My cat got spayed and is now blind

My cat Muppet got spayed on Monday and after the surgery she was acting a little weird but we chalked it up to the drugs used. Come Tuesday morning she could not walk on the tile floor and when put on the carpet flooring she kept walking into things and falling over. We took her to the vet tuesday morning and the vet informed us Tuesday afternoon that Muppet is now blind and then this morning she had a seizure. Could the anesthesia have caused this?

  • Vetinfo

    By: Erika Raines El Segundo, CA

    Replied on 04/19/2011

    It is likely that the anesthetic drugs caused these problems. Ketamine is a common drug regularly used in anesthesia for cats. Generally it causes few serious side effects when used properly, but the occasional individual will have serious side effects even when the drug is used properly by your veterinarian. Ketamine can cause seizures in some animals and, though it is not listed as a side effect on the drug information, there are reports of it causing both temporary and permanent blindness after anesthetic recovery. Be sure to follow your veterinarian's advice for follow-up nursing care to minimize any further problems. Your cat's vision may or may not return in time. Most blind cats will adapt very well and be able to live mostly normal, happy and healthy lives with this issue.

    Be sure to let any veterinarians know in the future that your cat has had serious reactions to anesthesia in the past so that they can select different drugs and lower drug dosages the next time anesthesia is needed.

     

    Erika, DVM

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