Ragdoll eyes turned green

Question
Hi,I brought Cody from a breeder at 8 weeks, I took him to the vet for a checkup and his vaccination up until then he was a happy hungry kitten. A week later he started loosing weight sleeping all the time, not eating much at all. Took him to the vet he also agreed he was not well and gave him a shot of antibiotics.The next night I was back at the vets as his eyes turned green and it seemed he trouble with his vision. The vet gave him a needle for antiflamatory, he eyes are alittle better but his pupils are always quite large his eyes are still more green than blue. Any ideas? Kind Regards Pauline

Answer
Pauline,

I'm glad you got the kitten to a vet, as there is definitely something going on.  It's interesting that the kitten's eyes have turned colors.  Kittens eyes can naturally change colors as they get older, and it can occur before 10 wks of age, but the fact that you've noticed his pupils are dilated concerns me.  You didn't mention what type of cat he is.  I'm assuming since you got him from a breeder, he's a purebreed of some sort.  Indeed, some purebreeds are predisposed to certain health problems, and I wonder if whatever breed you have is one of those breeds.  Most reputable breeders will test either the kittens or the parents for known hereditary conditions, so that they don't breed cats with the gene that will result in sick kittens, or kittens that die prematurely.  Also, most reputable breeders, (who are genuinely concerned about bettering the breed, and who breed for health first and foremost before anything else), will take a kitten back within a certain period of time if your vet discovers any health problem.  For instance, I've gotten some kittens in the past, and they've all offered a 1 yr health guarantee, meaning if I, or my vet, found any serious health problems within that year, I could return the kitten if I wanted, or the breeder would help out in other ways.  The 1 yr health guarantee is unusual, I'll admit, but MOST reputable breeders will offer at least a 1 month guarantee, which is better than nothing.  So, I would highly encourage you to look at the paperwork you filled out and see what recourse you have.  Better yet, contact the vet to see if she's had any health problems like what you're describing in any of her breeder cats or other kittens--or has anyone that's purchased a kitten from her contacted her to tell her about a similar problem?  

Now to find out what's going on.  Whenver I hear eyes mentioned, I think detached retina.  Have you noticed if your kitten's eyes constrict in bright light, meaning, do they get smaller?  Or are they dilated (large) all the time?  If they're dilated all the time, then your vet really needs to start doing some testing for hyperthyroidism, diabetes, renal problems, cardiac problems.  All of these can cause the blood pressure to increase, and without treatment, the BP will remain elevated, and possibly continue to get higher and higher, which can cause retinal detachment.  

In retinal detachmnet, the pupils will remain dilated and will never constrict, and since retinal detachment causes blindness, you will notice that your kitten may be running into objects, or not being able to find things.  Now, it's possible that your kitten has increased BP, but no retinal detachment, so can see fine, but with no treatment for elevated BP, that can be very dangerous, and can eventually lead to retinal detachment or permanent blindness.  So, while your kitten may be able to see just fine now, he may not a wk from now if his BP is not treated (if that is what is causing some or all of this).  Therefore, I highly encourage you to suggest to your vet that he check his BP, and run a lot of bloodwork that would include a CBC, chem 27, T3, T4, and TSH, and phos just to name a few.  The sleeping a lot and wgt loss can also be signs of renal disease, thyroid, or cardiac disease.  

If your vet is not well educated (meaning he doesn't have a lot of expertise) in renal, cardiac, and thyroid issues, then I would ask him for a referral to an IM (internal medicine) specialist, and possibly, depending on what an IM vet finds, referral to the appropriate specialist.  Most general vets do not have the knowledge or expertise to treat these specialty conditions in an ongoing fashion, much like human docs.  You wouldn't see your PCP (primary care provider) if you had a broken leg--you'd go to an orthopedic specialist who would treat you for that problem.  And your PCP wouldn't want to treat you for your broken leg, because he/she doesn't have the expertise to safely and appropriately care for you--it's beyond their scope of practice.  It's no different for vets, and they practice the same way.  So, while the initial visits are to your general vet, if your vet is finding indications of renal, cardiac, and/or thyroid, or endocrine (diabetes) issues, he/she should be referring you to a specialist for appropriate care and workup.  

All of the diseases I mentioned above can be difficult to treat.  They involve a dedicated doc, who's willing to do the diagnostic testing and workup for the kitten.  While bloodwork should be enough to paint a picture of what's going on, other diagnostic testing may be needed to confirm a dx (like x-rays or ultrasound).  But typically, bloodwork is all that's needed.  However, once the vet has an answer from the labwork, then a decision needs to be made on how best to treat your cat, as there are some options.  Most important for you to know, though, is that renal, thyroid, endocrine, and cardiac diseases all require a lifelong commitment on your part to keep the illness under control, and this is usually done with meds.  

I certainly hope that your kitten gets better, and maybe it's nothing at all--maybe it's just a fluke, and all he's got is an URI (upper respiratory infection) that's causing him to have some unusual symptoms.  In a kitten that young, it's very possible that something so common (URI) can cause a kitten to present with unusual symptoms.  However, until you know for sure what's going on, I would err on the side of caution and get the kitten worked up and start ruling things out.  But with the symptoms you describe, I would certainly be worried about elevated BP, which is a symptom of something else.  That is why I would be concerned about diabetes, cardiac disease, renal disease, and/or thyroid disease.  All of these diseases alone can cause high blood pressure, so I think it's worth investigating all of them until you have an answer.  

In the meantime, I would contact the breeder to let her know what is going on.  If it turns out to be high blood pressure due to one of the illnesses I stated above, then she needs to know because the kitten likely got a gene that has genetically predisposed it to that condition.  The breeder will want to have all of her breeder cats tested for whatever condition your vet/specialist discovers (if any) so she can stop breeding those cats.  Additionally, she would want to have whatever kittens she has left tested for the condition or checked out, especially if testing has isolated that gene that has caused the illness to 1 particular cat, in which case she would need to notify all adopters/potential adopters of that particular litter that the kittens may have a gene that causes thyroid problems, renal problems, cardiac problems, or diabetes, and they will need to have them thoroughly checked out and tested, OR offer them to return the kitten for a refund, or exchange for another kitten from a litter not affected by the gene(s).

All that said, it's premature at this point to ask the breeder to consider doing anything until you have been given a definitive dx.  While thyroid problems or diabetes aren't only due to a defective gene, these illnesses can have genetic components, and if a mom or dad cat has a gene that causes a mutation in the thyroid or has the gene for PKD (polycystic kidney disease), or has the HCM gene (hypertrophic cardopmyopathy) etc, then there is a higher probability that offspring from those cats will develop specific health problems.  I think it's very important to get your kitten worked up with labwork, and if everything's negative, then great.  Just watch him as he gets older for any changes or difficulties he may have, and don't take anything for granted.  If he is dx'd with something once the labwork has been done, then you can suggest to the breeder that she do some testing on her breeders and existing kittens.  For now, I would simply notify the breeder that something is going on with your kitten, and you're having him worked up.  If you want your money refunded, or to exchange the kitten for another one, then you can ask her about that pending the workup.  My guess, though, is that she will not offer to do anything.  But you have a responsibility to notify her of the kitten's dx once made, so if's something that your kitten got from genes, then you can bring it to her attention and suggest that she test her breeders for this so she can stop breeding them if they have defective genes (which is what reputable breeders would do because again, they're only interested in breeding healthy kittens, and healthy kittens come from healthy breeder cats).

I wish you the best of luck with your kitten, and with any luck, he'll be fine and won't have anything major wrong with him except maybe a URI that can be treated with antibx.  Keep an eye on him, and watch for any stumbling you may notice, bumping into objects, an inability or fear to jump up or down, not coming when you call him, and other things that are odd.  Get him in bright light, and see if his pupils constrict, or get smaller immediately.  They should constrict to almost pinpoints in bright light, and it happens instantaneously--it shouldn't be a slow rxn.  If they don't constrict immediately in bright light, or don't constrict at all, then that is definitely a further reason for workup, as I would be concerned about high blood pressure or even possibly something with the brain.  

Please keep me posted and let me know what the workup shows or what your vet says.  I will be on vacation from 4/1-4/3, but you can keep me posted after then.  Good luck, and I sincerely hope your kitten turns out to be fine and it really is just a fluke that this is happening.  Again, keep me posted!

Savannah