Welcome to Sphynxlair! Connect with Sphynx owners & enthusiasts around the world!

Eye Trouble

rainonlens

Lairian
Joined
Apr 5, 2010
Messages
35
Points
24
Hi all

Here's a quick back story:

-We're 3 weeks away from our babies coming home!
-Clearly we are losing our minds with excitement.
-The other night I had a crazy dream where one of the cats (who were just teeny-tiny in the dream) was bitten by a dog. By the end of the dream the poor thing had lost it's eye. It didn't matter, he was alive and all was well, though he was now a one-eyed kitty.

I woke up, told my partner...he laughed and told me I'm crazy. The next day our breeder emailed me to let me know our girl had her eye scratched by another kitten. I was sad, and a little freaked out (considering the dream!!) but she said she'd been to the vet and she was on some antibiotics.

I emailed her back asking whether she was actually cut on her cornea (eyeball) or on the skin around her eye. She responded saying it was her cornea, but that she seems to be fine, acting like her normal self.

So, I emailed her again for some more detail regarding what exactly the vet said. I'm waiting to hear back.

I'm a little upset that it's being spoken of in such a casual manner. Can any of you tell me whether I should be concerned? Of course, I would take this girl even if she was completely blind, etc etc...I'm just not sure what to do as far as cost, etc.

I'm getting a bit ahead of myself in that it could just be a simple cut. I'm hoping she's done her meds by the time she comes home...but if she's not? Should I be the one to pay for it? I personally don't think so. Any damage that has come to her in the breeders home is the breeders problem, in my eyes. The same as I would never expect our breeder to pay for damage that has happened once she's home. (Not that that will happen! But I suppose accidents happen...I never thought our girl would be hurt before coming home. :ThumbsDown:)

Any thoughts? Or anyone who's been through the same thing? I couldn't believe when I came here the next day and there was a thread in the Welcome forum with a woman who had her kittens eye scratched and it lost it's eye. Thank goodness she's been so wonderful and given it a forever home. We would surely do the same...but I would hope to be compensated in some way.
 

ckutkuhn7

Banned
Joined
Jan 16, 2010
Messages
5,191
Points
0
Wow, you have some serious ESP going on there! I understand how you feel with the conversation of all of this being so casual from your breeder. I know my own breeder has had similar issues with her older kitties getting into with each other and scratching each others eyes. I do give your breeder a thumbs up for being open and honest with you and keeping you informed. As long as it heals and your kitty is taken care of, not there isn't cause for alarm, but if her eye heals well then count your blessings. I do hope everything goes well. I've seen this happen before tho and the only real way to prevent it is to isolate everyone and thats not a good thing either. Even when your kitty is alone they can find things to get into and scratch their eye. (Such as boxes!! I'm currently unpacking boxes from moving and Snuffie is driving me insane getting into everything. lol I'm so worried she is gonna topple something over on top of herself!) Be patient and just keep in touch with your breeder, I'm sure it will be fine. My Snuffie managed to scratch her eye on my way to go get her - She was lucky and didn't scratch her cornea and I got her some meds and she was fine but it was still a bit scary. Goodluck - keep us posted!
 

rainonlens

Lairian
Joined
Apr 5, 2010
Messages
35
Points
24
Oh, absolutely! I was so thankful that she was honest with me about it having happened and that she had taken her to the vet so quickly.

You're right...I just have to sit tight and hope all is well. It's been looked at and our breeder has been wonderful thus far. I do trust her.

And I completely understand that it must be so hard to keep these sorts of things from happening!! Can you imagine a pile of 8 little critters, all with sharp little claws!? Well...actually, I'm sure many of you can!!:Wink:

Thanks so much for the reassurance. I'm feeling much calmer about it. Man, 'gotcha' day just can't come soon enough!!! :BigSmile:
 

Gadzukz

V.I.P Lairian
V.I.P Lairian
Joined
Dec 2, 2009
Messages
1,753
Points
0
I would expect the breeder to care for her eye and not let her go to a new home until it is resolved one way or another. If she has permanant damage I would think the breeder would sell her for a reduced price. Those are just my thoughts, I am not a breeder.

I hope your kitty recovers completely and quickly
 

susi794

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Aug 23, 2009
Messages
13,556
Points
673
I have had kits scratch each other in the eye--usually takes a trip to the vet for some antibiotic ointment and it clears up fairly quickly. Do keep your emails though and when you get her take her to the vet and ask for special attention to be paid when examining her eye for long term damage....but sounds like your breeder is on top of things, so I wouldn't worry too much.
 

Lisa Dobby

Lairian
Joined
May 8, 2010
Messages
56
Points
0
Hi

I purchased a kitten who had his cornea damaged when he was only 4 days old. His price was greatly reduced by the Breeder and he had to have his inner eye sewn over his cornea to protect it and have it heal. This was done by the Breeder's vet when he was only 4 weeks old. At 9 weeks the inner eye was put back and he was having antibotic steriod ointment put in his eye every 3 hours when we brought him home. I discussed this with the breeder BEFORE we agreed to bring him home. I asked "if there are any further surgeries to be done will this be covered by you?" I was willing to pay for any Vet treatment including ointments and such and the visits to the Vet but I was not wanting to have to pay for further surgeries on this already existing problem. When I brought my kitten home the Vet (who is the Breeder's vet also) said it was a 50/50 chance that my kitten would lose his eye. After 4 weeks of treatments with the ointment it was apparent that the cornea was not healing so we had no choice but to remove the eye. The removal was $365.00. This was done just a couple of weeks ago. The Breeder has been nothing but supportive. They reimbursed me the full Vet Bill for the proceedure. I think you have to make sure you talk to the Breeder about the worst case scenerio... Get it in writting so that there is no misunderstanding what is expected of each of you. My Breeder is the son of a good friend of mine (we have known one another for over 25 years and show dogs together) but if I was dealing with a Breeder who was not a good friend I would want everything in writting. That is not asking too much. Although you can use ointments and sometimes the eye will heal there is still a good chance that your kitten will have some damage to the eye sight. From my perspective I don't care that my kitten has only one eye. I am very happy with him dispite his disfigurement. He is a wonderful addition to our family. But undertand that with this cornea damage could mean a fair Vet bill attached. I took my Dobby to the Vets 3 times prior to his eye removal surgery and that was an addional $250.00 dollars that came out of my pocket. So be prepaired that your kitten's treatment might cost more than you expect. If you want to see a picture of my kitty I have it posted under "Lisa Dobby" If you want to send me an email I can give you the name of the ointment we were using. My personal email address is [email protected]
I wish you the best of luck. I know exactly how you are feeling right now having just gone through the same situation. My Breeder fortunately has been wonderful to deal with. I hope you have the same...

Lisa :)
 

susi794

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Aug 23, 2009
Messages
13,556
Points
673
OMG, the poor little thing! Glad his trauma is over and that you still love him just as much.
 

ilovemysphynx

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Feb 2, 2009
Messages
4,986
Points
271
Great info Lisa and thank you for sharing your story with us! Souds like your breeder did the right thing and your kitty even with one eye is lucky to have you!:ThumbsUp:
 

Mug-ys mumma

V.I.P Lairian
V.I.P Lairian
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Messages
1,219
Points
158
My friend rescued a DSH male about 8 months ago they called Mr Patchyquilt (because of his markings) and he got in a fight a couple of weeks ago and had his cornea scratched really badly...unfortunately they were unable to save it and he has just had his eye removed...not that it's made a blind bit of difference ('scuse the pun) to him, he's still just as naughty as ever!!

X
 

rainonlens

Lairian
Joined
Apr 5, 2010
Messages
35
Points
24
Hi

I purchased a kitten who had his cornea damaged when he was only 4 days old. His price was greatly reduced by the Breeder and he had to have his inner eye sewn over his cornea to protect it and have it heal. This was done by the Breeder's vet when he was only 4 weeks old. At 9 weeks the inner eye was put back and he was having antibotic steriod ointment put in his eye every 3 hours when we brought him home. I discussed this with the breeder BEFORE we agreed to bring him home. I asked "if there are any further surgeries to be done will this be covered by you?" I was willing to pay for any Vet treatment including ointments and such and the visits to the Vet but I was not wanting to have to pay for further surgeries on this already existing problem. When I brought my kitten home the Vet (who is the Breeder's vet also) said it was a 50/50 chance that my kitten would lose his eye. After 4 weeks of treatments with the ointment it was apparent that the cornea was not healing so we had no choice but to remove the eye. The removal was $365.00. This was done just a couple of weeks ago. The Breeder has been nothing but supportive. They reimbursed me the full Vet Bill for the proceedure. I think you have to make sure you talk to the Breeder about the worst case scenerio... Get it in writting so that there is no misunderstanding what is expected of each of you. My Breeder is the son of a good friend of mine (we have known one another for over 25 years and show dogs together) but if I was dealing with a Breeder who was not a good friend I would want everything in writting. That is not asking too much. Although you can use ointments and sometimes the eye will heal there is still a good chance that your kitten will have some damage to the eye sight. From my perspective I don't care that my kitten has only one eye. I am very happy with him dispite his disfigurement. He is a wonderful addition to our family. But undertand that with this cornea damage could mean a fair Vet bill attached. I took my Dobby to the Vets 3 times prior to his eye removal surgery and that was an addional $250.00 dollars that came out of my pocket. So be prepaired that your kitten's treatment might cost more than you expect. If you want to see a picture of my kitty I have it posted under "Lisa Dobby" If you want to send me an email I can give you the name of the ointment we were using. My personal email address is [email protected]
I wish you the best of luck. I know exactly how you are feeling right now having just gone through the same situation. My Breeder fortunately has been wonderful to deal with. I hope you have the same...

Lisa :)

Thank you SO MUCH, Lisa. So so much.

That's pretty much my feel...I am completely fine with any options concerning her eye. Of course, I would hope and wish that she is able to keep it. But certainly, if it needs to be removed, I will love her and she will be mine regardless. It was the costs attached to it that have me concerned.

Don't get me wrong, we have money aside for emergencies, etc. but because this accident happened before she came home, I have a hard time feeling like we should have to take care of those vet bills. I guess that's what got me concerned when it came to mentioning the injury so casually. Because she's not a good friend of mine, I want to make sure she's not making this sound like something smaller than what it is in hopes that the cat makes it home and she can then claim it got worse or something. We only have a few weeks until they come home, and I honestly don't even want her to be put on a plane if she's not completely healed yet.

That being said, my breeder has been wonderful! She sent me an email this morning saying that the eye was clouded over and the vet said that was normal (something to do with veins traveling across the eye to help get blood to the problem area) and that hopefully the clouding would go away in the next little while.

All we can do at this point is wait. I'm sure I'm totally overreacting, I just can't help but jump to the worst case scenario...which is totally unlike me. I'm all around positive, I'm just bummed this isn't going 'smoothly'...but I guess nothing can be smooth when it involved live critters!!

Thanks again everyone for the support and info. I'll keep you all posted!! :BigSmile:
 

klreese

V.I.P Lairian
V.I.P Lairian
Joined
Apr 26, 2010
Messages
1,029
Points
188
Wow sounds like your have that "mommy (parent) intuition"
I agree, that you shouldn't have to pay for long term care associated with an accident from breeders home. However, it sounds like a little scratch and all should be well after a week on antibiotics. Kitties have nails, they scratch- it happens. Maybe breeder was causual because she's encourtered it before with being around so many kitties. I think long term kitty will be fine.
Congrats on your new kitty. When does she/he get to come home??
 

rainonlens

Lairian
Joined
Apr 5, 2010
Messages
35
Points
24
Wow sounds like your have that "mommy (parent) intuition"
I agree, that you shouldn't have to pay for long term care associated with an accident from breeders home. However, it sounds like a little scratch and all should be well after a week on antibiotics. Kitties have nails, they scratch- it happens. Maybe breeder was causual because she's encourtered it before with being around so many kitties. I think long term kitty will be fine.
Congrats on your new kitty. When does she/he get to come home??

Thank you!! I'm sure she'll be just fine too, I'm just having that 'waiting' anxiety!! :BigSmile: And I'm sure you're right...considering my breeder has been great thus far, I'm sure she's dealt with this a hundred times and knows it will be just fine.

They come home on the 30th or 31st, we don't know the exact flight yet. Man oh man, we're SO EXCITED.

My boyfriend gets excited in a very different way than me. I was obsessing within minutes of knowing they were ours. Reading, buying...everything Sphynx! I still can't soak up enough...(this site has been SO great for getting through the wait. Between seeing other love their current kitties, watching others bring them home and just the general great vibes around here, I am SO ready for them to be home.) The other day while waking up and chatting, I looked over at him in bed and he said: "Do you know that there will be naked cats in this bed with us in a few weeks?"

He looked like he was ready to explode with excitement. He waits until he knows it's real, and then let's himself get excited. Just like any trip...I'm counting down the days with excitement, he gets excited on the plane. Ha!

One girl, one boy. Both the most adorable!! We haven't quite settled on names yet, but we're close. I think we'll have to meet them before making the final call.

These are them a few months back:




Our precious girl (the one with the eye issue):


Our sweet red boy:


CAN'T WAIT!
 

klreese

V.I.P Lairian
V.I.P Lairian
Joined
Apr 26, 2010
Messages
1,029
Points
188
wow! they're beautiful kitties!! My fiance' was always like "i hate cats!!" but after 3 years, he bought me my baby and then we adopted our other baby... now he gets jealous if they choose to snuggle me instead of him LOL!
 

Bella07

Banned
Joined
Apr 2, 2010
Messages
2,078
Points
0
As I'm sure you have heard a million times, Congratulations, they are gorgeous!!!
But I'm in love with your calico (or is that a tortie? girl anyhows, she has the prettiest markings!)

I really hope that her eye heals quickly, with no long term damage. Gosh, waiting for them must be unbearable, but, it's getting so close!

Well, good luck. Please keep us updated on everything! :ThumbsUp:
 

rainonlens

Lairian
Joined
Apr 5, 2010
Messages
35
Points
24
As I'm sure you have heard a million times, Congratulations, they are gorgeous!!!
But I'm in love with your calico (or is that a tortie? girl anyhows, she has the prettiest markings!)

I really hope that her eye heals quickly, with no long term damage. Gosh, waiting for them must be unbearable, but, it's getting so close!

Well, good luck. Please keep us updated on everything! :ThumbsUp:

Thanks guys!!! :BigSmile:

The breeder just calls her blue/white. Though as soon as I came on this site and posted pictures, most people said she was a black tortie. Isn't she gorgeous?


CAN'T WAIT!! 17 days if all goes well!! :BigSmile: I'm so excited to be bringing siblings home together!!
 

ilovemysphynx

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Feb 2, 2009
Messages
4,986
Points
271
Thanks guys!!! :BigSmile:

The breeder just calls her blue/white. Though as soon as I came on this site and posted pictures, most people said she was a black tortie. Isn't she gorgeous?


CAN'T WAIT!! 17 days if all goes well!! :BigSmile: I'm so excited to be bringing siblings home together!!

We are counting down the days with you!:ThumbsUp:
 

rainonlens

Lairian
Joined
Apr 5, 2010
Messages
35
Points
24
UPDATE - I got an email from my breeder this morning saying that they eye looks to be clearing up nicely. The redness is almost completely gone, though there is still some clouding.

She said most of the clouding is seen when the sun is in her eyes. She's taking her meds like a champ and from the looks of it her eye is going to be ok.

Hooray!! Thanks for everyone's well wishes and support. I'll keep you updated. :Laugh:
 
Back
Top