? Dilated eye

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Kathleen and Fred

Kathleen and Fred

Member Since 2009
It's been a while since Fred and I visited this site. He's now 15.8, weighs 14.35 lbs and uses Prozinc. Most days his BGs are between 100 and 150. He had a stroke or blood clot (no one knows) about two years ago, but, except for a little arthritis on rainy days, he's aging well.

That is until I noticed about a week ago that his left eye was dilated. Now the light bothers him and he hides behind the sofa. The vet visit May 26th revealed a heart murmur, weight loss and but no retinal detachment. I wondered if somethings could be pressing on the optic nerve. Blood work was done and results (thanks to the holiday) will come back on June 1st.

Meanwhile, I've been watching his every move. He's not out catching chipmunks as he would be in the warmer weather. He's drinking more water and is very picky with his food....except for my rotisserie chicken! It's raining today, so he's out from the shadows just a bit more. Also, in the past week or so, he's started to pee outside the box. He's big and might hang over the box, but he's never done this before.

Before I see the vet again, I wanted to run this set of circumstances past all of you for your thoughts and suggestions. After all, when they thought he had cancer years ago, you suggested tests for Hemo-Bart and it saved his life!!

Thanks for any help!!
 
By dilated eye, do you mean that the eye is bulging out? Any discolouration? Diagnosis aside, he probably has a bit of a headache from the pressure. I had a cat develop glaucoma a few years ago. He felt much better once the eye was removed.

Definitely a vet trip, I think.
 
Dilated eyes mean the pupil (colored part) of the eyes does not contract (get smaller) when in light or sunlight. It stays enlarged, while the other eye changes from a slit to a big over depending on the light. Yes, as I said, I have already seen the vet. Thanks.
 
Have you considered asking your vet to refer you to a veterinary opthalmologist? Ours is worth her weight in gold.


Mogs
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My vet mentioned an opthamogist, but we'll wait to see what the blood work says. At his age, I worry that there's not much that can be done. Surgury would be very risky. So unsure what to do!
 
Critter Mom said:
Have you considered asking your vet to refer you to a veterinary opthalmologist? Ours is worth her weight in gold.


Mogs
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You're lucky that you have relatively easy access to one. There are only TWO feline opthamologists in the entire country here. I saw one who did the pressure tests on Sam's eye, and he pretty much confirmed diagnosis on the spot.
 
I would agree with Mogs to take Fred to an opthalmologist vet to determine why the pupil is not contracting. Also, you want to rule out that there is not pressure causing him pain and only the opthalmologist vet will be able to determine that by doing a test to measure pressure. Good luck and keep us posted.
 
Can you turn the lights down, etc? I'm sure if it is dilated, it really bothers him to be out.
And this sounds silly, but what about an eyepatch to cover it and keep the light out?
 
Hello,
As I study human medicine, I can say that in humans when pupils are different (in one eye dilated and in the other eye not) then it means brain damage. Your cat might have had another stroke. I'm quite sure that your cat might need to be seen by neurologist. He might benefit from drugs that make blood less thick (humans take aspirin). Neurologist will surely help you.
 
Not always - in humans it can be a primary eye problem. My first thought is glaucoma, other eye conditions can cause a dilated pupil usually associated with some inflammation and pain when in light. I would second the suggestion to get the pressures checked and to see an ophthalmologist.
 
Then it would be in both eyes. In humans pupil becomes dilated when some drugs are administred (atropin for example). But then it is in both eyes.
 
@Lilian I am a human doctor and it isn't always what the textbooks say, and cats are different. There are two types of glaucoma, one one type (acute angle closure) can present as a fixed dilated pupil. I don't know enough about feline ophthalmology to know which is the most common in cats but I have known cats to have glaucoma only in one eye. In my experience it is more common to be one eye only in the cat.
 
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