still a worry isn't it when you think there's something not quite right. He sounds like a little lovely, and gratuitous kitten pics would be most appreciated :D
 
Even in the past week the difference between his eyes is more noticeable (right pupil and iris are smaller and a different shape to the left) so we are monitoring at the moment and considering a specialist in the New Year.

It honestly doesn't seem to be affecting him too much, but obviously I'd like to know what is wrong and what the prognosis is.

Meanwhile he is happy playing with his cat toy (aka my big hound!).
 
rara007 said:
What was the news from the partner/senior vet? :) Hope it's nothing too sinister!
Click to expand...

Watch and wait (it's interesting as he gets bigger that there is a noticeable difference between the eyes, sizewise and the size and reaction of the iris and pupil) and if necessary refer to a specialist in the New Year.

He seems to be coping reasonably well, although he does tend to fall off things when his blind side is to the edge of the table/window sill/radiator and he misses his footing.

I'm seeing her at a horsey thing on NYD so we'll probably have a chat then.

Thanks for your interest :)
 
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