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Flecks in eyes...

2 replies

HoundofHades · 19/08/2021 15:29

My parents 13.5 year old cat had an non-routine vets appointment a few days ago because he's unable to keep his food down/has little appetite despite (according to my mother) being sick "through hunger". When this happens, he brings clear froth up - but a couple of times, this has been tinged with blood, hence the trip to the vets. Otherwise, he's his usual self - and he's always been prone to vomiting, due to gulping down air whilst racing through his feeds (he's an only cat).

The vet who saw him is the more experienced one in the practice, and she diagnosed gastritis, prescribing antibiotics and ant-acids, basically. However, she said that if this treatment plan doesn't stop him bringing up blood, then because of the dark flecks in his eyes, it's likely he has cancer of some sort.

I googled (even though I suggested my elderly mother didn't) and apparently dark flecks in a cats eyes are non-malignant tumours, themselves, which I didn't know - but there's nothing to suggest they're indicative of tumours elsewhere in the body.

Has anyone else had this raise itself? My parents are now assuming the worst, and I've had to remind them both that the cat is otherwise absolutely fine; that it probably is something as simple as gastritis, and his treatment seems to be working, so far. He's not exhibiting any signs of obvious pain anywhere in his body, and is loving the extra attention (and slivers of his favourite meats being hand-fed to him...). But now I'm wondering if those flecks are a sign of impending nasties...

OP posts:
thecatneuterer · 19/08/2021 17:38

Yes one of my middle aged cats developed those. The vets said it probably wasn't worth worrying about and the cat is still fine despite having had them at least three years now.

HoundofHades · 10/09/2021 09:17

or @thecatneuterer - thanks for your reply. Just to update, really... unfortunately, my parents cat has turned out to have bowel/intestinal cancer(s), despite his bloods showing up as normal, bar a lowered white blood cell count - and that, only slightly. The vet offered to refer him to "The Super Vet"'s surgery which is local to us, for ongoing oncology treatment, but after a lengthy family discussion, my father chose pallative care, instead. Quality over quantity of life being the ethos.

Since then, the cat has rallied - no more vomiting, he's put all of the weight he'd lost back on... and the vet said last week that the thickening she could feel in his gut has lessened somewhat! Obviously, we don't know how long we have left with him, but the contentment he's exuding says the decision was the best one for him.

And now I know to watch for flecks developing in my own two cats' eyes...

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