15 year old's nictitating membrane (third eyelid) permanently closed

Thanks for taking a minute to read this. I know that this isn't a
substitute for a visit to the vet. I've been to three of them, and
didn't have much luck with a positive treatment.

A little background. This cat is one of three we have, two brothers,
(litter mates, Bert & Earnie) and their new sister Daisy. Earnie
and his brother are 15 years old, and until recently, in good health.

Around the end of January, I noticed Earnie's third eyelid slowly
moving across his eye, just a little more each day, and not retracting.
I took him to his lifetime vet, who referred me to the Moxie center, an
AEVS-Affiliated Emergency Veterinary Service. http://www.aevs.com/
The Moxie center employees one of two 'feline opthamologists' in the
twin city area. She guessed it is a tumor, and screened the cat with
ultrasound and did a blood workup on him to see if it has spread
elsewhere. No sign of tumor(s) anywhere else.

She referred me to the University of Minnesota, a training animal,
hospital, http://www.cvm.umn.edu/vmc/ that has the only MRI machine
in the state for animal use, and employees the other feline opthamologist.

I opted for a needle biopsy to see if there is a tumor, and if it's malignant.
They put the cat out to do the procedure, but found that it was too
risky of hitting the back of his eye. The next step was to get the MRI
done, but at this point I was already down $1,500. and the MRI was
going to cost over $2,000. additional. I had to decline this option.

Next I took him back to his regular vet, who put him on prednisone,
and a liquid pain killer, and suggested we wait to see what happens.

Well, his left eyelid closed completely over a month ago, and now it
appears that the right eye is beginning the same process, slowly closing
a little at a time. His left eye doesn't close now, and I keep it wet with
eye drops, and antibiotic gell from the vet. If I don't do this it will dry out
and get inflamed.

I'm starting to doubt that there really is a tumor, because i'd think that
by now there would be other evidence of it growing behind his eye.
Also, since it's happening to his other eye, what are the chances of two
tumors, one behind each eye?

I'm hoping that someone out here has some experience with feline
nictitating membrane problems and could suggest a treatment other
than enuculation (eyeball removal) or just waiting to see what happens.

Thanks very much for any info or experience you can share.
Such as, is a holistic treatment feasible?

Bless his heart!! Are his eyelids also affected?? They look "out of round" to me.

I can offer no advice, but I did find a few interesting websites....hope they help. Many and prayers for this little guy.

http://www.petplace.com/cats/protrus...ats/page2.aspx

https://www.vetconnect.com.au/5min/data/01660167.htm

http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/torovirus.html

http://www.vetinfo.com/chorners.html

On the off chance you haven't checked...look for an ear infection? The nerves that can be affected in ear problems control things like eyelid movement. My kittie Sam is now fighting off a severe middle ear infection that resulted in his eyelid not being able to close before we discovered it. His nictitating membrane then comes across intermittently to try and substitute for the lack of eye closure. If the ears look bad, then treat with a combination of oral and topical to try to get at the deep infection. Like I said, it's a long shot and not exactly like my situation, but I thought I'd mention a double check of the ears.

Have they found any positive evidence of a tumor at all? Or is it just their theory because they have no better ideas?

Have you tried any oral antibiotics? If I remember correctly from my rescue experience, the membrane can also show itself when the cat is fighting infection...and if your only other choice is removal of the eye(s), it seems worth a shot even if you can't find anything for sure.

Wishing you and Earnie the best in this difficult time