Disorder - Retinal degeneration

Organ Systems Involved
Nervous/sensory

Alternative disorders described within LIDA

Glaucoma

Alternative Names
Feline central retinal degeneration; Early onset photoreceptor dysplasia; Late-onset feline progressive retinal atrophy; Nutritional retinopathy (taurine deficiency)

Presenting Signs

Retinal degeneration is a condition that affects both eyes and eventually results in blindness. The main symptom is reduced vision, and affected cats can be observed bumping into objects, are reluctant to jump and may have dilated pupils. Other reported clinical signs include reluctance to look up and cloudy eyes. During an eye examination, some normal responses may be weak or absent. These include the response to menace and the pupillary light response, where the pupils become smaller in bright light. There may also be a large resting pupil size.

Cats at Risk

The age of onset is variable but in Persian kittens definite ophthalmoscopic abnormalities are usually present by 10-12 weeks. The disease may occur in other cats at any age. There is not thought to be a sex predilection. Cats with uncontrolled glaucoma and kittens with taurine deficiency can develop retinal degeneration.

Breeds Affected
Abyssinian
Persian
Siamese


Treatment

No treatment options unless related to a taurine deficiency; then dietary supplementation is indicated.

PubMed References
Retinal degeneration

Contributor
Catherine Moss