Sudden onset blindness, any second opinions?

cinder

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Hi everyone, long time no see.

I had a situation this past week and I'm curious for a reaction from board members who have possibly had similar situations.

I've had Grace for 16 years.  He is at least 17.  Was last to the vet 1 year ago.  Showing no outward symptoms of kidney, thyroid, etc.  Last Thursday he didn't show up for dinner.  I found him hiding in a box, scared to death of me.  Eyes fully dialated.  When I tried to calm him he'd run and wedge himself in unusual places.  Check on him at 4 a.m. and he was sleeping with the other cats.  By morning he was still somewhat skittish, but calming down.  The vet checking him out late morning.

Findings, sight is completely gone.  His weight was identical to the prior years exam.  She felt it would be a waste to do bloodwork as it did not appear to be disease related and felt the problem was likely a brain tumor, which would be costly to diagnose and impossible to treat.  Prognosis, a cat they treated recently with similar symptoms lived 4 months. His quality of life and the frequency of additional seizures would determine where we went from here.  She mentioned the possibility of using pred, it could shrink the tumor.

There are times I swear he can see because he gets around so well.  His attitude is back to normal.

I've done some research and I'm not sure exactly how I feel about this.  Any input? 
 

simka

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First, I'm sorry about the news on Grace - always a huge shock. I cared for a permanent foster called Sidney who was fine for about a year, except for being exceptionally shy, and then started head tilting slightly and being off balance. She was diagnosed as having a brain tumor, presumably of the brain stem since she had ataxia.  As the symptoms got worse, I did some research and asked the shelter vet if we could use prednisolone on her.  It had a dramatic effect and she lost all symptoms for about four months.  It was absolutely wonderful to see her racing about again. She never had seizures, and never lost her sight, but when the pred lost its impact, her ataxia was so bad it would have been a crime not to help her leave.
 

feralvr

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Was his blood pressure checked? You might want to read this thread: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/224788/our-16-year-old-persian-has-gone-blind-deaf
:yeah: I was just thinking of this thread from Laurie :hugs:. I am SO sorry about your Grace.... oh dear :eek:hno: Gosh, it is just amazing to me at how our kitties can suddenly lose their sight and then seemingly adjust to their disability quite well. I am glad that he is getting around alright. Loads of vibes to Grace today, he is a real trooper. :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:
 
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cinder

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Thanks for the responses.  The blood pressure was a question I also came up with during my reading.  But apparently it is usually secondary to other conditions, kidney, thyroid, which the vet seemed to think did not apply.  I was back at the clinic today with another cat and was going to question her about it, but it was her day off. 

A blood pressure check is fairly routine isn't it, and should be able to be performed at any clinic? 

I'm having a couple of different reactions to this.  First, I do commend the vet for not wanting to push hundreds/thousands of dollars worth of tests for an elderly cat.  But a second part of me wonders whether she didn't quite take the diagnostic process far enough.  Grace is a wonderful cat and is treatable from the standpoint that he can be handled and medicated.    
 

ldg

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I'm pretty sure they're standard equipment. I do think it requires some training to use. The back leg is usually shaved, and they use a microphone amplifier so they can hear the beat in a vein there. They use a teeny little cuff - it is the cutest thing ever. They should take 5 - 10 measurements and use the average. They only measure systolic - at least that's all the measured for our Flowerbelle. Normal is in the range of 110 - 160.
 

violetxx

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Hi Cinder,

Something I came across once when our senior cat was loosing function in his back legs, was mercury poisoning. This was before I had any cat food knowledge.  For about one week, we fed pretty much exclusively salmon food, because we ran out of chicken wet food. Anyways long story short as soon as we removed the fish from his diet, his leg function went back to normal.

How does this relate, you may ask? When I was researching it, I found that cats who consume too much mercury can show signs of irritability, incoordination, convulsions, stiff hind legs, over-excitement and blindness. So I just thought I'd mention it. 

Kind regards and sending positive cat vibes to you and your furbaby
 
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cinder

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I appreciate that information.  Grace has severe weekness in his hind legs, which was diagnosed as arthritis last year.  I give him glucosamine supplements and while he can run, he has no strength to jump up.   His diet has been VF chicken & rice and most recently, Royal Canin Indoor Mature #27.  Food is so difficult when it comes to cats, and I have so many to feed that cost is an issue. 

Thanks to everyone for the info.  Grace is doing amazingly well.  Had I not been around to witness the episode that started it, I might not even know that his sight is impared.  Cats are amazing animals.  
 

whollycat

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I agree with having Grace's blood pressure checked. I would also have blood work and urinalysis tests done. Most vets do a "Senior Panel" of tests for older kitties, so this shouldn't be a problem with any vet worth their salt--I guess, like you, I just found it unusual that the darn vet didn't want to run any tests at all for him.

to Grace!
 
 

finnlacey

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Just to let you know, my dad just came home from the hospital yesterday. His bp had spiked to 219 which is tremendously dangerous. He's had blurry vision ever since and his eye doctor told him this morning not only could he have had a massive stroke but he could have went blind, his right eye that has macular degeneration almost ruptured. The doctor told me I saved my dad's life by insisting he come with me to the ER immediately. I cannot stress enough how important it is to get the BP checked on an elderly cat as well, even if there is no other signs. My dad had high blood pressure, a severe headache and blurred vision. Of course your cat cannot tell you those things so it should be checked. Just rule it out and it'll be one less thing to worry about. But high BP can lead to paralysis, blindness, weakness, seizures, all kinds of things including a stroke. My dad is good btw, he's being checked now by all his docs, on new meds and his bp is slowly going back to normal. phew. He'll be 85 in June, I thought this was it.
 
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cinder

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Good news about your dad, finnlacey!

Yeah, the blood pressure thing is bugging me.  I am kind of torn being going back to the same clinic, or starting fresh elsewhere.  His pupils, which were completely nonresponsive to the light during his examination, are now reacting to light.  And while I know blind cats can do some amazing things, I am still surprised by what I see.  This morning he was out on the deck, I went inside and waited quietly for him to come in.  He did, looked up at me and walked about 20 feet directly to me, stopped and sharpened his claws on my leg.  Maybe only shapes?   One of my buddies might be over today.  I'm going to see if I can get some video of him that might reveal whether he is actually seeing or hearing & smelling. 

But yes, I need to get him back in for another exam. 
 
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