Sudden Kitty Blindness?

[maherwoman]

Aww...Sweet Putty...we're all thinking of ya here, Sweetheart...

And you, too Sas...

Love to you both...

Rosie & the Zoo

 

[seniorcats]

Sorry Putty still isn't seeing. Usually if the retinas stay detached for more than 1-2 days, the kitty will remain blind.Getting the bp down is imperative. Did they give Norvasc or a similar bp lowering drug? It may take a few days to start working.

A couple of things come to mind. Usually feline hypertension is secondary to some other problem but not always. The vet and bloodwork appearto have ruled out the 2 biggest causes, hyperthyroidism and kidney disease. About kidney disease, the BUN and creatinine usually don't get 'out of whack' until the disease is really advanced and a lot kidney function is lost. An xray might show the shape of the kidney - if it's becoming round and less kidney shaped then that is a good indicator of failure. Diet - high protein diets are hard on the kidneys of elderly cats.

Another concern with the bp being high is feline hypertropic cardiomyopathy. This type heart disease is not easy to detect especiallyit isn'tadvanced yet. There may be a murmer. I strongly suggest asking the vet about this as a possible cause of the hypertension. In Putty's situation, I would really be wondering about cardiac disease.

A word on the hyperthyroidism - did they do a thyroid panel or just a TSH? Most vets do the panel simply because the TSH can be slow to change. The panel, which includes T3 (free T3, I believe) and T4, is much more accurate. It can takes weeks for the illness to be reflected in the TSH whereas it shows up sooner in the T3 and T4.

$250 is a lot for an initial consultation with a vet opthamologist, I think. Noneck waseeing a specialist for his uveitis and the initial workup was 1/2 that price. Of course, I'm out in the sticks and you are paying city prices so maybe that's the difference. Seeing the vet eye specialist may not be a bad dea since they should have more experience and knowledeg of the causes of this type blindness. I would definitely see another vet, either a regular one to consult or the eye doc.

 

[Pipp]

seniorcats wrote:

... Usually if the retinas stay detached for more than 1-2 days, the kitty will remain blind.Getting the bp down is imperative. Did they give Norvasc or a similar bp lowering drug? It may take a few days to start working.

Well, it's been five days? And yup, she's been on Norvasc for four days now.

seniorcats wrote:

Another concern with the bp being high is feline hypertropic cardiomyopathy. This type heart disease is not easy to detect especiallyit isn'tadvanced yet. There may be a murmer. I strongly suggest asking the vet about this as a possible cause of the hypertension.

Bingo. While the vet was examing her, she said she heard a murmur. She never mentioned it again.

seniorcats wrote:

$250 is a lot for an initial consultation with a vet opthamologist, I think. Noneck waseeing a specialist for his uveitis and the initial workup was 1/2 that price. Of course, I'm out in the sticks and you are paying city prices so maybe that's the difference. Seeing the vet eye specialist may not be a bad dea since they should have more experience and knowledeg of the causes of this type blindness. I would definitely see another vet, either a regular one to consult or the eye doc.

Do I need the $250 eye specialist to further explore the murmur? (I feel like wringing my money's worth out of the first vet now, though).

Thanks SO much, you've been so helpful. :hug1

sas and putty :hearts

 

[JadeIcing]

I am praying for your poor kitty.

 

[seniorcats]

Pipp wrote:

seniorcats wrote:

... Usually if the retinas stay detached for more than 1-2 days, the kitty will remain blind.Getting the bp down is imperative. Did they give Norvasc or a similar bp lowering drug? It may take a few days to start working.

Well, it's been five days? And yup, she's been on Norvasc for four days now.

seniorcats wrote:

Another concern with the bp being high is feline hypertropic cardiomyopathy. This type heart disease is not easy to detect especiallyit isn'tadvanced yet. There may be a murmer. I strongly suggest asking the vet about this as a possible cause of the hypertension.

Bingo. While the vet was examing her, she said she heard a murmur. She never mentioned it again.

seniorcats wrote:

$250 is a lot for an initial consultation with a vet opthamologist, I think. Noneck waseeing a specialist for his uveitis and the initial workup was 1/2 that price. Of course, I'm out in the sticks and you are paying city prices so maybe that's the difference. Seeing the vet eye specialist may not be a bad dea since they should have more experience and knowledeg of the causes of this type blindness. I would definitely see another vet, either a regular one to consult or the eye doc.

Do I need the $250 eye specialist to further explore the murmur? (I feel like wringing my money's worth out of the first vet now, though).

Thanks SO much, you've been so helpful. :hug1

sas and putty :hearts

Well shoot fire and save matches. I think if the vet heard a murmer and didn't mention it again,I would go back or calland wring my money's worth out of her. I think it's appropriate to question her about the cardiomyopathy. Apparently a lot of vets aren't very familiar withdiagnosing it.Snickers, one of our shelter cats had cardiomyopathy and was treated w/oral meds. I can't remember which cardiac meds she took but they are similar to those used in humans. My understanding of the disease is that certain parts of the heart thicken and impede circulation. In some cats, it can present like congestive heart failure which is what happened with Snickers.

The blindness would best be addressed by the vet eye specialist but I would definitely make the 1st vet work for the money you paid her.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Pipp wrote:

I've got a splitting headache, which I thought was either from smashing my eye socket against my excercise bike (aka the semi-clean laundryhanger),

Isn't it amazing how many treadmills and xbikes become such nice laundry aids?

I hit my head on a wooden mantal today. I have a knot.

I hope kitty does well.