Chad Dora knew something was wrong with Sebastian as soon as he found him outside of work. Besides the five-week-old kitten’s small size, his right eye was squinted shut and his left eye was glazed over with a discharge. Shortly after Chad brought him home, a piece of tissue came out of Sebastian’s right eye. His eye then began to swell dramatically, until it became enlarged and crusted over.
Not wanting to abandon the kitten, Chad and his wife Amber decided to take Sebastian to a few veterinary clinics. Over the next three weeks, Sebastian proved to be a difficult patient to treat. Due to the fact that Sebastian’s eyes were not responding to basic treatments, his young age, and small size of just over two pounds, many veterinarians were hesitant to perform the surgery necessary to remove his eye. Chad and Amber were determined to find a solution for Sebastian, so they decided to call the MSU Veterinary Medical Center (VMC).
“The receptionist was wonderful and said they could get me in the next day, gave me an estimate over the phone which was less than another place in the same area, and said they would do the surgery the same day if it was deemed necessary,” said Amber.
At the VMC, Sebastian was treated by Dr. Connie Yeh of the Comparative Ophthalmology Service. The first step was observation. Dr. Yeh had Sebastian walk around the room to assess his vision. Second was an overall health assessment, which Sebastian easily passed. Afterwards, Dr. Yeh gave Sebastian eye drops and turned off the overhead lights. She used a small light to check Sebastian’s eyes and see if his pupils would react. Unfortunately, Dr. Yeh discovered that both of Sebastian’s eyes had ruptured due to a serious infection.
Dr. Yeh presented Amber with two options: remove one eye and treat the other with medicine, or remove both eyes. Dr. Yeh explained that if Amber chose to remove both eyes, Sebastian would have the best possible quality of life. Dr. Yeh said that kittens typically do well adapting to their surroundings with loss of vision, and Sebastian should have no problem living a happy and healthy life.
Knowing that the medicine was not guaranteed to work and that Sebastian would always have partial damage to the remaining eye anyway, Amber decided to remove both eyes.
“I was more concerned about the infection and having to have more done to the eye if we left it,” said Amber. “It ended up being a great decision… They didn’t have a cone small enough for him, so they made him a paper plate cone. It was very sweet. He was so spoiled and everyone just wanted to see him.”
Ten days later, Sebastian returned to the VMC to have his stitches removed. Dr. Yeh, who was in another surgery at that time and not scheduled to meet with Sebastian, made a special appearance anyway.
“It was wonderful how much she cared and didn’t even need to be at that appointment,” said Amber.
Today, Sebastian is happy and healthy at home, growing and loving his life.
“He is amazing,” Amber said. “He runs up and down the stairs through the whole house. He chases the kids, take naps when my two-year-old naps, loves his toys and anything that makes a lot of noise or can crinkle…He still finds sun spots and lays there with his Chihuahua friends… Everyone who comes to visit always says you would never know he was blind!”
Amber said their experience working with the MSU VMC was amazing.
“If you are looking for an answer or want the truth and options, this is where you need to be!” said Amber. “There is no run around! They sit down with you and don’t push their opinion on you. They left the room and gave me time to make the decision I felt okay with.”
