Fasb's Owner
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Over the weekend, we were told Fasb is developing cataracts.
He’s been having a little trouble with night vision since last fall (summer?). Not a huge issue, but we noticed he had some trouble on steps after dark. Most of the time he did fine, but sometimes he seemed to pick his way down steps slowly. Didn’t really stop him from going up or down steps, or affect him otherwise, so we weren’t too concerned. We asked our vet about it, and he dismissed it and suggested we try a nightlight. He didn’t appear to be concerned.
Things seem fine if we turn on a light or nightlight after dusk. Really haven’t noticed any issues or odd behavior except when he tries steps. Hasn’t gotten any worse.
We’ve mentioned it to the vet a couple times since. He’s never seemed particularly concerned. This weekend, my wife mentioned the nightlight in passing and the vet looked at Fasb’s eyes and told her he was developing cataracts. Examining his eyes closely ourselves, we’re not sure if we’re seeing anything out of the ordinary. Sometimes we think we see a bit of hazinesss, usually not. If there is a cataract, it’s not something we’d notice if we weren’t looking for it. We’ve seen cataracts in dogs before and the issue is usually quite noticeable. Fasb’s eyes look normal to us compared to other dogs. I'm guessing this means the cataract is immature?
I’m assuming the diagnosis is correct, but I’m going to get a second opinion anyway. For one thing, our vet was no help in explaining things to my wife or answering her questions. I’m hoping I can get a different vet to answer questions for us. The nearest vet ophthalmologist is about two hours away.
I’m kinda wondering how others experiences with cataracts/declining vision have gone? I feel like Fasb’s still seeing fairly well right now, though it’s hard to tell how much is just him compensating and not letting on that there’s a problem. This isn’t a small decision for us. It’d be a major expense right now, though that’s not a big issue if we’re think it’s the right thing to do for Fasb. Our main concern, right now, is the trauma for him. Fasb’s never traveled well, and, at his age (13), it’s hard to make the 10 minute drive to the groomer without him stressing out. My wife’s first comment was that it’d be traumatic to transport him to one of the ophthalmologists the vet recommended. The nearest one is 2 hrs. away. The center the vet prefers is 3 to 4 hours away.
I feel like we need more information before we go forward. I’d like to get his eyes checked by an ophthalmologist so we have more information and a more certain diagnosis before we commit to a long road trip, but that doesn’t seem like it will be possible. I’m going to take him to another local vet for a second opinion and hope that he can/will answer questions better than our regular vet, but Fasb probably needs a specialist to get a certain diagnosis.
We’re wondering if we should wait until he shows more signs of difficulty before we consider surgery, but we don’t want him to suffer. I dunno. Are we horrible “parents” if we’re not on the phone scheduling surgery tomorrow (today’s a holiday?) Do people simply not get the surgery done? We see dogs around with obvious severe cataracts so I assume they haven’t gotten surgery. I expect the vet’s diagnosis will be proven out, but I wish I could see for myself a cataract. We feel like he either still sees well, or is doing an exceptional job compensating. The vet just assumed we would want a referral to one of the eye centers this week (according to him, they won’t see us unless Fasb’s been seen and referred by his local vet).
I’ve just kinda venting here. Opinions are welcome. I have misgivings about committing to a road trip and fairly major surgery unless we’re sure of the circumstances and understand what we’re getting into, but I also don’t want to withhold a treatment that would improve Fasb’s quality of life. In researching the issue, I read that cataracts in elderly dogs with no other contributing issues (like diabetes) are usually small enough that they don’t require surgery. Since we can’t tell what we’re looking at, if anything, we wonder if that could be the case.
Mostly, I worry about Fasb, although he seems normal at the moment, so we’re not sure how much his quality of life is actually being affected.
Not sure how to proceed. I don’t think we ever really expected to have to deal with the prospect of him going blind.
Anyway, thanks. Any opinions or similar experiences would be appreciated.
He’s been having a little trouble with night vision since last fall (summer?). Not a huge issue, but we noticed he had some trouble on steps after dark. Most of the time he did fine, but sometimes he seemed to pick his way down steps slowly. Didn’t really stop him from going up or down steps, or affect him otherwise, so we weren’t too concerned. We asked our vet about it, and he dismissed it and suggested we try a nightlight. He didn’t appear to be concerned.
Things seem fine if we turn on a light or nightlight after dusk. Really haven’t noticed any issues or odd behavior except when he tries steps. Hasn’t gotten any worse.
We’ve mentioned it to the vet a couple times since. He’s never seemed particularly concerned. This weekend, my wife mentioned the nightlight in passing and the vet looked at Fasb’s eyes and told her he was developing cataracts. Examining his eyes closely ourselves, we’re not sure if we’re seeing anything out of the ordinary. Sometimes we think we see a bit of hazinesss, usually not. If there is a cataract, it’s not something we’d notice if we weren’t looking for it. We’ve seen cataracts in dogs before and the issue is usually quite noticeable. Fasb’s eyes look normal to us compared to other dogs. I'm guessing this means the cataract is immature?
I’m assuming the diagnosis is correct, but I’m going to get a second opinion anyway. For one thing, our vet was no help in explaining things to my wife or answering her questions. I’m hoping I can get a different vet to answer questions for us. The nearest vet ophthalmologist is about two hours away.
I’m kinda wondering how others experiences with cataracts/declining vision have gone? I feel like Fasb’s still seeing fairly well right now, though it’s hard to tell how much is just him compensating and not letting on that there’s a problem. This isn’t a small decision for us. It’d be a major expense right now, though that’s not a big issue if we’re think it’s the right thing to do for Fasb. Our main concern, right now, is the trauma for him. Fasb’s never traveled well, and, at his age (13), it’s hard to make the 10 minute drive to the groomer without him stressing out. My wife’s first comment was that it’d be traumatic to transport him to one of the ophthalmologists the vet recommended. The nearest one is 2 hrs. away. The center the vet prefers is 3 to 4 hours away.
I feel like we need more information before we go forward. I’d like to get his eyes checked by an ophthalmologist so we have more information and a more certain diagnosis before we commit to a long road trip, but that doesn’t seem like it will be possible. I’m going to take him to another local vet for a second opinion and hope that he can/will answer questions better than our regular vet, but Fasb probably needs a specialist to get a certain diagnosis.
We’re wondering if we should wait until he shows more signs of difficulty before we consider surgery, but we don’t want him to suffer. I dunno. Are we horrible “parents” if we’re not on the phone scheduling surgery tomorrow (today’s a holiday?) Do people simply not get the surgery done? We see dogs around with obvious severe cataracts so I assume they haven’t gotten surgery. I expect the vet’s diagnosis will be proven out, but I wish I could see for myself a cataract. We feel like he either still sees well, or is doing an exceptional job compensating. The vet just assumed we would want a referral to one of the eye centers this week (according to him, they won’t see us unless Fasb’s been seen and referred by his local vet).
I’ve just kinda venting here. Opinions are welcome. I have misgivings about committing to a road trip and fairly major surgery unless we’re sure of the circumstances and understand what we’re getting into, but I also don’t want to withhold a treatment that would improve Fasb’s quality of life. In researching the issue, I read that cataracts in elderly dogs with no other contributing issues (like diabetes) are usually small enough that they don’t require surgery. Since we can’t tell what we’re looking at, if anything, we wonder if that could be the case.
Mostly, I worry about Fasb, although he seems normal at the moment, so we’re not sure how much his quality of life is actually being affected.
Not sure how to proceed. I don’t think we ever really expected to have to deal with the prospect of him going blind.
Anyway, thanks. Any opinions or similar experiences would be appreciated.
