I am going to a shelter this week....

I have seen a pic of a 1 year old cat there I am interested in adopting. I lost my Misty recently and I can't go much longer without a kitty in my home. I need to care for another kitty since missing Misty so much is just about killing me. I know I can never replace Misty nor want to but I do need to give a home to another homeless baby.

I have a question, the cat I am interested in has corneal scarring in one eye, the shelter thinks it may be caused by a URI she had when they brought her in off the streets. She was pregnant at the time and gave birth to 4 kittens which have all been adopted but no one wants this mommy cuz of the eye. What I want to know is could this cause a problem later on. Shelter says she sees out of the eye and it doesn't bother her but do any of you know or had experience with this type of problem. I checked a health site about cats and it said corneal scarring is caused by a URI so I didn't learn much there. If you have any info on this or know where I should look, please let me know.

Thank you.

I think she should be ok.
I would go for her.

I don't know anything about it, but they wouldn't put her up for adoption if they didn't think that everything would be fine. They know she will make a great pet. I really hope you do end up adopting her. It's too often the case that kittens find homes quickly while their mom waits for months for a home.

I would suggest also that you talk to your vet and get his/her opinion. I hope you will be able to give her a good and loving home.

Thank you all for your comments. This little gal was not listed as a special needs kitty, the only problem with her is the cornea scarring. I will call my vet before adopting her. First I have to see her personality also, she may not be what I am looking for so I will just have to meet her before making any decisions. I will let you know if I do adopt a kitty this week.

Oh the poor little thing! Bless your heart for considering adopting her. Sadly, chances are good that if she doesn't look "perfect", unless someone as caring like you comes along, she won't be adopted. I imagine with so many 'perfect appearing' kitties in shelters, most would overlook the one who's not so perfect.

While corneal scarring can be caused somewhat due to an URI (from a bacterial infection in the eye), it can be caused by a few other things, too. A common one is.... a scratch to the cornea that went untreated. Pretty common in strays or ferals. With 5 cats, I've had my share of torn corneas but luckily I popped them into the Vet the minute I noticed any 'squinting' and in 2 cases the Vet had to surgically repair the torn cornea. One of the kitties has been left with a scar on the cornea but no visual impairments.

Another common causes is feline ocular herpes virus. very common in cats. 3 of mine have this. My first cat, Tigger, came to me with this (rescued her when she was about 2 months old)....she had eye issues immediately and was diagnosed w/ feline ocular herpes. She's maybe had one flare-up in her 16 yrs! 2 of my others have it to (all were strays at one time). really not a big deal. My one cat Fuzzy started having a squinty eye about 7 yrs ago, I took her to a local Vet eye doctor (opthalmologist) and that's what she was diagnosed with. He prescribed a couple week's worth of L-Lysine and she was fine. She's never had a problem since then. The remaining 2 of my crew don't have it/never caught it.

If it were me, I'd be all the more inclined to adopt this kitty, fearing that if I didn't, nobody else might A bit of scarring is not a big deal, truly.......it shouldn't impact kitty in any way.

Here's a link with other info re: issues with the cornea in cats:

http://www.vin.com/proceedings/Proce...1175&O=Generic

From what I've seen in shelter kitties - some with corneal scarring have no issues - some eventually require removal of the eye.

Cannot comment on feline corneal scarring, but my DH has the human corneal scarring. This has not caused visual imparement and has not gotten worse. I compare it to having any other scar.

The vet will answer your questions.

Good luck in bringing home a new family member.

We adopted out a cat who came in with a funny eye, apparently that is some kind of scarring and she is perfectly fine, so hopefully this little one will be too.

Good luck with your new kitty friend and bless you for adopting!

My Coco has corneal scarring from an eye infection she had when I got her at 10 mos old. She is now 3+ years old and doing great. Her vision is likely impaired in that eye but other than that it doesn't cause any problems.

My Fiona had this. The shelter had taken such good care of her.

When I adopted her it was on condition that I make sure she does her follow up Opthamologist appointment. I did and the OPT said her eye looked fine and the weren't gonna touch the lesion since it wasn't bothering her and wasn't getting any bigger. I just give her some OPT ointment when I see it is getting a little red (per my vets instructions) Sometimes I guess kitties can lose their whole eye if it goes on too long.

You should have seen her when we first saw her! She had just been to the vet for the eye and she had a flap of whatever was the dead part they took off hanging off the side of her eye, waiting for it to fall off. Ickness. But her puurrrsonality shown through! She was purring and wanting love and meowing for attention and such a BEAUTIFUL kitty. (IMHO )

It was instant

It was from feline herpes. The first year I had her I gave her Lysine on a daily basis and fed her excellant quality food. I kept the house warm and humid. Watched her for signs of URI, which she got once in the first year and needed anti-b's and a vet visit. After the first year she was great. i keep a good eye on her and make sure I do all I can to prevent issues from forming.

I say got for it! Get all the info you can from the shelter about what type of vet visits she's had, if they know if she has FH or not? Make sure your own vet see's the kitty really soon after and go to an actual OPT specialist for her eye just to make sure that she won't have to lose it and it is okay as is.

I will bump up the photo I have of my Fiona in the pics section so you can see her eye as it is now. You can see the lesion on it pretty well.

Ditto on talking to your vet...also, take her to the vet ASAP right after adoption and have them do a thurough check on her health, etc...Some shelters will take them back if your vet finds a serious underlying medical issue right after adoption. . . My shelter cat looked great, had no issues, etc....but later found out he had an enlarged heart and seizures..so it pays to be cautious.