Cataracts In Your Dog Or Cat

As your pet gets older, you will notice a milkiness in it's eyes. These are cataracts. Cataracts are caused by a clouding of the lenses or it's coating (capsule).

Cataracts occur in all animals as they age. When they form at or near birth. They are genetic or due to nutritional deficiencies in the diets that were fed. A lack of the amino acid, taurine, is one example.

Cataracts that occur in a single eye or after an accident are usually the result of injury to the eye.

The most common form of cataract is the type that occurs in older animals. These are called senile cataracts.

Senile cataracts almost always occur in both eyes simultaneously. Once they are pronounced, the pet’s eyes are often dilated (enlarged) because not enough light passes through to the retina. Instinctively dialating their eyes improves their vision in the house a bit. But bright sunshine can irritate them.

Cats tend to develop cataracts at an older age than dogs. Some breeds of dogs develop cataracts earlier than others. Afghans, Cockers, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden retrievers, Labradors, Schnauzers, Old English Sheepdogs, Huskies Poodles, Westies and Springers are among these breeds that have them first.

As cataracts mature, they may develop crystalline cracks that look like the cracks in a marble that has been dropped.

Other causes of early-onset cataracts are diabetes, malnutrition and, as I mentioned before, injury to the eyes.

What Should I Do For My Pet?

There are two factors in your pet’s favor. The first is that cataracts tend to look much worse than they really are. If a veterinarian uses his/her ophthalmoscope and can see the retina well - then the dog or cat can see out equally as well.

The second factor is that both dogs and cats use their noses more than their eyes for recognition of objects. If you notices two male or female dogs approach each other, the first thing they do is to sniff each other’s tail area to tell what sex each is. That is, unlike us, just observing the other individual is not enough. So both dogs and cats can go on living perfectly health and happy lives despite having the blurred vision of cataracts.

Cataracts can be removed surgically by a veterinary ophalmologist. I have never recommended this because I have never seen a pet whose quality of life was affected by cataracts.

A good way to slow the development and progression of cataracts is to supplement your pet’s diet with anti-oxidants. Vitamin E (d-alpha tocopherol acetate) and vitamin C (ascorbic acid) are easily purchased and do not taste bad to your pet. They can be dripped and crushed on its regular food. . Both these anti-oxidants seem to slow the progression of age-related changes such as cataracts in animals and people.

Another thing that slows the formation of cataracts is limitting your pet's exposure to bright sun. Time your walks to the early morning and late afternoon or evening and be sure your yard has shaded area if your pet spends much time there.

Feeding a balanced diet and taking care of other pet health problems might also slow this common problem that all pet owners face.