Can cataracts in my 15-year-old cat be treated with surgery?

Unfortunately there are no such drops effective for treating cataracts. Surgery is the only option to remove those cloudy spots. Differentials for cataracts are nuclear sclerosis and vitreal degeneration as well. A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and discuss appropriate treatment. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

I'm sorry to hear that Cami is having this problem. Unfortunately, the only treatment option for cataracts is surgery - so if this isn't an option for you due to cost, then there's really nothing you can do to make them go away. But, cataracts should not cause any drainage or watering of the eyes, so I would be concerned that Cami has some other eye problem causing this - possibly an eye infection, or allergies. These can often be treated with prescription eye drops from your veterinarian, so I would recommend taking her in for an eye exam to discuss what can be done to make her more comfortable.

I'm sorry that Pluto has cataracts! Unfortunately, there is no medication or eye drop that will do anything to help with this. The only effective treatment for cataracts is surgery to remove the affected lens, and replace it with an artificial lens - the same surgery that is done for humans with cataracts. If you're interested in this as a possibility for Pluto, I would recommend requesting referral to an ophthalmologist. He/she can give you a better idea of whether he would be good candidate for surgery or not, and can also discuss expected costs if you wish.

It is hard to evaluate eyes based on a photo. If your vet has told you your dog has cataracts, whether or not surgery is an option depends on a few factors. These include your pets overall health (a physical exam and bloodwork can help determine this), whether or not your pet will tolerate the aftercare (including frequent eye drops at first), and if your dog can still be visual once the cataract is removed (you may need to see an ophthalmologist for special testing to determine this). I would start with a general wellness exam and blood screening at your vet. If all looks good the next step would be a consultation with an ophthalmologist. More info can be found at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=659

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Unfortunately there is no treatment for cataracts other than cataract surgery to remove the diseased lens, and this costs thousands of dollars (around $7000 for both eyes). There are eye drops that you can try called Ocluvet, but there has been little research on these drops to suggest they actually "dissolve" the cataracts. For the hip arthritis, I would recommend the following below. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. 1. Dasuquin joint supplement for dogs 2. Adequan injections from your veterinarian 3. Anti-inflammatory medication such as Rimadyl or Galliprant 4. Cold laser therapy 5. Welactin omega 3 fish oil

Currently there are no eye medications that can effectively correct a cataract, the only option to have it cleared is surgery. As you mentioned, some dogs are not good candidates for eye surgery and so they need to be medically managed, which is what you are currently doing. The flurbiprofen is an anti inflammatory and the neomycin is an antibiotic to help prevent infection. Helen may need to be on these medications for the rest of her life. It is also important to have her eye pressure checked at least every 6 months because cataracts can lead to glaucoma (swelling/increased pressure in the eye that can be very painful). Congratulations on your new addition. Best of luck!

Unfortunately, no - cats can't wear glasses or contact lenses the way that humans do, because the causes of vision loss in cats is not the same as a human who might be near-sighted or far-sighted. In most cases, vision loss in an older kitty would be caused by either cataracts or retinal degeneration - cataracts can be fixed with surgery, but there is no treatment or cure for retinal degeneration. I would recommend having your cat examined by a vet when you are able to, so that he/she can determine the cause of her vision loss and advise you on whether any treatment would be possible.