The cat's eye often shows the first sign of a body-wide disease. Ocular tissues are richly supplied with blood, so circulating infectious agents and tumor cells lodge in the uvea and retina, and high blood pressure injures the fine vessels of the choroid and retina directly. This guide is a map: it tells you which eye finding points to which disease and sends you to the dedicated guide for the details, which are not repeated here.
Key facts
Ocular manifestations of systemic diseases at a glance- Species and system: cat; eye and whole body.
- Principle: uveitis, retinal detachment, hyphema and sudden blindness in a cat should trigger a systemic work-up.
- Minimum work-up: blood pressure, CBC and chemistry, urinalysis, total thyroxine in older cats, FeLV and FIV tests, then targeted infectious testing.
- Leading causes of bilateral uveitis (MSD): immune-mediated disease, FIP, FeLV, FIV, toxoplasmosis and systemic mycoses.
- Zoonotic or reportable: some causes are zoonotic (toxoplasmosis, Bartonella, cryptococcosis).
What's inside
13 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Pattern recognition: age, laterality and exposure
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prevention, control and public health
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 4 tables, 1 figure, 3 self-test questions and 8 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
The full guide is part of every NAVLE plan, with diagnosis and treatment tables, figures, a quick review and self-test questions. Start a free trial to try the question bank, or log in if you are already a member.