Talked to Calley's vet

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Kris10mo

Member Since 2014
I got the bloodwork back from the vet this morning. Everything was normal. I asked the vet about the retinas and she said that to her, they did NOT look detached, but that she is not a specialist and her untrained eye may not see it. :(

I asked about the BP testing and she said they could try to get a reading but that she wasnt' sure how accurate it would be as cats tend to be stressed out from just a simple vet visit. sigh.

So I am taking her to a second vet today at 2:30pm. Will see what they think and will ask them to please try to a BP reading.

Calley's eyes are still big and round and she is still just sitting on the couch mostly. Her BG readings have been real high the past day. Yesterday AM it was 330....last night it was 367 and this AM it was 416. I can already tell her muscle mass/thickness at her neck where I give her shot, has changed.

I just don't get it. She was acting fine on Christmas day. Walking around the tree and in the wrapping paper mess and jumping in/out of her favorite spots. It seems just over night she lost her vision.

Wishing for good news though.
 
PS....Calley isn't vocalizing either. She hasn't meowed at all ....no squeeks or anything. How odd !!!!!
 
Ok. Went to see second vet. Not a good visit. He said that he can't even see the retinas and there he says they are detached. Her eyes are not responding to any light whatsoever. He did not do a BP check saying that since the retinas are detached, that it is not necessary. So I guess the poor baby is blind from now on. He said her eyes are very cloudy but that there is not a cataract or glaucoma.

Sigh.

He is concerned that her bg #'s are high and wants me to adjust insulin as needed to get the numbers back down. Calley was at 416 this morning at 8am and was just at 176 at +8 ( 4pm).

Not sure if I can afford seeing a specialist or if it is even necessary at this point. If the retinas are detached, they aren't going to grow back. He was thorough. He looked at her several times, both in the dark and in the light.

He talked about cats being blind and having their eyes constrict and dilate like normal, but Calley's aren't moving at all. :(

He also said that he hasn't heard of cats going blind from a hypo event....he says it happens more often from a cat being too high.

Just dumbfounded.
 
Caretakers have posted here of their cats going blind from a hypo. I have neev seen a post because of BG too high.
Typically a detached retina is due to high blood pressure.
 
I'm sorry this happened and now appears permanent. You both will adjust and she will get used to things. You will need to vocalize your commands to her more, especially if she is walking into walls or potential danger. If you have stairs in your place, be sure to keep the door closed or block them, so she understands that these are now stairs, until she can learn to navigate up and down them safely.

I don't have stairs, only pet stairs to assist them in climbing onto the bed. I had to teach Maui where the stairs were located and guide her several times up and down them, so she could learn them and maneuver them on her own and not fall off the side.

Let me know how else I can help, as I do have experience with a blind cat.
 
Why would her retinas just detach out of the blue? Usually that type of detachment is due to some type of injury. I'm hopeful that maybe she just ate something, some Christmas tree or other Christmas plant. I had a cat that chewed on some house plant when I was stationed in Okinawa and he went blind and sort of stiff. The vet couldn't see the retina either but suspected that somehow the toxins in the plant were causing the retina to stretch out to the point it wasn't visible. In this case his vision came back within a week and was pretty normal except for some liver damage that lingered. I hope your kitty's vision comes back, there's hope! :bighug:
 
I'm not sure why they just went completely dilated; I don't have a real Christmas tree and no holiday plants were brought into the house. It was either from the hypo episode or combination of that and the HBP. Regardless of why.....it seems to be permanent. :(
 
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