Dear Dr. John,

I am a senior citizen living with a senior cat who is almost 15. I was ill at the end of last year and I had someone care for my cat while I got better and eventually returned home. While I was apart from my cat, the kind person who cared for him had him get an annual checkup and vaccines. I was told that he was developing cataracts. My cat does not seem to be blind at this time and still gets around my small apartment. The eyes also do not appear cloudy but then again, my vision isn’t too good either. How can I tell if he needs to have the cataracts addressed and what is the treatment? Is this usually in one eye or both and how quickly do they progress? Is this common and what causes cataracts in cats? I want my cat to be comfortable and not in any kind of discomfort or pain. Thanks! C.A.

Dear C.A.,

Cataracts in cats are uncommon especially when compared to dogs and people. The causes in cats for development of cataracts are not always clear and include genetics, various metabolic causes, inflammation of the eye, and nutrition in young cats.

As you suggest, cloudy and hazy eyes are what one looks for with cataracts, but this can be caused by other things as well. Additionally, cats going blind with cataracts or other reasons often bump into lots of things but actually learn to manage quite well indoors. Incipient cataracts only affect a small amount of the lens and can progress to a fully mature cataract with complete lens opacity. Your veterinarian can assess if the cataract(s) need to be addressed depending on if it is one eye or both. This would be dependent on the cause.

Progression time varies from one animal to the next. The good news is that cataracts are not painful. There is no specific medication that can be given to rid the cataracts or slow their development, but anti-inflammatory eye ointments or drops might be used if called for. The only specific treatment is surgery to replace the lens with an implant and it can get rather expensive. If suggested by your veterinarian, you might need to seek a veterinary ophthalmologist to do the surgery. Just know that your cat is probably comfortable now and doesn’t know one way or the other.

Dr. John de Jong owns and operates the Boston Mobile Veterinary Clinic.He can be reached at 781-899-9994.