=^.o^=
July 12, 2011 7:05 PM Subscribe
Following her final set of kitten vaccinations today, Olivia the Maine Coon has pupils that are not dilating at the same rate. Any ideas?
Vaccinations given were for feline leukemia and rabies, as well as something to help with any fever/lethargy those might cause. I noticed the pupil disparity shortly after leaving the vet, but only intermittently. As she otherwise felt fine, eating, drinking, purring and playing, I just watched and waited a bit, but then called the vet when it did not resolve in an hour. They said to bring her in. They observed for several hours, said all seemed fine, and I picked her back up.
Now it is almost 12 hours later, and the condition remains. Every so often, the left pupil is quite noticeably larger than the right. This is not constant, and I have been unable to get the scamp to pose for a picture at the same time this is happening.
So, no fever, no gait problems, no breathing problems, no apparent pain, behavior normal. It is consternating, but not an emergency, I don't think. I know you are not my vet (who, by the way is terrific and would see Olivia again tonight if I felt it was necessary), but have you heard of something similar? The internets are not forthcoming.
Vaccinations given were for feline leukemia and rabies, as well as something to help with any fever/lethargy those might cause. I noticed the pupil disparity shortly after leaving the vet, but only intermittently. As she otherwise felt fine, eating, drinking, purring and playing, I just watched and waited a bit, but then called the vet when it did not resolve in an hour. They said to bring her in. They observed for several hours, said all seemed fine, and I picked her back up.
Now it is almost 12 hours later, and the condition remains. Every so often, the left pupil is quite noticeably larger than the right. This is not constant, and I have been unable to get the scamp to pose for a picture at the same time this is happening.
So, no fever, no gait problems, no breathing problems, no apparent pain, behavior normal. It is consternating, but not an emergency, I don't think. I know you are not my vet (who, by the way is terrific and would see Olivia again tonight if I felt it was necessary), but have you heard of something similar? The internets are not forthcoming.
I dunno...if it were me, and I'm not an alarmist, I'd call again in the morning if it persists. I don't think that's too much.
(cute kitten)
posted by FlyByDay at 7:34 PM on July 12, 2011
(cute kitten)
posted by FlyByDay at 7:34 PM on July 12, 2011
I looked up pupils dilating in cats (by the way, Unequal pupil size is called anisocoria), and there's, like, 54 reasons this could be happening.
Seriously, 54. And some of them are scary.
And since your kitty has no fever, is eating well, behaves normally and the vet doesn't seem worried, and since Maine Coons are the best kitties in the world*, rather than going through the 54 possible reasons and worrying yourself to death, I'd say wait until at least a full day has gone by, as Tomorrowful says (eponyanswerable!), because it might not even be a thing.
Tomorrow, if you are still worried, or your cat has other problems, you can take her back to your vet.
Or, if you must, you can click on this link for the 54 possibilities.
*Yes, I'm biased.
posted by misha at 7:43 PM on July 12, 2011
Seriously, 54. And some of them are scary.
And since your kitty has no fever, is eating well, behaves normally and the vet doesn't seem worried, and since Maine Coons are the best kitties in the world*, rather than going through the 54 possible reasons and worrying yourself to death, I'd say wait until at least a full day has gone by, as Tomorrowful says (eponyanswerable!), because it might not even be a thing.
Tomorrow, if you are still worried, or your cat has other problems, you can take her back to your vet.
Or, if you must, you can click on this link for the 54 possibilities.
*Yes, I'm biased.
posted by misha at 7:43 PM on July 12, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks, Misha. I had gotten to that page, and quit reading it at about reason 3, yikes!
posted by thebrokedown at 7:53 PM on July 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by thebrokedown at 7:53 PM on July 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Maybe she bonked her head on something. When we adopted our Finnegan, the shelter folks were mildly concerned because one of his pupils was dilated, and they thought he'd managed to hit his head on the side of his cage. (He could be a real little moron. But he was our little moron.) It went away in a day or so, and he enjoyed thirteen happy, healthy years with us.
Your Olivia is a beautiful kitty. Call the vet tomorrow if you're concerned, but I'm guessing that if she's otherwise OK, it's a minor thing that will pass.
posted by tully_monster at 9:50 PM on July 12, 2011
Your Olivia is a beautiful kitty. Call the vet tomorrow if you're concerned, but I'm guessing that if she's otherwise OK, it's a minor thing that will pass.
posted by tully_monster at 9:50 PM on July 12, 2011
Well, in the photo you linked to (which has a date of June 4), it actually looks to me like her left pupil was slightly larger than the right even then. Could be the angle of the picture, but still. Echoing what others have said, I would agree that if her behavior hasn't changed it's probably not going to end up being a big deal.
(I actually noticed when I was around 16 years old that my pupils were not exactly the same size all the time and briefly freaked out about possible "brain damage of unknown origin", but I'm twice that age now and still very much alive and well.)
Honestly I think the propensity for medical TV shows, etc., to ALWAYS associate odd-sized pupils with OMG HORRIBLE SCARY THING might be coming into play here -- in real life bodies (whether human or nonhuman) aren't generally perfectly symmetrical, and the kind of thing you're describing (given your adorable kitten seems to lack signs of anything being seriously amiss) sounds like it may just fall within the normal variation range for cats. Of course keep an eye on her (ha), but still, I would bet a pound of catnip that she's fine.
posted by aecorwin at 12:16 PM on July 13, 2011
(I actually noticed when I was around 16 years old that my pupils were not exactly the same size all the time and briefly freaked out about possible "brain damage of unknown origin", but I'm twice that age now and still very much alive and well.)
Honestly I think the propensity for medical TV shows, etc., to ALWAYS associate odd-sized pupils with OMG HORRIBLE SCARY THING might be coming into play here -- in real life bodies (whether human or nonhuman) aren't generally perfectly symmetrical, and the kind of thing you're describing (given your adorable kitten seems to lack signs of anything being seriously amiss) sounds like it may just fall within the normal variation range for cats. Of course keep an eye on her (ha), but still, I would bet a pound of catnip that she's fine.
posted by aecorwin at 12:16 PM on July 13, 2011
Response by poster: Follow up, for anyone that finds this question later:
I now think that Olivia's issue was not directly related to the vaccines, but that I noticed it right then because I was paying extra-close attention to her, and we were in bright sunshine (she normally is in the house).
The "problem" continues, and on occasion is rather striking, but I think that the pupils are not the same size pretty much on a regular basis. For right now, I am just saying "One of those things." Otherwise, she is doing great.
Thanks for the answers, and I will update again if it turns out that there is an actual cause discovered down the line.
posted by thebrokedown at 1:05 PM on August 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
I now think that Olivia's issue was not directly related to the vaccines, but that I noticed it right then because I was paying extra-close attention to her, and we were in bright sunshine (she normally is in the house).
The "problem" continues, and on occasion is rather striking, but I think that the pupils are not the same size pretty much on a regular basis. For right now, I am just saying "One of those things." Otherwise, she is doing great.
Thanks for the answers, and I will update again if it turns out that there is an actual cause discovered down the line.
posted by thebrokedown at 1:05 PM on August 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Oh my god those paws are so big lookit the paws she's gonna be soooo big isn't she isn't she pawsies!
posted by Tomorrowful at 7:09 PM on July 12, 2011 [5 favorites]