Thanks Tamara for all the personal experience about this. The reason I
started to panic, was because Grace's littermate, Molly, (the 2nd in
the litter to pass), had a tumor behind one of her eyes. A concussion
had not occurred to me, but the way she's been acting lately, it could
be.
Nina
tamara stickler wrote:
Nina,
The dilated pupil could be caused by various things. The least
of which, and MOST likely since you stated that she's been ok, and
acting quite like a kitten again, is that she might have given herself
a slight concusion. My spaz-cat Coebeio has done this on
occasion....once while spazing around the house, she leapt from the
windowsill intending to land on the table, but came up short and
slammed her head against its edge....Once when she decided that the
squirrel at the bird feeder really MUST DIE NOW, and she flew down the
hall, into the living-room, made a grand jump about 5 feet in the air,
and slammed face first into the sliding glass door. (If it was any
consilation....had the door NOT been closed...she'd have had him.) ;-)
Another, more serious cause could be a blood clot in the brain,
or a brain tumor. My poodlish dog- Sweet Pea, had the brain
tumor...and that's how we found out...because of the dilated pupil.
Just like with the concussion, it is usually caused by pressure on the
brain or the eye. SP lived about 8 months after she was diagnosed (she
was very old and surgery wasn't an option.)
Yet another, serious, but not fatal cause, could be that perhaps
as a complication of the FeLV, she is going blind in just that eye. In
this case the pupil would dilate, in order to let more light in, in an
attempt to see better.
If it doesn't clear up in a few days, I'd make a vet appointment
for her, just in case. Meanwhile I'll hold out hope that she was just
being too rambuncous and bopped her head.
In the meantime, keep her away from any teasing squirrels.
Keep us informed. God Bless you both.
T
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nina"
To:
Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2005 8:59 PM
Subject: I'm scared for Grace - dilated left pupil
> I just posted about how well Grace has been doing. I'm about to
lose my
> mind, I'm so scared. I'm really trying to hold it together and not
get
> ahead of myself, but the thought of losing Grace, right after
Jazz...
> There must be something really wrong with me. Grace has been doing
so
> well, I thought maybe... just maybe...
>
> About 2 hours ago I noticed that Grace's left eye's pupil is
dilated.
> It's contracting some in sunlight and getting bigger as the light
> lessens, but it's definitely larger than her right eye. It doesn't
look
> irritated, no tearing, no signs of abrasion. I ran my fingers over
both
> sides of her eyes and face, the left side doesn't seem any
different
> than the right. It doesn't seem to bother her when I touch that
side.
> She's acting perfectly normal otherwise. In fact the last week or
so,
> she's been such a kitten. Running, jumping cavorting, chasing
great big
> Kimba Cat around, just having a grand time with life, it's been
such a
> joy to witness.
>
> I called my Internist's office and spoke with Michelle. She said
it's
> possible that she got something on her paw and rubbed it over that
eye,
> a plant, or something in the yard that's toxic. I don't think
that's
> it. I don't think there's anything out there that is toxic, and if
> there is, it's sure taken them a long time to find it. Her other
> thought was that it's something neurological. Something, (oh shit),
> pressing on her optic nerve and causing the pupil to dilate. Her
sister
> Molly had a tumor behind, I think the same eye. Her eye started to
> protrude and then it ruptured when she was being rushed to the ER.
If
> it's any worse by tomorrow, I'm going to go to my vet's and sit in
the
> lobby until she'll see me. Do you think I should take her in even
if it
> remains stable?
>
> Has anyone had any experience with this sort of thing? Any ideas? I
> really don't think I can take it if I lose my Grace. Please pray
that
> this passes and she's okay.
>
> Nina
>
>
>
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