Vet questions/good news

[mommytobuck]

My cat imho is sick. He has had dilated eyes for about 2 weeks and he seems pretty miserable. His eyes can be dilated but with light of almost any kind his eyes water.

I called my vet to get an appointment but her first available is 30 days from today. That seems a little outrageous.

Would it be unacceptable for me to bring him to the emergency vet?

What I don't want to happen is that he has a catastrophic disaster in the middle of the night.

 

[misty8723]

It would NOT be unacceptable, and a 30 day wait is ridiculous. I can see it for an annual exam, but not if cat is having an issue. Emergency vets do cost more. If kitty has a problem it's better to find out and treat it than wait and see what happens, in my opinion. Good luck!

 

[fionasmom]

We are having reports of the same problem out here where vets are refusing emergencies. One told me that part of the problem is that everyone who did not seek vet care during the worst of the lockdowns is now calling for appointments. Really no excuse though especially if you are calling your regular vet.

Definitely get to the ER. It will cost more, but it also might get you an immediate referral to a local vet as a follow up. They are not going to tell you that your emergency is not important enough, if that is what you are thinking.

 

[verna davies]

I would remind the vet that they have a duty of care and you feel your cat needs to be examined.

 

[mommytobuck]

Well, here is the thing... it is just my cat's eyes... even now I am going back and forth wondering if I am overreacting. I would prefer to go to my vet because she knows the history etc. I also have reserved the time off at work. I am afraid I will go to the Emergency ER, they will just run the most minimal of basic tests to make sure my cat doesn't have something urgent going on, and my cat will require another trip to the vet (at the 30 day date) to try to guide out what is going on...

I just wanted to know if I would go to the ER would they turn me away and say -- it isn't an emergency if your vet doesn't think it is.

But if things get much worse within the 30 days I will know I can take him to the emergency vet.

 

[verna davies]

Can you post a photo. If your vet hasn't seen your cat I would question how he can decide if it's urgent or not.

 

[mommytobuck]

Can you post a photo. If your vet hasn't seen your cat I would question how he can decide if it's urgent or not.

I sent him a video. I will see if I can put a you tube link here. He gave me some eye ointment to give him in the mean time to see if it will clear up but so far no go.

 

[fionasmom]

Your records from your vet are your property if you want to get a copy for the ER vet to see. It also might wake your vet up to the fact that you are concerned about your cat and 30 days is too long.

ERs are not just for critical conditions for animals or humans. Around here, most are after hours care with the exceptions of a few very large hospitals who run with an ER and regular staff even during the day. I took a dog to the ER once when I cut his toenail too short and could not get it to stop bleeding and a female cat I thought was blocked (which is very rare in a female anyway and she wasn't), and my current GSD just recently for a UTI. No one told me it was not serious enough.

 

[mommytobuck]

Here is a video. You do have to understand that he is sleepy (he just ate and wants his afternoon nap)

 

[fionasmom]

Only you know if this is standard for being sleepy and well fed. Around 1:02 the eyes open more momentarily but are really close to shut most of the time. Let us know what vet says.

 

[verna davies]

It is difficult to see because she is sleepy but her right eye looks as if it could be sore and maybe the third eyelid is showing (I could be wrong). It may take several days for the ointment to make a different but if it looks as if it's getting worse, I wouldn't hesitate to go to an ER vet..

 

[mommytobuck]

Only you know if this is standard for being sleepy and well fed. Around 1:02 the eyes open more momentarily but are really close to shut most of the time. Let us know what vet says.

To me it doesn't look right. But, is it an emergency? I am famous for overreacting. Most of the time there is no third eye lid. They just seem very dilated and he is always doing that squinting. It is hard to tell. Again if I take him to an emergency vet it means he will not be as easy to take in a second time. I have severe problems with him at a vet. I need to have it one and done.

I will discontinue the ointment (as I have mentioned before on here the ointment I got once myself for conjunctivitis and it made my eyes sensitive to light) and if it doesn't get better I will take him this weekend to the emergency vet.

 

[PuffandPercy]

If you think something's wrong, work on the principle of what causes the least amount of damage.

No harm can come from taking him to the emergency vet, and they say he's ok to wait. You can always take him back if things change.
Minimizing and stalling can be harmful. You know if something's not right; I personally wouldn't call that an over reaction.

As far as eyes go, if this was a human, it's cause for concern. There's no good reason I can think of for eye's to remain dilated (it almost makes me wonder if it could be neurological? But if there's nothing else, it might be a bit of a stretch). With the pupils dilated, more light can get in, causing the squinting from the brightness, I would think. But the issue remains; why are they dilated in the first place?

 

[tnl]

Is it possible to take him to a different vet?

Edit: I mean a different regular vet instead of an Emergency vet.

 

[Willowy]

As long as you have the money I'm pretty sure they don't care why you come in. Once I was at the e-vet on a Sunday and some rich-looking lady came in to have her dog's nails trimmed because they were leaving on a road trip and it simply HAD to be done before they left. They told her about the emergency fee and she just didn't care. I don't know if all e-vets are like that but they probably are.

 

[Beholder]

Well, here is the thing... it is just my cat's eyes... even now I am going back and forth wondering if I am overreacting. I would prefer to go to my vet because she knows the history etc. I also have reserved the time off at work. I am afraid I will go to the Emergency ER, they will just run the most minimal of basic tests to make sure my cat doesn't have something urgent going on, and my cat will require another trip to the vet (at the 30 day date) to try to guide out what is going on...

I just wanted to know if I would go to the ER would they turn me away and say -- it isn't an emergency if your vet doesn't think it is.

But if things get much worse within the 30 days I will know I can take him to the emergency vet.

I agree with everyone else--take him in if you can afford it. In my experience emergency vets don't preform "minimal of basic tests" but usually do the opposite! They want to be sure they don't send a sick cat home without help because they could be held liable...and of course they also want to help the animals too. They won't turn you down either. You may have to wait a bit longer (a few hours) to be seen but I assure you they will see your cat if you can pay. If you're still unsure just give them a call and tell them what you're seeing.

Let us know how it goes please!

 

[mommytobuck]

Ok thank you all.

 

[fionasmom]

Absolutely, if you can pay they will not turn you away. In every case, ER vets have done complete workups of my animals in order to be as accurate as possible.

 

[mommytobuck]

I had previously written about my cat having issues with his eyes..
1. His eyes are better... not perfect, but better. So since it seems to be *both* his eyes. I decided it has to be something not directly from the eye. I am giving him an immunity supplement -- so far there has been improvement. He does have a little bit of the third eye lid sometimes.
2. My vet suggested a urine test.. which is easy for me to get. It could tell us a number of things. It appears the test came back prefect. Which strongly suggests no kidney issues or diabetes. That is great news.
3. The dilation has gone back a bit to the point where I would now say it is almost normal. He still does a lot of blinking and seeming like he closes his eyes when subjected to light. I remain convinced it was the Meloxicam which weakened his immune system. I also wonder what effect my pawing at him for two weeks has had on his fear and lack of sleep.
4. He had such runny eyes last week it was dripping on the floor. But now he only seems to have any water after sleeping for a while. I can hardly pick anything up if I Whipe them.
5. My plan is to let him have lots of sleep, immunity supplement, and lots of affection for the next few weeks until the vet appointment.

 

[mommytobuck]

So knock on wood but he is looking straight up amazing. No more dilated eyes. No more blinking... and he has some nubbiest after sleeping but no running eyes.

I have to say I think it was the immunity supplement. I have been giving it to him for a week and he has improved every day.
Today he even had better behavior... interested in playing and watching outside at the window.