First heat cycle a nightmare... should I spay a kitten with chronic eye problems?
I know it's something I should ask my vet but they're a little off with her diagnosis, I feel, so maybe a few objective opinions would be ok.
My kitten just went through her first heat cycle. It was a nightmare for us both, I think. Me for obvious reasons and her cause she didn't sleep, eat or drink much for 2 days and even threw up... I felt really bad for her. She did NOT enjoy that.
I will be calling my vet to schedule to spay her but I was wondering if anyone has had an experience with spaying a cat that has minor eye irritations.
She's had them for a few months, nothing serious but a little discharge and squinting... she also gulps sometimes. Shedoesn't have a URI (confirmed by the vet) or feline leukemia. My vet suspected herpes but I really doubt it cause it has a lot of other symptoms she doesn't have.
And if she did, would it be ok to do any surgery like that? It's not a male cat after all, surgery is a little more complicated.
Any advice would be great. Thanks!
Oh she's about 10-11 months old (got her from a shelter so I don't know for sure).
Ok, in reply, she IS on lysine right now. It doesn't seem to make a difference for now. Also, she's been through a round of antibiotics before and it made no difference.
She's eating well, energetic, playful and overall healthy. Herpes might not manifest as all the symptoms in a given cat but I just doubt it would only show as sporadic eye irritations in the absence of all other symptoms.
As I said ,she was tested for FLV and she doesn't have it.
I'll call my vet either way and ask, just wanted to see what people thought, thanks!
- JenniferinNY
So long as her respiratory system isn't compromised, she should be fine for surgery.
Herpes virus is a funny thing, some of them have all the symptoms, some only have one or two. Some cats get over it in a matter of weeks, some have it for months. Has he done any other testing? I'm sure he would've examined to make sure her eye lids were lined up correctly. Herpes is definitely the most common cause of eye problems in cats.
- Texas McCoy
My answer is probably not much help, but if you feel that your vet has not been right on with what is really going on with your kitty, by all means seek out another vet for a second opinion. There are plenty of them around and your kitty's health is way too important to put it in the hands of someone you cannot 100% trust. I have had problems with vets like this too. Ask your friends & neighbors what vet they use, a good vet will have an excellent reputation and be well known and highly reccommended by others.
If you do get your kitty fixed, DON'T let the vet talk you into getting a bunch of shots for kitty at the same time. A surgery is traumatic enough for kitty without her immune system having to work overtime on some new vaccines. If she needs shots, insist on making an appointment for a different day, when she is recovered well from her surgery. I did this once to a kitty, did everything all at once, and when I got her home I thought she was going to die because she did nothing but sleep for 3 days and hardly moved at all! I will NEVER do that to a cat again!
Good luck to you, I hope your kitty gets better!
- cassie smiley
I would say take her to another vet and get a second opionion. I don't think that there would be a problem getting her spayed if she has eye irritations. I say you should get her spayed as soon as possible.
- Darla E
If you love the cat, she is worth it! Remember that she will come in heat again within the next 3 weeks and it will continue that way until she is pregnant or spayed. Call your vet soon to schedule the spay.
- construe
Red eyes, nasal and occular discharge, sneezing, gulping (or extending the neck to swallow) all are symptoms of URI, sinusitis, tonsillitis, herpies virus, felv (feline leukemia viurs) or FIV (feline immunodefficency virus) to name a few. Most of these are difficult to prove as there are no "tests" that you can do. There are no "tests" that you can do to confirm URI, for example. They have the symptoms or they don't. I would personally like my own cat FIV tested if over the age of 6 months and wether it's negative or not I'd want it on antibiotics. If it is something as small as URI, all the abx will do is prevent secondary infections (like pneumonia) but if it is FIV it will just put off the inevetable (but remember, FIV positive cats can live a long life with proper veterinary care). Don't rule out herpies virus, after all, no two cats show the same symptoms for the same illnesses. Ask your vet about a lysine supliment (it's a supliment to help raise the immune system) since they suspect herpies. I wouldn't want to spay a cat with these symptoms. If a virus is present, the spay will lower her immune system and allow the symptoms to worsen. Insist on a round of antibiotics before the surgery as a precaution!
Leukemia — Comprehensive overview covers symptoms, causes, risk factors, treatment of this blood-related cancer.
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