One Eyed Cats

euan

Anyone ever had a cat that had its eye removed? 

My six year old ragdoll is having an eye removed due to glaucoma next week. It’s likely she has been blind for quite a a while, so really just interested in the recovery process. 

Bit of a bugger because glaucoma is extremely rare in cats, and last year we almost lost her due to Intussusception, which again is extremely rare in cats. 

Kittyfrisk

So sorry to hear your news.
Cats are incredibly adaptable, even given serious events such as the loss of an eye.
My ex. neighbours had a cat that lived to a ripe & generally happy old age after being hit by a car & losing an eye, ear, leg & her tail.
Not ideal, but its all about your continuing care & the quality of life for them  

Dominic

Interestingly ,the loss of a single eye in the scales of human compensation are very surprisingly low in quantum value as it's deemed considerably less disabling than many other body part losses such as loss of limb.
Let's hope it's the same for other creatures in terms of quality of life and impairment.

Kittyfrisk

Dominic said:

Interestingly ,the loss of a single eye in the scales of human compensation are very surprisingly low in quantum value as it's deemed considerably less disabling than many other body part losses such as loss of limb.
Let's hope it's the same for other creatures in terms of quality of life and impairment.

Yes, but that's a basic cold legal compensation calculation, based on what can be got away with by insurers & employers that have a duty of care, breached that duty, caused harm, been found out & prosecuted or admitted liability.
Not really based upon compassion, empathy or humanity 
* Edit; sorry for getting involved in a thread deviation.

Dominic

I totally agree ......but there must be some scientific basis for concluding that having one eye isn't too terribly damaging to quality of life.Hopefully.

Ozzie744

I'm sorry to hear that, Euan. I can't help you out at all, but I can send my best wishes to your kitty. Good luck

BillDL

Being natural predators cats rely on stereoscopic vision when outside doing what they do, but Ragdoll cats are generally quite content being indoor cats where the loss of the sterescopic vision is far less of a disability.  Your poor wee cat should come through it fine and adjust to its new way of seeing things perfectly well after a while.  I have looked after somebody's cat (in my own house) that was without one eye and could only apparently see shadows in the other eye (diabetes). Over the first week it surveyed my house and found its way around, then settled quite happily into its new environment for the remaining 3 weeks.

p90fool

I was blind in my left eye for 14 months between two operations until February this year, and it made driving less enjoyable and work more difficult.

So she'll be fine.

WezV

She will be fine. It's a simple low risk op, as far as these things can be.  Just follow the aftercare guidance to thr letter.

I assume she is an indoor cat anyway.  If not, she should be from now on

snowblind

Come across plenty of one-eyed cats over the years.  They cope fine. Owned one with 3 legs (born with a birth defect - one back leg was essentially on backwards so we had it removed) which was a stone cold killer. Not very good at jumping fences but its front legs were built like Arnie. Cats are very adaptable. 

p90fool

snowblind said:

Come across plenty of one-eyed cats over the years.  

Or at least you think you have. Which way were they facing?

euan

Just to update this thread. The surgery itself went well, but she’s has picked up a pretty nasty infection that materialised in what can be only be described as flowing puss from the now opened eyesocket. 

Course of anti biotics and painkillers until Friday. Four pills a day into a cat is a challenge and a half.  

Here she is on Saturday before things went to pot 

https://i.imgur.com/AUyaRwf.jpg

AK99

p90fool said:

snowblind said:

Come across plenty of one-eyed cats over the years.  

Or at least you think you have. Which way were they facing?

Friend of mine used to quip - 'Very confusing thing that'. And eventually when a new and unsuspecting victim said What is ? ..'A one-eyed cat walking backwards'

Lovely cat that Euan, hope the meds kick in and do the business sooner rather than later.

joneve

Kittyfrisk said:

So sorry to hear your news.
Cats are incredibly adaptable, even given serious events such as the loss of an eye.
My ex. neighbours had a cat that lived to a ripe & generally happy old age after being hit by a car & losing an eye, ear, leg & her tail.
Not ideal, but its all about your continuing care & the quality of life for them  

This does not surprise me. There's a 3-legged and one-eyed little cunt that keeps shitting on my front garden and it moves about like it's got 4 legs and two eyes. 

I'm sure your cat will be fine. 

snowblind

Hope the infection clears up. I do like the way in the picture it continues to convey as much disdain for the human race as it did when it had both eyes. 

Offset

Wow @euan - I never realised cats could get glaucoma.  Or any other animal come to that.  It's an insidious condition because by the time people tend to notice their field of vision is shrinking, it's too late.

I have glaucoma after years of ocular hypertension but since I have a family history of it, I've had my eye pressures regularly tested for many years now.  I'm on beta blockers and they keep my pressures relatively normal.

I guess the thing with a pet is you won't know if they have the condition unless you test, and if you don't see any immediate symptoms...well, you won't test.

Here's hoping she recovers soon - out of interest, why did the vet feel her eye needed to come out?  Could they not just have left her as she was?

Jfingers

Sorry that your cat is suffering. I've served several cats, the last two of which lived for 19 and 20 years.

When I was a child there was a three legged border collie up the road that took no shit, I've known several one eyed cats and another two 3 legged dogs. Animals adapt.

I've worked with two male humans with a glass eye each and gone to school with a third.

BillDL

Jfingers said:

I've worked with two male humans with a glass eye each ......

I would hope they each had their own 

Hopefully the antibiotics will do the trick Euan.  Once she gets over that hurdle she'll be fine.

euan

@Offset actually forgot this bit. So the eye was biopsied afterwards. There were was actually melanoma in the pigment of the eye. The cancer is what caused the glaucoma. We wouldn’t have spotted the issue in the first place if it wasn’t for the blue pigment meaning her eyes are lighter. 

Before they knew it was cancerous, the eye had to come out because the eyedrops weren’t lowering the pressure in the eye enough. She was already blind so it was better to have it out sooner than later. 

Offset

euan said:

@Offset actually forgot this bit. So the eye was biopsied afterwards. There were was actually melanoma in the pigment of the eye. The cancer is what caused the glaucoma. We wouldn’t have spotted the issue in the first place if it wasn’t for the blue pigment meaning her eyes are lighter. 

Before they knew it was cancerous, the eye had to come out because the eyedrops weren’t lowering the pressure in the eye enough. She was already blind so it was better to have it out sooner than later. 

Ah OK, I understand now.  Makes sense.  Well good luck to her - sounds like a serendipitous discovery.