Thanks Firefox thats really interesting, so the small eyes can be caused by flu type bugs? is that how you read that too? if its rare in cats but not in kittens do you think that may mean they can catch up in size? i think his sights gone forever but if the eye were to grow a little it would make the third eyelid more comfortable
Amanda, im in nottinghamshire
I read it simply as the condition is rare and thus has not been studied properly - the word hypothesized speaks volumes - which would fit in with your vets giving you conflicting information.
One reference saying it's rare in cats and another saying not in kittens could mean opinions vary, or could mean many kittens are PTS - I would think this is more likely in a pedigree breeding programme?
If you could get access to the rest of that letter and the references that might be enlightening, the references could be a few lines in a textbook or could be published research papers.
If the kitten is sightless in that eye could the vet stitch the eyelid closed? I understand that is what is done in certain eye conditions in order to prevent infection in the socket, keep the animal comfortable and reduce workload for volunteers and adopters (e.g. administering artificial tears). If I were considering adopting I'd want to know what the risks of infection are and how much an operation may cost, bearing in mind this is not an insurable condition.
I think what you are getting at is that this eye condition might be arrested development, rather than halted development or erroneous development? My gut instinct is this eye won't ever catch up as that would mean it would have to grow at a faster rate than the other eye, when both eyes should be subject to the same hormonal signals. Plus 'defects' that occur in the womb don't generally spontaneously resolve whatever the cause, as the genes that control certain aspects of development switch off once the embryo is (or should be) fully formed.
