Apollo's Eye is Changing Color?

saitenyo · 12-09-2010, 03:41 PM

At what age do kittens' eyes usually change color? Apollo has had blue eyes since we adopted him, but today I noticed his left eye is starting to look a little greenish brown. His right eye still looks bright blue. He's about 8 or 9 months old now.

Is this normal? A quick google search yielded some alarming results suggesting cancer and other eye problems, but accompanying photos didn't look like what's going on with Apollo. His eye is just barely tinted a different color. At first I thought it was just the lighting, but keep noticing it.

I can't tell if it's bothering him at all (squinting, tearing), as he's being pretty active right now and won't sit still. I'm going to try to get a better look at it once he calms down.

Should I be alarmed and call the vet? Or is this just a normal age-related color change?

Susan · 12-09-2010, 03:45 PM

A kitten's eye color normally changes at a young age (6-8 weeks). I would call the vet.

saitenyo · 12-09-2010, 03:54 PM

Thanks. I managed to get him to sit still long enough to check the white of his eye, and the left one looks slightly inflamed. I'm going to call the vet.

I really hope he's okay. This has not been a good month for me cat health wise.

Susan · 12-09-2010, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saitenyo

I really hope he's okay. This has not been a good month for me cat health wise.

No...it hasn't! I hope he's ok and/or it's something that's easily treated.

saitenyo · 12-09-2010, 05:55 PM

He's got an appointment for tomorrow morning. In the meantime I'm just trying not to stress over all the possible things it could be, and really hoping it's not something that could spread to Athena too.

Susan · 12-09-2010, 06:17 PM

Is he rubbing or pawing at his eye(s)?

saitenyo · 12-09-2010, 07:06 PM

So far no rubbing. he squints it occasionally, but he's sort of done that with one eye or another since he was a kitten, so I can't tell if it's because it's irritated or if it's just normal behavior.

It's not discharging anything either. It's just suddenly a different color, with a little redness around the white and around his eyelid possibly.

Took some photos:

Kind of hard to see in photos though, especially since he doesn't like to sit still. It's more noticeable in person since his left eye just looks so...dull. It's not bright and shimmery like the right one.

At least he seems to be acting himself. No abnormal behavior. I know I'm going to have a hard time not stressing until tomorrow morning though, even if he doesn't seem too bothered. It just seems like such an odd random thing to happen.

Muzby · 12-09-2010, 07:26 PM

Not trying to scare you, our 4 year old cat had a similar issue. She had a pretty massive stomach tumour and after getting her on pred she lasted a few more painfree weeks.

Def. get blood tests to check him out, and also a FULLY physical, and maybe some xrays. The xrays showed us the tumour, after a physical exam when the vet felt a lump in her tummy. The blood test showed her white blood cell count was high.

Here's hoping there is nothing wrong with your boy!

saitenyo · 12-09-2010, 07:33 PM

My boyfriend just got home from work. When I'd sent him the pictures and described the problem earlier, he kept insisting it was probably fine and I didn't need to worry and we should just wait and see if it gets worse.

Then as soon as he got home and looked at the eye in person he said, "Oh, wow, yeah it's vet time." Oh Eric.

Cancer/tumors are one of the things I keep reading about online with this as a symptom.

Thankfully I was able to get an appointment with my favorite vet at the office, so I'm sure she'll be very thorough. She's been very helpful and knowledgeable in the past with Athena's issues. She's definitely one of those "rule everything out just to be safe" vets rather than a dismissive one who does the bare minimum.

Heidi n Q · 12-09-2010, 10:36 PM

Late to the topic, but I am glad you're taking him to the vet. Siamese mix kitties' eyes should be a matched pair of blue colors and your pics show a definite change. He looks a little squint-y in 2 of the pics, but not squint-y enough for me to think he's in much pain, maybe just a little discomfort.
Here's to hoping your vet is able to find/fix the issue. *thoughts/prayers*

12-09-2010, 03:41 PM	#1 (permalink)
saitenyo Cat Addict Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: California Posts: 1,564	Apollo's Eye is Changing Color? At what age do kittens' eyes usually change color? Apollo has had blue eyes since we adopted him, but today I noticed his left eye is starting to look a little greenish brown. His right eye still looks bright blue. He's about 8 or 9 months old now. Is this normal? A quick google search yielded some alarming results suggesting cancer and other eye problems, but accompanying photos didn't look like what's going on with Apollo. His eye is just barely tinted a different color. At first I thought it was just the lighting, but keep noticing it. I can't tell if it's bothering him at all (squinting, tearing), as he's being pretty active right now and won't sit still. I'm going to try to get a better look at it once he calms down. Should I be alarmed and call the vet? Or is this just a normal age-related color change?

12-09-2010, 03:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
Susan Premier Cat Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,632	A kitten's eye color normally changes at a young age (6-8 weeks). I would call the vet. __________________ Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.

12-09-2010, 06:17 PM	#6 (permalink)
Susan Premier Cat Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,632	Is he rubbing or pawing at his eye(s)? __________________ Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.

12-09-2010, 07:26 PM	#8 (permalink)
Muzby Senior Cat Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 840	Not trying to scare you, our 4 year old cat had a similar issue. She had a pretty massive stomach tumour and after getting her on pred she lasted a few more painfree weeks. Def. get blood tests to check him out, and also a FULLY physical, and maybe some xrays. The xrays showed us the tumour, after a physical exam when the vet felt a lump in her tummy. The blood test showed her white blood cell count was high. Here's hoping there is nothing wrong with your boy! __________________ Kelly

12-09-2010, 10:36 PM	#10 (permalink)
Heidi n Q Premier Cat Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Monroe, GA Posts: 17,088	Late to the topic, but I am glad you're taking him to the vet. Siamese mix kitties' eyes should be a matched pair of blue colors and your pics show a definite change. He looks a little squint-y in 2 of the pics, but not squint-y enough for me to think he's in much pain, maybe just a little discomfort. Here's to hoping your vet is able to find/fix the issue. thoughts/prayers __________________ Spay it forward. (neuter, too!) I have the ability of single-minded determination and focu... Hey look, a cat! =^..^=

12-09-2010, 03:54 PM	#3 (permalink)
saitenyo Cat Addict Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: California Posts: 1,564	Thanks. I managed to get him to sit still long enough to check the white of his eye, and the left one looks slightly inflamed. I'm going to call the vet. I really hope he's okay. This has not been a good month for me cat health wise.

12-09-2010, 05:55 PM	#5 (permalink)
saitenyo Cat Addict Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: California Posts: 1,564	He's got an appointment for tomorrow morning. In the meantime I'm just trying not to stress over all the possible things it could be, and really hoping it's not something that could spread to Athena too.

12-09-2010, 07:06 PM	#7 (permalink)
saitenyo Cat Addict Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: California Posts: 1,564	So far no rubbing. he squints it occasionally, but he's sort of done that with one eye or another since he was a kitten, so I can't tell if it's because it's irritated or if it's just normal behavior. It's not discharging anything either. It's just suddenly a different color, with a little redness around the white and around his eyelid possibly. Took some photos: Kind of hard to see in photos though, especially since he doesn't like to sit still. It's more noticeable in person since his left eye just looks so...dull. It's not bright and shimmery like the right one. At least he seems to be acting himself. No abnormal behavior. I know I'm going to have a hard time not stressing until tomorrow morning though, even if he doesn't seem too bothered. It just seems like such an odd random thing to happen.

12-09-2010, 07:33 PM	#9 (permalink)
saitenyo Cat Addict Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: California Posts: 1,564	My boyfriend just got home from work. When I'd sent him the pictures and described the problem earlier, he kept insisting it was probably fine and I didn't need to worry and we should just wait and see if it gets worse. Then as soon as he got home and looked at the eye in person he said, "Oh, wow, yeah it's vet time." Oh Eric. Cancer/tumors are one of the things I keep reading about online with this as a symptom. Thankfully I was able to get an appointment with my favorite vet at the office, so I'm sure she'll be very thorough. She's been very helpful and knowledgeable in the past with Athena's issues. She's definitely one of those "rule everything out just to be safe" vets rather than a dismissive one who does the bare minimum.

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