Help w/ blindness related to probable eye disease

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carolynandlatte

carolynandlatte

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I took in another foster, whom I wrote about a few weeks back in community.
She is approximately 1yr old, with little known background. Someone was feeding her outside their house and was able to catch her and bring her to the shelter when they noticed something was wrong with her eye.

The vet thought she had an infection, and tests show she is blind in that eye. They treated her until all discharge stopped and released her to me. It took about 6hrs before she would come out and let me see her after bringing her home. Her blind eye looks really 'yuck'. Not attractive at all. She had discharge from both eyes. Sometimes the good eye would literally have tears dripping onto the floor. I brought her in for a recheck about a week later and the vet said she was disappointed to see the discharge and redness in her blind eye. We left with eye drops to treat conjunctivitis (for both eyes), and lysine in case it was a URI. After a week w/ drops little to no changes took place. Vet suggested I stop the drops and see if there is a difference. A week w/ no drops and she is still getting lots of discharge and redness in bad eye. Her good eye occassionally has a red tinge to the discharge when I wipe her eye with a cloth.

I spoke with the vet today and she said maybe it would be good to get her in to see an ophthalmologist. She told me she would get back to me on that in a FEW WEEKS! Okay?????????? So I asked the question...Could she go blind in the other eye? Her response was that anything is possible. Its not likely because she has a better defense system now that she is getting older. She didnt rule out that it could happen, though.

So now Im sitting here freaking out. I know nothing about cats and eyes. My heart would completely break if she went blind in her other eye too. She is the SWEETEST kitty, even with her 'flippy' personality. She is really coming along in the socialization aspect and seems so incredibly happy. Why would we wait another TWO weeks to consider an ophthamologist? Shouldnt she be seen as soon as possible? Again, not knowing anything about eyes, maybe it can wait that long. That is why I am asking for help here.

I should add, the vet has said she may need her eye removed. Mine, and the shelter's understanding is that removal of the eye will help prevent recurring infections. As much as I hate to say it, she will also look better, helping her be more adoptable to the general public. Knowing the eye may continue to cause problems is also a barrier to someone wanting to adopt her, possibly because of the finances.

Has anyone had experience with eye issues/blindness? Any resources? Bulletin boards? Ideas?

Thank you so much!
 
Unfortunately I have no website to go to or vet information to read... BUT I do have some personal experience with severe eye issues when a kitten. The two kitties that own me I got in Germany. They were fall kittens and although Germans are VERY animal aware and sensitive they respect nature and felt that the kittens may not meant to live. I would not accept that though and finally when they were about near deaths door they finally allowed me to have the kittens. I was in the military and in a remote location where there was little resources available. Even for a human doctor we had to travel about 2 hours.

Jazzy came into my home and heart with severe eye problems in both her eyes. It was so bad I thought for sure she was blind. I had never seen so much puss and gunk come out of a little tiny kitten before. She could not see though and I had to put her in the litter box or put the food up to her nose to smell it. I had no vet and no real understanding of how best to help her. Her sister (Alli) even tried to help her by bringing her food. I did though not only used some terimicin(sp?) but I also took a nice soft clean wash cloth and would wipe and clean out her eyes. I didn't use just water but rather Chamomile tea as I had heard from a long ago that it would help pink eye and being as ignorant as I was I thought she had Pink eye.I gently cleaned her eyes 6 times a day. Needless to say it must have worked OR she had a really good immune system... or both. That was 16+ years ago and she seems just fine. Although her eyes may weep a bit still when she is tired or scared or sick I have not noticed any other eye issues.

Not saying this will work. I AM NOT A VET. but wanted you to know .... don't give up hope and do what you think is in the kitties best interest. We have had lots of kitties get adopted that were blind so don't think it would be a major deterent to finding a good home. We even had a guy come in looks specifically for a blind kitty.

Hope this helps some
 
Yes, if there is an infection it could cause the other eye to go blind without the correct treatment. When I adopted Chloe she developed an eye infection that would not clear up. Fortunately my vet referred her to an ophthamologist and we were able to get her in almost immediately. She was put on several different antibiotics for several weeks to clear it up. But I was also told that if she was not treated that agressively, there was a good chance she could lose sight in her eyes. Fortunately the treatment worked and she is very healthy.

If your vet will not give you an immediate referral, I would either call other vets in your area or if you have a veterinary college nearby and ask them for a recommendation. They also may be listed in your phonebook. If you can also post where you are located, city and state only, we may have someone nearby that may have a recommendation.
 
Thank you for the responses so far.

I did find the "Blind Cat Rescue and Sanctuary" website tonight. I sent them an email to see if anyone would be able to talk to me over the phone or email to get a better grasp of her situation.

I do live in a major city with a wonderful veterinary hospital, where I took Latte on occasion. I doubt the rescue would pay for her to be seen there and I cant afford to pay it myself right now, as Im in the process of moving. HOWEVER, Latte's old vet told me to contact him anytime I had a 'kitty' question. I think I may do this. I may even see if he will 'secretly' see Tippie/Tashi for a basic opinion so I could feel more confident fighting for her through the rescue and their vet clinic. I would be willing and able to foot the bill for that.

I do think the rescue wants whats best for her. However I think there is a little bit of tip toeing they have to do with the vet in order to keep getting care thru them at a reduced rate. If tippy has time for tip toeing, fine. But I dont want to risk the possibility that she does not. I hope I would not get in trouble for bringing her to another vet. :?

Another thing that has bothered me tonight is that the vet was more focused on her weight and making sure she was not gaining. She told me to find a creative way to weigh her regularly. Im not sure what that has to do with her eye??? I do weigh her because I have a baby scale from Latte and a former foster. This cat (tippie) apparently weighed 7lbs when she came in and 8lbs when she left the vet. I got her on a scale one week after arriveing and she was 7.9oz (confirmed at the vet the next day). She has been eating 250-300 calories the last 3 weeks and only gained 2 -2.5oz. To me that seems weird. Thats a lot of calories for a little cat (and she is tiny) to not be packing it on quicker.

Still open for more suggestions or resources.
 
Carolyn, our eye expert is Karen/Rambo and she is blocked from postng at work. She has been alerted, but it will take a while for her to get back to you.
 
Until you can get medical help. I would go with wiping the eye(s) just as frequently as you can, even it it's on water - though camomille tea sounds worth while. No experience with kitty eyes, but I had a peke and they are renowned for eye problems. And my first recourse was always wet wipes to help rinse out debris. Be sure to use new wipe for each eye.
 
If it's a feline herpes infection, you need antiviral eye drops or ointment. When we got Emme, she had a badly infected eye due to herpes and antibiotics didn't help at all. The antiviral was expensive, but totally cleared it up (I can't remember the name of the drug right now. Sorry!). We now give her l-lysine in her food to keep her from having a relapse.
 
If her eye is permanently blind, but is infected, you do run the risk of it spreading to the other eye. If the blindness is not treatable, and there is discomfort (which there probably is), enucleation (removal of the eye) is a viable choice. It eliminates the problem, prevents years of treating a chronically re-infecting eye, and reduces (or eliminates) the risk of transference to the remaining eye. It is not a painful surgery - it usually feels better after!- and these cats are usually much happier.

Jon's Pixil had her eyes removed after years of chronic infections in her blind eyes, and she is a new cat - happier, more active, and more confident.

Don't be afraid of that option, if it is what needs to be done.

Best of luck!
 
Thanks again for the additional help.
So...a viral infection is treated with a different medication than a bacterial infection? The vet has led me to believe a viral infection (or whatever she has) is not something which can be treated. What I was treating her with via vet instructions was for a bacterial infection I believe. I can post later on what specific eye drop I was giving.

I believe it may be in her best interest for the eye to be removed for a number of reasons. The shelter I believe does too. For some reason the vet is not convinced it is time. The blind kitty assoc I mentioned in an earlier post told me they always remove bad eyes immediately. Im not sure what the cons would be to doing this, especially if they are young. Is there something with the surgery that is risky?

For those reading this...remember, this is a foster. I have the ability to share my thoughts on the subject. I do not make the decisions however. The shelter and vet they work with do that part. What I need to do is gather as much information as I can to make the best decision for her care, and present it in a way to convince everyone what is best for her.

She does not seem to be bothered by the eye(s). The blindness is new to her and she was VERY scared/defensive when she first came. She is really coming along. Other than the drainage and fear of completely going blind, my only concerns are why she wont stop chewing on my ear at 6am and how she can eat 325-375 calories/day for weeks and only gain a few ounces (I calculated her calories last night and they are a lot higher than i initially posted). She was pretty aggressive at first, but that has calmed down. She is talkative, super playful, and very loveable. Tippie is a total shadow in my daily routine. I think she likes it here a lot and is very happy. I feel the same way about her being here.

Any other thoughts are welcome. I will get in touch with the foster coordinator this week and share the info/opinions I have gathered.
 
carolynandlatte said:
So...a viral infection is treated with a different medication than a bacterial infection? The vet has led me to believe a viral infection (or whatever she has) is not something which can be treated.
Click to expand...

That's right. It's hard to treat viral infections - antivirals are not that common. Bacterial infections are treated with antibiotics, and are pretty commonly treated. Antibiotics are ineffective against viral infections.

I hope they make the right decision for this little girl.
 
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