Benny visits the eye specialist

You might remember that Benny regularly sees an animal eye specialist. He has cataracts in both eyes (perhaps born with them, the doc isn't sure). The one in the left eye is very tiny and hasn't changed much. The one in the right eye, over the years, matured and re-absorbed back into the eye, taking the lens with it. He has a little sight in that eye, but with no lens, is unable to focus, especially close up.

He's also developed glaucoma in the right eye, and has brown pigmentation that may or may not lead to cancer. It's all very unusual for a cat, we're told. Thankfully, things have stabilized in the past few years. I took my camera along to take a few shots of what happens an an exam.

Here's the building. It's a pretty small place. In all the years we've gone, I've seen a cat only one time. Mostly, I see dogs. The doctors also visit the nearby zoo animals. We are fortunate in that it's about 20 minutes away from home.

At each exam, a technician holds him while the doctor does a number of tests. After looking at these photos, it appears that Benny is distressed. He really is not. They hardly need to even hold him. He's a great patient and doesn't fuss or pull away.

The doc checks the vision in both eyes by swinging her hand toward his eye and checking for a reaction.

The doc also takes a close look in and around the eyeballs. Some of these tests involve turning the lights out, and I didn't take any photos during that.

They sometimes stain his eyes and check the corneas for abrasions. They did this during this visit, but I didn't take any photos. The dye they use must be bitter tasting--Benny really dislikes it, and I didn't want to stress him out.

Good news: Everything is looking great and remains stable. In fact, instead of going every 6 months, we're going to try for 8-9 months instead (unless we notice anything unusual).

Benny is such a good cat. Within an hour, he was already in my lap. Good job, Benny-kitty. We love you.