Stray needing eye operation, what should I expect?

My latest foster arrived 36 hours ago. He looks terrible - very boney, eyes half closed, moth-eaten fur where he isn't completely bald, a rat's tail and definitely not castrated. The woman who found him lying in a window box took him to an off-duty vet who grudgingly applied a spot-on flea treatment, gave him a worm tablet, made sure he was capable of eating and sent him to me with eye ointment and a packet of low-protein dry cat food. She wanted to castrate him but his condition was simply not good enough for the operation.

Although he is not an attractive sight he is affectionate. I call him Romeo - perhaps his appearance will improve with proper care and medical attention. Today I took him to another vet who diagnosed Entropion in one eye and recommended an operation to be done at the same time as castration. 

The date for surgery has been fixed for next Wednesday so I have almost 5 days to get him fit (but not so fit that he starts spraying everywhere! ). Although I have a lot of experience with cats after spaying or castration and dental work, I don't know what to expect this time. Will he need to wear a collar?

By the way, he is perhaps 12 to 18 months old, his other eye is not so bad, just infected, he can at least open it. I am now feeding kitten food which he seems to tolerate and I have drops for his eyes. He really is a poor, unfortunate mangy cat!

Why low protein dry cat food?  It sounds like he needs high protein and low carb wet cat food!  His body has eaten away all his muscle and a low protein food is not going to help him get it back!  I don't know about the entropion surgery.  I had one cat in similar condition that I took from the pound as a foster, and once we got his eye infection cleared up, he turned out not to need the entropion surgery -- the swelling had pushed the one eye over the edge.  I haven't seen your cat's eyes so I can't judge if he needs it or not, but I would not be surprised if they use the cone of shame to keep him from rubbing that eye.  My choice with my rescue was to get his other problems taken care of first, starting with the neuter.  I chose to wait on the eyes and am glad I did, as he never needed the eye surgery.

Thank you for answering.

 Why low protein dry cat food?

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I was also very surprised. I assumed it was simply because he was so weak that the vet wasn't sure he could take rich food. I have had starved, dehydrated cats who vomited when given "normal" cat food, but they were put on the steamed chicken, pumpkin or other similar diets. Anyway, this was hardly an issue as the second vet reversed the decision and today he's quite happy eating a kitten food mixed with normal wet food, some good quality dry food and a few treats to make it easier for me to put pain-killing drops into his eyes.

   I haven't seen your cat's eyes so I can't judge if he needs it or not,

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I would think a cone would be needed if having an entropion. It will involve stitches. I would not want to see the result of a cat wanting to scratch those itchy stitches that close to the eye.

I will describe my experiences with entropion so that others may benefit from them. It is rather frustrating when threads don’t provide the answers you are looking for.

So, I took Romeo to the vet on Wednesday and collected him 5 hours later. The vet gave me the following information:

After being anaesthetised the technicians started to tattoo his ears.

At this point he started to vomit, wet himself and everyone got covered in ink. He had to be bathed.

The vet took a blood test, and tested for FeLV and FIV – both negative.

She examined his eyes and decided to operate on both eyes. The condition in Romeo’s case was hereditary (genetics). It is often seen even in the prevalent European short hair cats in this area (Europe).

Castration went as planned.

I was told to give eye drops (painkillers) once a day and eye ointment (to prevent infection) twice a day until our next check-up. No mention of a collar.

At home Romeo buried his head under my arm until thirst sent him in search of water. Since he had inhaled vomit, I had to be careful and only offered a little at a time. He regurgitated but after a couple of hours I could leave him to drink as much as he needed. I didn’t give him any food until the next day – after a period of small quantities at a time and always only under observation by the evening he was eating and drinking normally.

The big change was his face – he not only had two large, fully open eyes, he seemed to be seeing and enjoying his world for the first time. The check-up yesterday confirmed that things are going well. We have an appointment in 10 days’ time to check the stitches which are expected to disappear in about 3 weeks. He is neither scratching his face nor rubbing his eyes against the furniture. The eye drops will only be needed for another couple of days (which is a relief as I seem to have lost quite a few drops on the settee, on my daughter or on other parts of Romeo’s face) and the ointment only needs to be applied once a day.

He is now enjoying the sun sitting in his fully-enclosed mini-mini-garden. Perhaps he can see the birds for the first time in his life. The downside is that he is not nearly so dependent on me – he can see for himself, assess any danger himself and can find places to hide without running to me for protection.  

He is still very affectionate and will make a lovely pet – once he puts on a bit of weight and grows some soft white fur to cover his bare back and legs. But we are happy to see his attractive dark eyes open and admiring his world.

Veterinary medicine has made a lot of progress since I had my first cat forty years ago – however it is still important to find a vet who keeps himself and his equipment up-to-date. Today I am feeling optimistic:

• Romeo will survive the next three weeks without any setbacks
• He will put on weight
• His coat will grow back, sleek and soft
• Somebody will see his picture and story in the local newspapers and magazines and decide to give him a new permanent home with a garden.

I’ll keep you informed and let you know if and when a collar becomes necessary. I hope not – it will definitely spoil his act.

Thanks so much for sharing this.  You are right, when people are looking for details in threads, they can only be provided by people who have had experience.  I'm so glad it came out well and he is not having any problems with it.  It would be even more helpful if you added your location to your profile so anyone seeking info could know where in Europe you live.  Often people are looking for a vet in a certain place and it's always helpful to have that info on our members so we may know who to ask.  I hope you will post a picture of him as he recovers so we can see his lovely eyes.

 I hope you will post a picture of him as he recovers so we can see his lovely eyes.

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Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder - so when I say lovely eyes it doesn't mean that Romeo will win a beauty contest. Anything is better than closed eyes - even these! He still looks as though he's just undergone plastic surgery but he'll improve, God bless him.

His eyes look great!  I would have expected them not to look so natural  at this point. I'm so glad they aren't bothering him and he's seeing well for the first time in a long time.