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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / May 2005difficult decisions
Hi all, Well Sesame went back on Tuesday for a checkup and things seemed to be going OK with her eye if not perfectly. The last month has been discussions with the vet about hoping things heal naturally but with another option of surgery if things just dont happen. Her kidneys pose the risk of putting her under anaesthetic. Anyway last night her eye ruptured.. she went almost a month with the "plug" (blood clot and fluid) holding the wound together and stopping the leaking. So off to the specialist again. We talked in a lot more depth about what our options are and for the first time got a quote on the surgery to fix this. $1900 AU. ouch. Unfortunately this just isn't an option. We talked about doing a third eyelid flap to cover up the wound and add pressure to encourage it to heal but this adds risk of putting pressure on the cornea I think he said. And still.. anaesthetic is risky cause of her age. She is just a few months off 20. So we've brought her home to think about things. She's not entirely happy.. hasn't eaten all day. She's snoozing in front of the heater at the moment. I can't bear the though of losing her. I love this animal more than I can express. Sending purrs and prayers out to everyone in need, sorry I can't respond individually at the moment but I am thinking of everyone. Kathryn and Sesame > I can't bear the though of losing her. I love this animal more than I can > express. Would it be possible to remove the affected eye instead? We know a certain one-eyed lady cat who does just fine like that. :)  SignatureVictor M. Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam here: uce@ftc.gov Email me here: pistorLITTER@BOXaustin.rr.com >> I can't bear the though of losing her. I love this animal more than I >> can express. > > Would it be possible to remove the affected eye instead? We know a > certain one-eyed lady cat who does just fine like that. :) That was my thought as well. We've even known completely blind kitties who managed to get around quite nicely and have rich, full, happy, loved and loving lives. All I've heard suggests that kitties who lose one eye need just a little time to adjust to the loss of depth perception, but make the adjustment WAY faster than humans do. Dan >>> I can't bear the though of losing her. I love this animal more than I >>> can express. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > just a little time to adjust to the loss of depth perception, but make the > adjustment WAY faster than humans do. My sister's cat, Old Tom, had to have this operation and recovered from it just fine. He's still able to Leap Tall Trees In A Single Bound, and pursue his lifelong ambition to catch one of those pesky Wattle Birds (actually, it's a game he and the birds play, both seem to get a lot of satisfaction out of it :) From my recent experiences with Princess, I'd say the biggest risk is probably the anaesthetic. However, if the cat is hydrated properly beforehand, then it shouldn't be too much of a risk (especially if the alternative is losing the cat to other complications from this problem). Kath, you should get a second opinion on this, imo. An eye removal operation is a lot less risky than trying to fix the eye. And cheaper. TK >> I can't bear the though of losing her. I love this animal more than >> I can express. > > Would it be possible to remove the affected eye instead? We know a > certain one-eyed lady cat who does just fine like that. :) Yep, we know a totally blind kitty who gets around very well. I'd certainly explore the possibility. Jill > Hi all, > Anyway last night her eye ruptured.. she went almost a month with the "plug" > (blood clot and fluid) holding the wound together and stopping the leaking. > So off to the specialist again. We talked in a lot more depth about what our > options are and for the first time got a quote on the surgery to fix this. > $1900 AU. ouch. Unfortunately this just isn't an option./// You're stuck between a rock and a hard place. TBH, if it was me in this situation, I would elect for the eye to be removed. A certain HRFL Tiger does very well with one eye. You know the following... 1) She's probably in a great deal of pain. 2) It *IS* likely that an anaesthetic will be needed as the vet will need to stich the third eye-lid. 3) Recovery is not guaranteed if this course of action (i.e. try to save the eye) is done, and you still have the fear that it won't recover fully. 4) If the eye is removed, it will be over and done with and you can concentrate on her recovery. What ever you decide, we're here with Purrs and prayers that it works out OK. Helen M In article <5b40f768ccdade22f360354391c9fef8.76411@mygate.mailgate.org>, "Helen Miles" <helen.miles@virgin.net> wrote: > > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > What ever you decide, we're here with Purrs and prayers that it works > out OK. Purrs and healing thoughts. Let me make an observation from human medicine. There is a condition called sympathetic opthalmia, where one eye goes blind, and, through some complex and not completely understood mechanism, the good eye will go blind. The only way to prevent loss of vision in the good eye is enucleating (removing) the blind eye. I would ask the specialist the very specific question: does sympathetic opthalmia occur in cats? If the answer is yes, I don't think there is a rational alternative to enucleation/removal. Rowdy, half of my Deadly Duo, has a blind left eye (but it's still in his head). Sylvie, RB 2/05 from old age, was *completely* blind from both retinas detached....for a few years before RB....she was fine, knew *exactly* where food, water bowls and litterbox were in both old and new dwellings. Sylvie used to wait till I sat down in bathroom to come over for a love session and I would pick her large tuxedo self up and get loud purrs as I kissed her and petted her. If possible to remove offending eye safely, go for it as opposed to the alternative....vets have safe anesthesia for old cats now; I think it's more expensive. Best wishes and purrs. >> Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > > Helen M > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > Kathryn and Sesame Kathryn, when Bandit had her geriatric blood work and urinalysis they found that her creatinin and BUN levels were slightly elevated. She needed a dental cleaning so, even though she is 15, we went ahead with it. Well, I think everyone here knows about the resultant burns. She ended up having two more surgeries - that's 3 surgeries in as many weeks! Funny thing is, with all the IV fluids and hydrations during the surgeries and recoveries, she ended up with better creatinin and BUN levels afterwards than before! As others here suggested, I'd find out about removing the eye - if that is less costly, I think she could stand up to that as well as whatever it would take to stitch up a third eyelid. Please let us know how it goes. Plenty of purrs coming for her recovery! Hugs, CatNipped > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > Kathryn and Sesame Oh my what a difficult situation. Her age is such a concern :( Purrs for you to be able to know what to do. I think this is very hard from many perspectives. My thoughts are with you. >Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > >Kathryn and Sesame Oh, Kathryn, I am so sorry. I hope you can find something to do to help Sesame. I really feel for you. Purrs coming your way. Ginger-lyn Home Pages: http://www.spiritrealm.com/summer/ http://www.angelfire.com/folk/glsummer (homepage & cats) http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~summer/index.htm (genealogy) http://www.i-love-cats.com/meow/glsummer/ (The Violence Against Animals in Movies Website) This is just my opinion. If eye removal is an option I would go for it, and not the longer procedure to try and save it. I had to make a similar decision about Havoc, my very much loved 17 y.o. whippet when she proved to have a bleeding tumour on her spleen. Her niece, Pearl, had one similar aged 13 and I decided to go for it and have the operation. It took ages for her to recover and eight months later she broke her shoulder getting out of bed as the cancer had spread to her bones, which was goodbye. So I decided with much regret and a lot of tears not to put Havie through this. Your situation is somewhat different. Anaesthetics for old animals are getting better all the time and if your vet agrees, I'd go for having her eye removed to save her. Your decision, of course. Tweed > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > Kathryn and Sesame Sorry to hear about the setback, Kathryn. Purrs for you and Sesame in whatever you decide you must do. Sam, closely supervised by Mistletoe Purrs on the way for the eye to heal on it's own SignatureSteve Touchstone, faithful servant of Sammy and Little Bit stouchst@JUNKsirinet.net [remove Junk for email] Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html <snip> > I can't bear the though of losing her. I love this animal more than I > can express. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Kathryn and Sesame Continuing purrs for Sesame, I know exactly how much you love her, I feel the same about Snoopy. SignatureAdrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera) A house is not a home, without a cat. Lots of gentle hugs, purrs and best wishes, SignaturePolonca & Soncek > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > Kathryn and Sesame |
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