Coloboma of the cat’s iris: diagnosis, causes and treatment for this eye disease


What does cat iris coloboma consist of and how is it treated? Everything you need to know about this feline disease and how to treat it.

Is it a disease or a defect that affects the eyes of our beloved domestic feline? When you are responsible for an animal’s health, it is normal to worry about its health and anything that could affect its quality of life. Here’s everything you need to know about cat iris coloboma and how (and if possible) to treat the problem.


The most frequent diseases of the eyes of the cat: what they are

Beautiful and expressive, but also subject to some pathologies: what are the most frequent diseases that affect the eyes of our beloved domestic feline? A quick overview may help us to know the symptoms and treat them in time, when possible.

Let’s not blame ourselves if we can’t immediately identify that there is some anomaly in the feline gaze; some things, however, can be ‘seen’ right away, such as:

  • excessive tearing,
  • swelling,
  • redness and irritation,
  • abnormal heartbeat,
  • tremor.

In addition to the trauma resulting from possible collisions, but also to foreign bodies in the eye, eye problems can also be a consequence of external diseases, such as diabetes, herpes, hypertension etc.

In addition to conjunctivitis and damage to the lens (such as cataracts in cats ), there are also problems with the iris, tumors and corneal lesions.


Coloboma of the cat’s iris: what it is

More than a disease it would be more correct to speak of a congenital defect that affects the cat’s eyes from birth: fortunately, no worsening of it is expected in the feline, but it can manifest itself in two levels of severity (milder and more serious).

When the iris of the eye presents anomalies, it cannot protect it perfectly from the sun’s rays : in practice, an excessive amount of light enters it, which goes beyond the threshold of ‘tolerability’.

the very term ‘coloboma’ indicates a sort of ‘hole’ in the cat’s eye, through which the light passes or in any case the iris is particularly thin compared to normal. It is as if there is a notch at the edge of the animal’s pupil.


Possible causes of coloboma in cats and how it affects their vision

Let’s face it right away: luckily the sight (and consequently the quality of life) of the cat is absolutely not compromised. In practice he will have to endure this discomfort, often from birth, but this will not compromise anything.

Since it is often a defect that has existed since it was born, it is difficult to indicate one or more causes: many experts do not know how to give an answer, so we also rely on chance.

If in the case of the coloboma of the iris of the cat there seems to be a correlation with the ‘merle’ type coat, as regards the cat, the answers are still very confused and very little direct.


Coloboma of the iris: can it be cured?

If our trusted veterinarian is good enough to diagnose this ocular defect, on the other hand he cannot actually recommend a proper cure, but maybe only some small steps to be taken to improve the cat’s life.

In fact, we must try as much as possible to protect the cat’s eyes and not to mate two cats that have this problem.


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