official diagnosis: Feline diffuse iris melanoma

I am making this post to URGE everyone to take their pet to the vet and to a specialist if they ever see ANYTHING like this in their animal's eye. when this first happened to Ziggy I had no idea what was going on, I was told by so many that it was nothing, just a pigment change and that it was so unlikely that it was cancer because he is only two years old and an indoor only cat. I relied on my instincts to be safe rather than sorry and because of that I have probably saved his life.

I wanted to bring awareness of what this cancer looks like in different stages to everyone so that maybe I can help people whose pets might have the same thing and might be just as confused as I was. please, please PLEASE If your cat ever looks like this bring him to an eye specialist! it can and will save your babies life!

March 2007 - first appearance (was told by the vet that it was probably nothing to worry about)


June 2007 - spots growing and spreading, vet recommended seeing an eye specialist


October 2007 - enucleation surgery is recommended by the eye specialist


Ziggy now, three weeks post-surgery and doing GREAT!


I know people don't want to see their animal lose an eye, but I can't say it was a hard decision, between losing an eye or losing his life it was pretty easy. that didn't make the entire process easy however, it was all very hard on us but you know it really isn't as bad as it sounds and Ziggy is back to his usual handsome self already! so please don't be afraid of the possibility of your pet losing an eye, because in the big picture it really isn't all that bad.

Ziggy's report says that he is not 100% cleared of the cancer, but the ophthalmologist says she is very confident the cancer did NOT spread. It was recommended that I get an ultrasound done every six months of his belly to check his liver and lungs just to be sure. she said if nothing appears in two years then he is in the clear. but she would be very surprised if anything did show up. so I suppose that is good news.

I'm so happy they are confident the cancer didn't spread!

I myself have never seen that happen in a cat's eye....and am glad you brought it to my attention. With how many cats I have, and the number I see at the humane society, it is something I can aware of & watch for.

Wow, that really spread quickly! I'd never heard of this melanoma until a former student's cat recently developed it. Thank you for providing the info and photos, which might very well save other cats. for Ziggy.

I am so glad to hear Ziggy is on the mend!

I also say Thank you for the photos. I just noticed a funny looking spot in Lola's eye last week. I didn't think much of it until seeing Ziggy's photos. It looks very similar.

Lola will be heading to the vet and I will be keep in a close watch on her. I need to take photos to determine if it is spreading.

Thank you for sharing this important warning.
From now on, if I notice anything different about my cat's eyes,
they will go immediately to have them checked.

I am so glad that Ziggy is doing so well after his surgery.
Please keep us updated.
Ziggy

I am glad Ziggy is doing well, I will be checking my pet's eyes. I have never heard of anything like this. It good that you are sharing your story

Originally Posted by kittymonsters

I am so glad to hear Ziggy is on the mend!

I also say Thank you for the photos. I just noticed a funny looking spot in Lola's eye last week. I didn't think much of it until seeing Ziggy's photos. It looks very similar.

Lola will be heading to the vet and I will be keep in a close watch on her. I need to take photos to determine if it is spreading.

Click to expand...

I found it VERY helpful to take pictures, around October I was thinking to myself that it looked the same, but when I went back and compared the picture I took to the June picture I realized just how much it had spread, even the color differences. because when you see it everyday you get used to it and it might not seem as drastic as it really is! good luck with Lola I hope you get good news!

Iris melanomas are extremely are. I don't know the actual epidemiology by heart, but I'd bet it's 1/1 000 000. That's for us humans though... I would suspect it would still be the same for felines as well.

I am glad your kitty is doing better

These are photos of Lola's eye. You can see the new "spot" in her left eye, inner side.

I am going to have to research Iris melanoma, as the specialist vet is 3 hours away and the vets here are rural and not very good about referring. Does anyone know if sunlight (high UV) has an effect like human melanoma?

I live at 7,000 feet in New Mexico, our UV exposure is 10 pretty much every day. I know in horses this doesn't make a difference. I have a gray horse and melanoma is a "when" not an "if" in gray horses. If they live long enough they will get it.

Anyway, I would love others responses as to what they think about Lola's eye compared to Ziggy's. I am going to get the local vet to look at it tomorrow.

Oh my gosh...
I am glad that you are getting Lola checked tomorrow.
If you local vet is not sure about her eye, insist on a referral and make that 3 hour drive.
I am sending lots of calming vibes to you and Lola.

Gosh, my best to you and Ziggy!

You must listen to your instincts, it can be very soothing to think nothing is really wrong, but that's not always true.

Thank you!

I would say have Lola checked out by an eye specialist. ask your clinic if they have an ophthalmologist who comes to their location ever, I know some places may have one who comes every other weekend or something.

good luck with Lola! and please keep us updated!

My entire life i've never thought about it. Cleo lost her eyes to a virus so it was different. But ever since you've been updating us with Ziggy on your myspace i've been a little freaked out and constantly checking Charlie. He was indoor for 8 years and we always had to check for spots on his body due to pink skin/white fur. Now i keep looking at his eyes making sure

nearly everyone I know with pets are constantly checking their pets eyes now ever since I told them about Ziggy!! it really is a rare thing that Ziggy had, but it doesn't hurt to check!

AWWWWWW. Prayers and healing vibes for sweet Ziggy. And thank you for this painful, but must-have, information. Sure hoping and praying Ziggy is cancer-free from here on in.

A number of years ago, a few similar spots appeared in my cat's eye. After looking on the internet, where of course the diagnosis of almost everything is always cancer, I rushed him to the vet to have his eye looked at. His then-vet said it was absolutely nothing. Then he gradually got a cataract. He had yearly exams and I assumed the vet was looking at his eyes every year. This year he got ocular cancer (not melanoma) and died.
So I am absolutely in the camp now of have a specialist look at anything like it. I'll always wonder if I had just gone beyond the vet and taken him to a specialist back then, would he be here now? I'd give anything to have a second chance.

I'm so glad you were so proactive with your fella.

Thank you so much for posting these pictures! Our Abyssinian is 2 1/2 years old and started getting these "eye freckles" in one of his eyes. He was recently at the vets due to a cold and she dismissed it as anything to be concerned about. We have noticed the freckles have increased and are now going to take him back or look for an eye specialist. I would rather have his eye removed than lose our beloved pet!

stephshowers said:

Thank you so much for posting these pictures! Our Abyssinian is 2 1/2 years old and started getting these "eye freckles" in one of his eyes. He was recently at the vets due to a cold and she dismissed it as anything to be concerned about. We have noticed the freckles have increased and are now going to take him back or look for an eye specialist. I would rather have his eye removed than lose our beloved pet!

Click to expand...

I am also glad you found this old thread and were able to see the pictures.  I hope your little guy does NOT have eye cancer, but it he does, fingers crossed that this has helped you catch it early enough.

Why don't you open up a new thread just for your guy so we can follow his progress? 

Hi, wanted to let you know that I started a new thread to follow Spider's progress. Again, thank you so  much!

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/250395/feline-diffuse-iris-melanoma

Hi there, I'm writing to let you know how helpful this post was for me. I have found out my cat has iris melanoma and they want to remove the eye. I have been having a hard time coping with that but after reading this you have made me realize what I need to do. I also need to know if it has spread. Also I am wondering how lovely ziggy is? I see this post was in 2007 I am wondering if he is still clear of any cancer?