Iris melanosis

[piratehugs]

My beloved 11 year old cat's eyes have been changing colour over the last three years or so. At her check-up yesterday, the vet referred her to an ophthalmologist for a consultation.

If the melanosis is malignant and the cancer starts to spread, she will be in a lot of pain and it will be incurable. If it's benign, it's absolutely nothing to worry about. They can't be sure whether it's benign, malignant or about to turn malignant unless they remove her eyes.

I'm really struggling emotionally with the thought of being faced with this decision at the consultation. Her trusted human would take her on a long unwanted car journey to somewhere where she would be permanently blinded, potentially for nothing. How could I do that and live with the guilt if it's benign? How could I not do it and live with the guilt if it's malignant?

Does anyone have experience of this and any wise words? Does anyone have a blind cat (and a lot of stairs!)? How do they manage?

Please be gentle with me! Thanks.

No advice but for you and your cat.

I don't think sight has the same relative importance in a cat's senses as it does in a human's because their hearing and smell is much, much better than ours, but I can see why you feel terrible about the idea of her eyes being removed. Would there be any value in removing only one of them rather than both of them in the first instance to see if it was malignant?

I'm thinking the same as Antarcticant. I have seen videos of blind cats at rescue centres and they seem to do well. It must feel like an impossible position for you to be in. I can see your dilemma. Have you been told how long she'lI have if it's malignant and how it would be managed? Could you take her to the vet for regular check ups & to manage her pain for as long as possible before it becomes unbearable? If you decide not to remove her eyes, how long would it be before any signs of cancer appear?

I suppose what I want to say is, that faced with this awful choice, I dont think I'd be able to agree to it. I wouldn't want to put her through the loss of her eyesight at this stage of her life. 11 is a very good age. Have you got someone you can talk to share the load.💐

My cat had the freckles in her one of her eyes. We opted to monitor rather than doing anything and they never became an issue. Personally, quality of life is better than quantity. I decided if they ever progressed to malignancy we would either call it a day or opt for removal at that point, though it would be unlikely to save her life , it would take away the pain. She loved being outside so that helped us with the decision.

Thanks for your comments. I hadn't thought about the option of just one being removed. One of her irises has progressed further than the other so it's possible they'll recommend that. Rationally, I'm sure she would manage with one eye. I would feel bad for putting her through surgery, but I could handle that. It's the thought of being responsible for taking her eyesight entirely that fills me with horror.

It was useful to hear you talk about doing nothing except managing her pain - that approach doesn't sit right with me - she's so healthy in other ways, I think she could have many healthy years ahead of her. I'm not sure I could stand by and watch her deteriorate unnecessarily.

I guess I'm clinging on to the hope that they will recommend surgery on one but not the other. The consultation is in a couple of weeks, so I have time to read up on blind cats, so I'm more prepared for that eventuality.

Thanks again, I appreciate your thoughts.

I didn’t view it as her deteriorating unnecessarily- we decided that to remove an eye on the basis that cancer MAY develop wasn’t something we wanted to do. We knew that if the eye became painful we would be faced with either calling it a day for her at that point, or opting to remove the eye so that she could be comfortable. By the time melanoma is diagnosed it has often spread anyway so I suspect we may not have put her through surgery. We opted to keep the eye monitored for any pain for inflammation but it remained stable.

*pain or inflammation

I meant to manage her pain with medication, if that's possible, only to the point where it would become too painfull. But, obviously, not to keep her in unbearable pain. Keep talking here and, hopefully, it'll help you to make a decision.

Sorry, crossposted - I wasn't suggesting you would have let your cat deteriorate - I just took ages typing a reply to the comment above about managing her pain "for as long as possible before it becomes unbearable".

My cat was at the freckles stage a couple of years ago and at that point I automatically dismissed the notion of surgery out of hand. The vet did say it could be cancerous then, but it seemed unlikely so frankly I put it out of my mind. When I was told it had progressed, it came as more of a shock than it perhaps should have done.

It's good you had a plan - you knew what you were monitoring for and what you might do and when. I'm glad it never became an issue for your cat. <3

That’s ok - it’s really difficult to know what to do for the best sometimes when it comes to our pets.