My brown bengal Attie is about 2 years old now (!!!!) and a few months ago I asked to be put on the waiting list for a snow bengal with the same breeder. A few days ago I got an email from her, saying that someone had backed out on a kitten who is ready to go home now and asked if I was still interested. The catch is that the kitten was found to have "stellate juvenile cataracts", but that are (according to her/her vets) not progressive and do not affect vision.

Anyone here have experience with cataracts of this type? He's an adorable seal mink boy, and I have been considering getting a friend for Attie for a while now, so the timing is pretty ideal. But I'm hesitant with the cataracts, knowingly adopting a kitten that is less than 100% healthy. Thoughts?

No one can guarantee that the cataracts are not progressive. In humans, they do get increasingly larger and affect the vision and I think that, over the cat's life, the same thing will happen. We are talking about a kitten who could live up to 15 years. Surgery can be an option, even in cats, although it is very expensive and there are no guarantees. A cat can eventually go blind if the cataracts progress.

If you have any doubts, I would advise against taking this kitten. This little one certainly could use a wonderful home and lots of love. And with annual exams, your vet would be able to monitor the cataracts. It's great that the breeder has been upfront about all of this and this could be the reason the previous owners backed out. If you can visit the breeder and see the kitten and then decide if the move is right for you.

I would consult your own vet to get an outside opinion on what it is and what future issues/complications may be.

One of mine has vision issues and is deaf. He is a happy guy and loves us and the other cats, I wouldn't hesitate to take in a cat like him if we were looking for another.

That being said, I wouldn't pay full price for a purebred with that sort of issue. I would also go into it knowing that there may be other health issues down the line.

Personally I would stay away.... I'm assuming that this will not be covered on pet insurance and any treatment will be extremely expensive. Has the kitten seen a vet that specialises in ophthalmology for this diagnosis? I would insist they were before I even considered this as a normal vet will not have the necessary qualifications to diagnose properly.

I breed Tonkinese and had a girl in my last litter that was cross eyed. I took her to the vet at 13 weeks as her eyes looked more crossed, I wanted them to give me an idea she was ok before she went to her new home at 14 weeks. She was referred to a feline ophthalmologist specialist vet. He determined she had congenital cataracts and was almost blind. The only option was surgery. She had the surgery at 6 months old and recovered fine. She has permanent vision problems because her eyes were to small to put artificial lenses in so she finds it hard to focus on things close up. As a consequence of the cataracts she has daily eye drops to make sure there is no inflammation in her eyes as she is prone to glaucoma as a result of having congenital cataracts. She is now 12 months old and just had to have surgery again to correct her bottom eyelids from turning inwards. She lives with me still and always will.... No way I could re home her now. I did consider it for a while but I would at have asked for any money for her, it was more important to me that she had a loving home where they would keep up vet visits and eye treatment.... As it goes I couldn't do it as she is such a special girl who has stolen my heart.

I'm lucky. I had breeder insurance on my girls which covers kittens... Therefore all of her treatment has been covered by insurance. So far I have claimed £7000 in 10 months!

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Lollo

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Lollo

Lollo, great advice from your own experience with this. I remember when Dolly was born and you posted all those great pictures of her. She's such a beautiful kitty. We haven't heard back from the poster as to whether they plan to take this kitty, but you have raised some interesting issues, namely that drops may be needed for the rest of the cat's life -- even if you don't do the surgery. It's wonderful that vets are starting to specialize and I did not realize ophthalmology was one of them. I hope this little kitty finds a great home.