Vets Notice Rare Ocular Condition in Cat Causing Her to Have Both Eyes Removed

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Not only was Donut’s life about to get better after her spay surgery, it was going to change drastically. Yet in her case, the worst case scenario also happened to be the start of living her best life. Because during that spay surgery, the veterinarians noticed something odd during the examination. It was her eyes that drew their attention and sparked concern.

Look Into My Eyes

In early April 2025, the Ten Lives Club in New York shared a post about a cat named Donut. Their organization near Buffalo had taken in a transfer from anther group, Empire Animal Rescue Society (EARS) on April 4th. There isn’t anything mentioned online about Donut’s start in life but they did estimate her to be around 2 years old. And one of the first things they did was take her in to have her fixed. If she had been a stray, it’s a great reminder that TNR programs are so important. During these life saving surgeries, vet teams can examine the sedated cats carefully. That service that stray and feral cats receive is a rare opportunity to help them further. Just like the discovery made of Donut’s eyes.

Thankfully, she was happy to accept help from humans, because she needed it badly.

She was spayed by our veterinary team and whilst they were examining her, they discovered something very wrong with her eyes. Donut was completely blind in her left eye and had minimal vision in her right. Unfortunately the liquid in her eyes kept building up, leading to an increase of eye pressure. The pressure in her eyes is what caused her eyes to bulge and turn a blue hue.

Aqueous Misdirection

Once the doctors found the issue with her eyes, the rescue organization knew there sadly was only one option.

Donut was diagnosed with Aqueous Misdirection (also known as Closed Angle Glaucoma). This is a very rare medical condition with no treatment other than enucleation of the eyes (eye removal surgery).

Researching more on the topic, it seems there is little information known about the disease in cats. According to Veterinary Information Network (VIN):

*Aqueous misdirection syndrome causes progressive, often blinding glaucoma over time. This has not been described in dogs.
*Spontaneous aqueous misdirection is rare in humans, but may occur and the cause, as in cats, is not known.

*Aqueous misdirection syndrome is seen in middle-aged cats (mean age 11.7yr). A higher prevalence has been reported in female cats. No breed predisposition has been reported. Both eyes are typically affected, but often not equally.

Life With No Eyes

Now as we all should know by now, blind cats can still live full, playful lives. The worst thing for their human servants? You can’t rearrange your furniture around all the time…not that big of a deal is it?

So during her recovery, Donut is safely exploring her surroundings as she acclimates to having no eyes. It’s a given that the family that finally adopts her into their home will be telling her repeatedly what a stunning cat she truly is.

She quickly recovered from the enucleation surgery and is already roaming around just fine! Donut also loves to sit on top of the office chair and snuggle up on a nice warm heating pad. She is quite the talker as well!

Donut still needs some more time to recover and then will have her stitches removed after our veterinarian does a final examination. This beautiful girl is now doing much better and we know her purrfect home is right around the corner!