Have you noticed your cat's eyes have become hazy or cloudy? If so, this may be a sign that your feline friend is developing cataracts. Here, our Los Angeles vets offer some insight on cataracts in cats and what to watch for.
What are cataracts?
A cataract refers to an increase in the opacity of the lens in the eye. The lens is a structure within the eye made of protein fibers that are enclosed in a capsule, and is responsible for focusing light on the retina and allowing your cat to see clearly.
When a cat develops a cataract, the normally clear lens becomes opaque or cloudy, which interferes with light's ability to reach the retina. The cataract's severity can have a significant impact on your four-legged companion's vision.
Cataracts can happen in cats of any breed, sex or age. A genetic predisposition to inherited cataracts has been observed in Birmans, British Shorthairs and Himalayas.
What causes cataracts in cats?
There are many potential causes of cataracts. Any kind of damage to the eye's lens can lead to the formation of a cataract.
Causes of cataracts in cats include the following:
- Inflammation within the eye
- Trauma to the eye
- Metabolic diseases, such as diabetes or high blood pressure
- Infections such as bacterial, fungal, viral or protozoal
- Genetic or hereditary factors
- Nutritional imbalances
- Cancer
- Radiation exposure
Inflammation within the eye, also called uveitis, is the most common cause of cataracts in cats. This can be triggered by a variety of underlying disease processes or internal conditions, including feline leukemia virus, feline infectious peritonitis, systemic fungal infections, toxoplasmosis, bartonellosis and feline immunodeficiency virus.
Uveitis can cause the body's immune system to mistake the lens for a foreign object, contributing to the formation of cataracts.
What are the signs of cataracts?
Our Los Angeles veterinarians often discover cataracts early in their development during a routine physical exam or eye exam. These cats may not show signs of cataracts at home because the cataracts have not yet progressed to the point where they affect the cat's vision.
Not all hazy eyes are caused by cataracts. As cats age, the lens often develops a cloudy appearance due to an aging change known as nuclear sclerosis or lenticular sclerosis.
If you're curious, you can use your favorite search engine to look for 'cataracts in cats pictures' and compare what you see with your cat. If you suspect something. contact your veterinarian first to schedule an eye exam before doing anything else. Our vets are able to treat many eye conditions in cats, including cataracts.
How are cataracts in cats treated?
The best treatment for cataracts is surgery. This surgery involves breaking down and removing the cataract (a process known as phacoemulsification), then replacing the lens of the eye with an artificial lens.
If your cat has significant inflammation within the eye, cataract surgery may not be an option. Unfortunately, there are no medications that can dissolve cataracts or slow their progression. This means that cataracts will persist. Fortunately, cataracts are not painful and cats typically adjust well to blindness.
Medications like corticosteroids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory eye drops are used to reduce inflammation in cats with untreated cataracts.
Although these drugs won't impact the cataract itself, it's still critical to manage inflammation to avoid glaucoma, a potential side effect of both inflammation and cataracts. Since glaucoma is difficult to treat medically and frequently necessitates the removal of the eye, medical treatment of feline cataracts frequently focuses on avoiding secondary glaucoma.
Note: The advice provided in this post is intended for informational purposes and does not constitute medical advice regarding pets. For an accurate diagnosis of your pet's condition, please make an appointment with your vet.
