I have an appointment with the vetrinary opthamologist later today for my cat, but I wanted to get other peoples' ideas first.
I was at the same vet opth 2 years ago and they couldn't give me a straight answer.
My cat is about 11 or 12 years old. He started developing these like, little blackish looking spots in his eye. I didn't think anything of it. I had brought him into the vet for his yearly checkup and shots and she started telling me that he had tumors in his eye and that I have to get his eye removed! I was like Um NO I don't THINK so!!
So I took him to the vet opth who shined this intensely bright light into his eyes for like 20 minutes which made my poor kitty hiss like crazy. I've never heard him hiss at anyone and I've had him since he was 10 weeks old! Anyway, after Doogie Howser looked him over (I call him that because he looked really young, really green and frankly I must be at least 10 years or more older than him and i'm only in my early 30s!), he couldn't tell me one way or another whether it was really tumors or just a weird pigment!
What it looks like to me is, you know when we humans get a broken blood vessel in our eye? It sort of looks like that only more dark like brown or black. And it's definitely not raised or irritated or red and he seems to be able to see just fine out of that eye.
So before I left the vet opth's office, he said I should make sure to watch it and if it changes at all that I have to come back immediately and have the eye removed!
It's been two years since then and although there seems to be more of the stuff in his eye than before, I still don't think that he sees any less than he did before. His depth perception seems to be just fine and I never see him in any kind of distress. I'm going back to the doc today to see if he thinks that it's anything in particulary. But I'm telling you right now, if he can't give me a straight answer of what it is, if he tells me the same thing that it could be or may not be a tumor, I'm not just going to go and have his eye removed!
The thought of it is more horrible than I can even think of. I'm sure if I did it that my cat would hate me and wonder why I didn't love him because I put him through that pain. And besides which he has a cat condo that he sleeps on top of, and right now he can jump up there because he has both eyes and can see to jump up there. But if one of those eyes was gone,then there's no way to tellif he'd be able to jump up on the top anymore as he loves to do. He loves sleeping up there! And I'd be taking that away from him if I allowed this surgery to happen.
I am beside myself with worry about this. But i don't know what to do. I'm not getting the surgery though, unless the doc gives me a very compelling reason to do so! I will not allow my cat to go through that! I already feel bad enough about taking him in to have to be tortured with that bright light again. I know it was extremely uncomfortable for him and I hate the idea of having to make him go through it again.
I'll post again after I get back from the doctor and tell you what he says.
I was at the same vet opth 2 years ago and they couldn't give me a straight answer.
My cat is about 11 or 12 years old. He started developing these like, little blackish looking spots in his eye. I didn't think anything of it. I had brought him into the vet for his yearly checkup and shots and she started telling me that he had tumors in his eye and that I have to get his eye removed! I was like Um NO I don't THINK so!!
So I took him to the vet opth who shined this intensely bright light into his eyes for like 20 minutes which made my poor kitty hiss like crazy. I've never heard him hiss at anyone and I've had him since he was 10 weeks old! Anyway, after Doogie Howser looked him over (I call him that because he looked really young, really green and frankly I must be at least 10 years or more older than him and i'm only in my early 30s!), he couldn't tell me one way or another whether it was really tumors or just a weird pigment!
What it looks like to me is, you know when we humans get a broken blood vessel in our eye? It sort of looks like that only more dark like brown or black. And it's definitely not raised or irritated or red and he seems to be able to see just fine out of that eye.
So before I left the vet opth's office, he said I should make sure to watch it and if it changes at all that I have to come back immediately and have the eye removed!
It's been two years since then and although there seems to be more of the stuff in his eye than before, I still don't think that he sees any less than he did before. His depth perception seems to be just fine and I never see him in any kind of distress. I'm going back to the doc today to see if he thinks that it's anything in particulary. But I'm telling you right now, if he can't give me a straight answer of what it is, if he tells me the same thing that it could be or may not be a tumor, I'm not just going to go and have his eye removed!
The thought of it is more horrible than I can even think of. I'm sure if I did it that my cat would hate me and wonder why I didn't love him because I put him through that pain. And besides which he has a cat condo that he sleeps on top of, and right now he can jump up there because he has both eyes and can see to jump up there. But if one of those eyes was gone,then there's no way to tellif he'd be able to jump up on the top anymore as he loves to do. He loves sleeping up there! And I'd be taking that away from him if I allowed this surgery to happen.
I am beside myself with worry about this. But i don't know what to do. I'm not getting the surgery though, unless the doc gives me a very compelling reason to do so! I will not allow my cat to go through that! I already feel bad enough about taking him in to have to be tortured with that bright light again. I know it was extremely uncomfortable for him and I hate the idea of having to make him go through it again.
I'll post again after I get back from the doctor and tell you what he says.
