Moon's Graden

My 15 year old Guru (male cat) just had radioactive iodine treatment
for his thyroid problem. Other than the usual symptoms (hyperactivity,
loss of weight) he was quite OK before the treatment. He continued to
be OK and even gained some weight after it (6 weeks ago).

Last week he became blind. This seemed to be very sudden, over the
course of 3-4 days. It breaks our heart to see him bump into walls and
feel his way with great hesitation around corners. We have to call him
in each direction, so he can find his food and litter box. Before, he
was very active - now he just hides in one place and moves only when
hungry or to the litter box.

The vet tells us his high *** pressure (240, should be < 200)
probably ruptured *** vessels in his retina, causing his blindness.
His pupils are dilated to the max all the time, since the brain
receives no light from the eyes (vet's explanation again). He hopes
some vision MAY be restored by reducing his *** pressure, but he
wouldn't count on it.

Here's the question: we're tormented by the thought that we actually
caused this. Right after the iodine treatment, he had to receive
saline infusions, 200 ml every other day, a total of 10 infusions. We
had the IV kit and gave him the infusions, apparently to help his
kidneys flush better. Is it possible that the saline increased his
*** pressure to this level ? Is it possible that we administered it
wrong, causing his *** pressure to go this high ? We did it like the
vet showed us, sticking the needle under his skin, between his
shoulders. He was never happy about the process, but didn't
seem to suffer too much from it.

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated - especially if you had a
similar experience with your cat.

GS

Sorry, I cannot offer any help for your blind cat but perhaps some comfort
for you:
In another newsgroup I read several postings on blind cats and they   a l l
say that
after a while cats get used to their blindness and will find their places
within a limited
environment, and they do   n o t   suffer as we perhaps think they do. In
any case you
should (if this is not already the case) keep your Guru indoors from now on.

Regina

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"The greatness of a nation and its m***progress
can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
(Mahatma Gandhi)
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