A quick recap of the story so far (the detailed version can be found here):
I am taking care of a male feral cat which I've named Mith. Over the course of 4 months that I've known him and been feeding him I've bonded greatly with him and consider him to be my cat.
Ever since I met Mith one of his eyes was bad ( video can be found here) , it would always be semi-open or closed and would leak. His other eye though was fine. I wanted to take him to the vet but I failed to trap him.
Recently, Mith dissappeared twice, the first time it was for three days. My parents who were home at the time he first came back (I was away) said he looked bad and both his eyes looked "injured" although they didn't observe him from close enough. They said he was just standing in the rain, being soaked.
Then he disappeared again for the Second time for about a week. I was heartbroken, from my parents accounts I assumed he went somewhere to hide and die. But one afternoon, six days ago Mith came back!
I was shocked: He was dirty, starved and so thin that I could feel each and every bone in his spine. I gave him his favorite wet food and he barely touched it. His eyes were now both open but his pupils were totally dilated, as if it was pitch black. Little fellow was very weak so I trapped him immediately and scheduled an emergency appointment with the vet.
The next morning I took Mith to the vet. He sedated him, deflead/dewormed him (using stronghold) and took a look at his eyes. He found nothing but said it was probably some sort of grass particle that caused his injured eye. He prescribed eye drops (tobradex) twice daily for his eyes and a vitamin paste to help him get back on his feet.
I took Mith home. The first days were an uphill battle as he wouldn't eat or drink on his own. I knew feline hepatic lipidosis would be a real concern if he didn't start eating again, and fast! So I force-fed him a mixture of wet food, the vitamin paste and water using a syringe. After many attempts to entice him to eat on his own during the next couple of days I found a method that worked and eventually his appetite returned to almost normal. He is still thinner than he should be which makes me wonder how long the poor fellow was out there, starving.
He is now eating normally, almost 400 grams of wet food a day and I also put some additional, vitamin-enriched, water in his bowl with his meals to make sure he is properly hydrated and getting all the essential nutrients. He started grooming again and he is now defecating once a day.
What worries me a lot is the fact that his pupils are still dilated. I've been putting eye drops on him twice daily as instructed but neither his bad eye is improving nor the pupils in either eye seem to shrink.
I keep him in a shack next to the house where it's quiet and the light is low since I am afraid his dilated eyes might hurt if exposed to bright light, however a more terrifying thought is going through my mind these last few days. What if he has gone blind? His eyes have been like this for days and he won't even come out of the trap when I open the door!
Please, please if you can offer any suggestion about his dilated pupils, his bad eye, the possibility of blindness or anything else do post.
He is a wonderful and kind kitty, I don't want anything to happen to him :-(
I am taking care of a male feral cat which I've named Mith. Over the course of 4 months that I've known him and been feeding him I've bonded greatly with him and consider him to be my cat.
Ever since I met Mith one of his eyes was bad ( video can be found here) , it would always be semi-open or closed and would leak. His other eye though was fine. I wanted to take him to the vet but I failed to trap him.
Recently, Mith dissappeared twice, the first time it was for three days. My parents who were home at the time he first came back (I was away) said he looked bad and both his eyes looked "injured" although they didn't observe him from close enough. They said he was just standing in the rain, being soaked.
Then he disappeared again for the Second time for about a week. I was heartbroken, from my parents accounts I assumed he went somewhere to hide and die. But one afternoon, six days ago Mith came back!
I was shocked: He was dirty, starved and so thin that I could feel each and every bone in his spine. I gave him his favorite wet food and he barely touched it. His eyes were now both open but his pupils were totally dilated, as if it was pitch black. Little fellow was very weak so I trapped him immediately and scheduled an emergency appointment with the vet.
The next morning I took Mith to the vet. He sedated him, deflead/dewormed him (using stronghold) and took a look at his eyes. He found nothing but said it was probably some sort of grass particle that caused his injured eye. He prescribed eye drops (tobradex) twice daily for his eyes and a vitamin paste to help him get back on his feet.
I took Mith home. The first days were an uphill battle as he wouldn't eat or drink on his own. I knew feline hepatic lipidosis would be a real concern if he didn't start eating again, and fast! So I force-fed him a mixture of wet food, the vitamin paste and water using a syringe. After many attempts to entice him to eat on his own during the next couple of days I found a method that worked and eventually his appetite returned to almost normal. He is still thinner than he should be which makes me wonder how long the poor fellow was out there, starving.
He is now eating normally, almost 400 grams of wet food a day and I also put some additional, vitamin-enriched, water in his bowl with his meals to make sure he is properly hydrated and getting all the essential nutrients. He started grooming again and he is now defecating once a day.
What worries me a lot is the fact that his pupils are still dilated. I've been putting eye drops on him twice daily as instructed but neither his bad eye is improving nor the pupils in either eye seem to shrink.
I keep him in a shack next to the house where it's quiet and the light is low since I am afraid his dilated eyes might hurt if exposed to bright light, however a more terrifying thought is going through my mind these last few days. What if he has gone blind? His eyes have been like this for days and he won't even come out of the trap when I open the door!
Please, please if you can offer any suggestion about his dilated pupils, his bad eye, the possibility of blindness or anything else do post.
He is a wonderful and kind kitty, I don't want anything to happen to him :-(
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