Azimuth and Mizzen (Part 5) ~ Going to the eye Doctor

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To read the previous installment Click here.

When Mizzen was old enough and big enough to under go anesthesia I began to think about getting her eyes fixed. About a month or two after she was spayed I brought her to see the eye specialist in our area. The doctor examined her eyes very thoroughly.

Mizzen waits patiently for the doctor to come in

The doctor had a few of the other employees and doctors look at her eyes too. They all thought she was very interesting.  Mizzen just wanted everyone to stop looking at her eyes and pet her.
The doctor explained that they would put Mizzen under general anesthesia and then they would use a Laser to burn off the hair follicles that were causing Mizzen discomfort. I would be able to take Mizzen home with me that night and she would just have some minor swelling for a day or two. After that, life should be better and more comfortable then she has ever known it to be.

Mizzen rubs her eyes because they hurt

 The surgery was going to cost quite a bit more than I had at the time so I got a weekend job to save up the money. It took me a few months to save up the full amount, but come June 2013 I was able to schedule the appointment.  I took Mizzen into her regular vet to get pre-anesthetic blood work done and to get her vaccines current.

Mizzen prefers to ride shotgun

Once we got Mizzen's blood results and everything was fine it was time to get those eyes fixed. The morning of her surgery I was very excited because Mizzen was such a sweet cat and she really deserved to know what it was like to blink in comfort. She didn't understand my excitement and instead thought that I was raving on about food and went to her bowl as if to say "Oh, boy! if this kibble is as good as it sounds, this is going to taste great!"  She was sad to see the bowl empty when she got there, and even more confused when I put on her harness and got her into the car without breakfast.

Are we getting breakfast to go?

We got to the eye specialist early that morning and had to wait in the parking lot for it to open. I had been worried about traffic, but then there wasn't any! Mizzen just sat in the passenger seat napping while I checked my email. Every now and then she would pop open an eye when a car pulled up and parked near us. After they opened and I got her checking in I headed back home to feed the other cats.

Mizzen before surgery

Later that day I got the call to come and get her. They said she had done great and was recovering nicely.

Mizzen after surgery

Her poor little eye lids were red and puffy, but her eyes seemed much more comfortable when she blinked. She was perky and her loveable old self when I picked her up. It was like nothing had happened at all. I decided that she deserved a little treat and I stopped at my favorite frozen custard joint on our way home.

Oh, yeah! That's the stuff!

Mizzen got to lick on my frozen custard cone a few times (just the vanilla side). She thought it was really yummy! Then we drove back home so she could get some rest and some dinner. She was hungry. After she was done with dinner I medicated her eyes. She didn't like that one bit and immediately started pawing her eyes. That's when the E-collar came out. I couldn't have her pawing at those expensive little eyes and injuring them!

Mizzen says "I don't care about your stupid E-collar! I'm going to play with my toy anyway!

Her recovery went well and her eyes are still much more comfortable then they have ever been. She really hated all the hair plucking and medicating that I used to have to do, but now she doesn't have to deal with that stuff. Every now and then I will have to pull out a hair that has grown back, but it's only one or two hairs. Before I was basically plucking so many hairs it would have been easier just to wax her eye lid.
Mizzen now holds her eyes open much further than she ever did before and she rarely ever squints. When she does I know that the rogue hair has grown back, and then I pluck it out and she if fine again.  Her third eyelids are still elevated, but not to the degree that they were before. They used to cover almost three quarters of her left eye and half of the right eye. Now they are just slightly elevated.

Mizzens eyes are wide open!

To read more about Mizzen look for the next installment titled:

Squishy feet