Below is a very unflattering photo of the Puffster taken today. You can see that her speckles have gotten larger, but they still do not bother her and she still acts like a cat half her age.
We all have to go to the VET in August for our wellness checks, Puff and Powder also get a geriatric panel of labs run since they are now 11 years old. Mommy has a question - should she press the VET harder about the speckles? She's been on the internet looking for what these may be and some of the answers get her very nervous. All of the advice says that if it isn't bothering the kitty that it's normal...but Mommy thinks that maybe they should be checked anyway...maybe...the other half of her brain says that it's not good to put Puff through extra stress. What we want to know are your thoughts and opinions - what would your 'rents do?
27 comments:
Hi! I think that Puff is beautiful! Would you like me to send copies of her pictures to our wonderful vet, Dr. Smith, in Houston. She could look at the pictures and let you know whether or not to pursue any further medical procedures. Just let me know!
debrastaylor@earthlink.net
This way, Puff won't have any added stress if it isn't necessary.
Mom sez she knows that as kitties get older, their eyes will change...one of mom's cats that came before us had spots in his eyes, not quite like Puff's and it was just an age thing...maybe Puff's are too, just a little more pronounced? Mom sez if it was her, she'd probably push a little more to try and get an answer...maybe there's a vet opthomologist you could see (no pun intended!)...
Mom did a google search and a lot of the comments say they are age spots. Unfortunately, Mom is a worrier and would probably have the VET check them out. The idea of a photo is great since Puff wouldn't have to be stressed (except for the flashy box). We hope things are ok. Even in the second picture, she's a beauty.
Sniffie and the Florida Furkids
You could ask Dr Ferox!
http://www.nearlydrferox.blogging4life.com/?page_id=86
I don't think I would worry too much unless she was showing signs of distress: blinking a lot, wanting to squint from that eye, showing light sensitivity, watery eye. I do know that there are cat and dog ophthalmologists but I don't know where they are located in the US. Possibly if you could find one on the web they may have an email addy and you could contact him or her.
But, the bottom line, do whatever you feel the most comfortable with...you are the momma.
Puff, your eyes are like my brother Madison's. He posted about this back in March:
http://corycattalks.blogspot.com/2009/03/tuxie-tuesday-with-madison.html
Our v-e-t said it's a condition called melanosis and it's mostly harmless but needs to be watched because it could turn into something more. Madison sends along purrs.
Puff is a beauty all right! I have a little speck in the bottom of my left eyeball.
I think that if it makes you feel more comfortable to pursue answers to your questions, then you should do so until you're satisfied with the answers. Your opinion is the only one that matters. ;)
Hello all! When Dorfie went to the v-e-t opthomologist, she said that his spots are normal, (forgot what she called them now), and that as long as they stayed brown it was ok. If they darken to black, then she wanted to see him because that could be serious. The spots can also grow and that is not a problem either.
Luf, Us
If she's doing ok, I wouldn't worry about it. Or, take a few photos with and ask the vet what they think.
If you find out more, we'd love to hear about it. Is there a kitty opthamologist in your area?
why not look for a nice ophthalmologist? they are a bit expensive, but ask the dr. if there is one they recommend? Mommeh says, she would DEF press the vet and ask. Especially since they've grown so much larger.
Puff truly is a beauty! I think the bottom line is that if you're worried, you should definitely ask the vet some more questions. My understanding is that it's usually a concentration of pigment, just like fairskinned cats often get on their noses, lips, skin around the eyes, etc. In other words, similar to a freckle. However, the best thing is for you to hear it from your vet. (It's amazing how young 10 year old kitties are these days! 30 years ago, i adopted Peter Solomon, who at age 10 was considered an old (unadoptable) cat. Now my "baby" Louie is 11 and he's still cute, active, and playful like a much younger cat.)
The photo seems like a good first start.
If you are really really worried then I think the veterinary opthomologist is the best answer and your vet may have a referral for you in the area.
There are any number of benign things that that can be in humans and so far as I know in pets so I'd tend to side with your regular vet and say it's nothing to worry about. As we were trying to figure out what to say quiltcat wrote their response which seems quit a logical way to look at it.
Wow!! Lots of good advice!! We think the photo is a good way to start, too!! Puff is beautiful!!
Your (very hot) FL furiends,
Puff is such a beauty and looks much younger than her years.
Our Mum thinks that if you have the slightest doubt or worry it's always a good idea to ask for a full explanation from the vet about things like this. If you are still concerned then a referral to a veterinary opthalmologist would be a good thing to get. Eyes are something best not guessed about, human and cat eyes are very different.
Whicky Wuudler
Do what your heart is telling you. Intuition counts for a lot.
Mom agrees with others, to ease your mind a specialist would give you the answers you need...hopefully to ease your mind. Also it would be a great idea to photograph Puff in natural bright light to get a very sharp photo to keep tabs on any changes. Front view and side view would be a great reference. Mom also checked sites online, a vet also points out the side view of the eyes will show if the brown specks are flat or raised on the iris. My past 11 month old brother, Tonka has some black marks a red spot on his right lower area of his iris. He was diagnosed in very early stage of FIP...3 weeks later Mom had to send him to the bridge. Eyes are the window into the bodies health, Photos are a very good tool to see early changes. Please keep us informed, we all care about our furends=^Y^=the Cat Street Boyz
I think you need to follow your heart and what you feel. Perhaps you could take the Taylor cats mum up on her offer. That way you would have an idea where to go.
Hugs GJ xx
Puff is very pretty and it is probably nothing, but you are going to worry, so it's best to take her to an eye vet to put your mind at rest. We are lucky because the senior vet at our practice is an opthalmic specialist.
One of my kitties, Bugsy, has severe brown pigmentation in his right eye; you can see a pretty good view here -- http://thekittykrew.blogspot.com/2009/06/sweet-angel-saturday.html . While some of the spots are flat, in one corner it bulges a bit and that's a tumor. :( He's going to have his eye removed later this summer, probably late next month after the bladder surgery he had last week is healed/resolved.
I definitely wouldn't settle for a blow-off "it's nothing" answer, but it's true that brown specks aren't automatically a bad thing. Bugsy shows no symptoms of anything being wrong with his eye, but this type of tumor is almost always cancerous. Unfortunately, from everything I've found out, just about the only way to know is remove the eye and have the tumor tested; otherwise, it's a matter of waiting to see if the cancer spreads into the body from the tumor. Bugsy's not even 6 so I'm not willing to take that chance that it IS bad and that it'll spread, so removing the eye seems the lesser of the evils.
I'd definitely point it out to the vet again in August, although it doesn't look like from the second picture that the spots have changed that much in a year (not like Bugsy's did in that same type of timeframe). But it should be watched for sure, for progress, and if you have a vet eye doc in your area, it wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion and pro photos to mark progress.
Good luck, and purrs and hugs from all of us!
The Mommy of The Kitty Krew
Puff is still very beautiful. My mom is a worrier, so she would vote for pushing the vet!
Oh, Puff is so very pretty. We pray nothing is wrong with her but we think you should grill the vet when you go. As was said before above, you need to ease your mind.
Hugs and kissies,
Normie (from heaven above), Mika, Sasha & Grady
Puff is a beautiful cat. My mom says that if Puff is not having any noticable issues with the speckles then it is not worth putting her through more tests. Maybe the speckles are a sign of wisdom and character?
--JB
We never saw spots like that and would wonder what they are. But id your Vet says not to worry and they don't bother her, I would let it be,
Zippy haf dem dots in her eye and she gets a few more every year it seems. Dr G always looks at dem just to be sure dey is still just flat color freckly things and not bumps. He sez dey is nothing to worry about either.
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