My cat was just diagnosed with melanoma in 1 eye. Vet did x-rays & it hasn't spread anywhere else. She says eye removal is way to go & she should be fine. I went online & read several different peoples experiences with this procedure. The recovery sounds brutal; a lot of the cats had severe nose problems several months after the surgery & various infections etc. My cat is very skittish & anti-social. I'm not sure she would recover & lead a normal life after the surgery. I can picture her hiding from us & never coming out. I can use some advice from anyone who has been through this. Also it's a lot to put her through all the follow-up visits & meds. Am I doing the right thing or will she just be miserable for the rest of her life?
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Eye removal
- Thread starter jjmayorga
- Start Date
I am sorry to hear about your cat's diagnosis. I don't have any experience with this surgery, but someone will probably come along soon with some insight for you.
In the meantime, though, if I were in your shoes, I would choose the surgery. From what I have read, cats and dogs can lead a normal life with only one eye. If you are worried about complications, you can ask your vet about his or her experience with the surgery (or get a recommendation for a specialist, if your vet doesn't have expertise in this area). Good luck to you and your cat.
In the meantime, though, if I were in your shoes, I would choose the surgery. From what I have read, cats and dogs can lead a normal life with only one eye. If you are worried about complications, you can ask your vet about his or her experience with the surgery (or get a recommendation for a specialist, if your vet doesn't have expertise in this area). Good luck to you and your cat.
My experience with enucleation is limited to shelter kittens, but there have been several. Recovery was actually pretty quick and without complications, so I'd go for it. There was little in the way of post-op (as opposed to pre-op) care, other than keeping close watch of the incision. Behavioral changes were positive, since the pain was gone and they no longer required constant medicating.
I have only had one with eye removal. She actually recovered very well. I think it bothered me more than it bothered her because it had kept her feeling bad. Once removed, she started perking up and once the incision was healed, my worrying ceased. She functioned beautiful with only one eye. Cats are amazing and resilient. Since your kitty is timid, try giving all the attention she feels comfortable with now. You may find that she has been skittish in part due to some discomfort that you could not have known about. Perhaps this will be a relief to her and she can lead a more outgoing life after all is settled again. I find that lots of love and patience can work wonders with a skittish baby. I work to socialize kitties so if I can offer you any of the tips that I use , please let me know. There are many people here who have worked to help kitties overcome any anti social or fearful behavior so I know lots of people have great ideas to help if you desire that. Please do keep us updated. Sending lots of hope and healing wishes your way.
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This a picture taken yesterday of three of mine. Helen (head on the pillow) has both her eyes enucleated. Jack (black and white) had one. They did not have melanoma they just had awful eye infections as young kittens. The surgery was performed before I adopted them so I can’t speak to the immediate post op period, but they are fine now. Jack does have some issues with depth perception having only one eye but once he has jumped on and off something a few times he can judge how to land. Helen navigates beautifully without seeing.
My GSD is a melanoma amputee, although I am talking about his right front leg and not his eye. I don't want to stress you out any more than this diagnosis already has, but melanoma is one of the worst and most metastatic cancers so you need to make that part of your consideration.
I did have a friend years ago who had both eyes removed from a small terrier and it recovered completely and lived comfortably in the house and on their property.
Depending on where you are, you might seek out a specialized referral hospital or a veterinary eye specialist and discuss the procedure with them. For reasons that would be of no use here, I did not have my dog's regular vet do the amputation but did go to a surgeon who was very experienced in that.
I completely understand about the skittish and antisocial concerns with your cat. If she is one who would hide from you it might be necessary to find a place in your house where she could recuperate and be more easily handled. I cannot imagine that the recovery period is labor intensive on your part aside from what was mentioned previously.
I assume that no mention was made of immunotherapy after the surgery. If it were to be offered to you and you opted for it, I just want to add that, cost aside, my dog had absolutely no reaction to it at all; however, I am not sure that the same drug is used for cats.
I did have a friend years ago who had both eyes removed from a small terrier and it recovered completely and lived comfortably in the house and on their property.
Depending on where you are, you might seek out a specialized referral hospital or a veterinary eye specialist and discuss the procedure with them. For reasons that would be of no use here, I did not have my dog's regular vet do the amputation but did go to a surgeon who was very experienced in that.
I completely understand about the skittish and antisocial concerns with your cat. If she is one who would hide from you it might be necessary to find a place in your house where she could recuperate and be more easily handled. I cannot imagine that the recovery period is labor intensive on your part aside from what was mentioned previously.
I assume that no mention was made of immunotherapy after the surgery. If it were to be offered to you and you opted for it, I just want to add that, cost aside, my dog had absolutely no reaction to it at all; however, I am not sure that the same drug is used for cats.
Here's the thing about looking stuff up on the internet...for the most part, the majority of those who have had good experiences and quick recoveries DO NOT POST unless directly questioned. What you tend to read is those horror stories where things did not go normally. That said, the alternative is watching your precious cat die by degrees as this cancer spreads, and it will, or having a cat who can live a happy, normal life euthanized because you've read the worst of the worst. And I'll bet, even if there's a longer than normal recovery time, your cat would tell you, "GO FOR IT!"
Mamanyt1953
I do agree about the angry and upset posting on any subject on the internet. Google washing machines and you will find the one in a million that blew up in the kitchen and flooded the house. IMO this cat does need to have the procedure done.
