[alaskayorkie]

Originally Posted by livingdustmops

Thanks Mike for the info. I have an older female with this condition and I did not know the name of it.

Cataracts are lesions or spots in the interior of the lens of the eye. Dogs of any age can be affected (cats rarely get cataracts), and the disease is often inherited. In the early stages, cataracts cause blurring and distortion of vision, but are invisible to the naked eye. In later stages, they cause blindness and make the normally black pupil appear gray or white.

People commonly mistake nuclear or lenticular sclerosis, which is an eye condition of old dogs, for cataracts. Lenticular sclerosis causes the pupil to appear a soft gray color. Unlike cataracts, it only causes a slight blurring of the vision and poor depth perception, but almost never causes blindness.

Many advances in cataract surgery for dogs (cats rarely get cataracts) have been made in the last decade. Cataract surgery is now performed through a tiny incision. High frequency ultrasound is used to liquefy the lens, which is then removed by a needle. In most animals, an artificial lens is implanted in the sac that used to hold the damaged one.

Success rates for cataract surgery are as high as 95% in dogs in which the eye is otherwise healthy, but early treatment gets the best results. If you suspect that your pet has cataracts, have him or her examined by a specialist in ophthalmology as soon as possible.

Wow, great information, thanks!

And, Alison, I thought the same thing about the squeaky toy sound vs. bark!No wonder Eddie is always biting him! Very funny. The diaper observation, however, was just mean!