Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Eye problems found in 127 cats tested in the US and Canada
By Collins, Emma C & Diehl, Kathryn A·Published in Veterinary ophthalmology·2025·Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Ocular Abnormalities in 127 Cats Presented for Companion Animal Eye Registry (CAER) Examination in the United States and Canada.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 127 cats, mostly Bengals, were examined for eye problems as part of a registry in the U.S. and Canada. Many of the cats, particularly 80% of the Bengals, showed signs of cataracts, which are cloudy areas in the lens of the eye. These cataracts were often mild and not expected to worsen over time. The findings suggest that cataracts may be hereditary in some breeds, especially Bengals, but more research is needed to confirm this.
People also search for: cat eye problems · Bengal cat cataracts · hereditary eye issues in cats
Abstract
STUDY OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and clinical appearance of ocular abnormalities in a US and Canadian population of cats registered with the Companion Animal Eye Registry (CAER) between 2013 and 2023. METHODS: All complete (131) feline CAER exam forms from 2013 to 2023 in the OFA database, were reviewed. Available pedigrees of cats included in this study were also investigated. The central tendencies and dispersion data were reported. RESULTS: The population consisted of 113 Bengal, six British Shorthair, two each Maine Coon, and Norwegian Forest, and one each Domestic Shorthair, Ragamuffin, Siberian, and Sphynx cats. Four cats had serial CAER examinations performed. Twenty-two (20%) Bengal cats had normal ophthalmic exams, and 91 (80%) had abnormalities noted. Eighty-one (72%) of the Bengal cats had cataract(s) noted, of which the characteristics varied widely. DISCUSSION: Suggestive of a possible hereditary basis, there was a high prevalence of young Bengal cats presented for CAER examinations between 2013 and 20233 that had functionally incidental cataracts that were expected to be essentially nonprogressive. Most of the noted feline cataracts were bilateral, symmetric, punctate or incipient, and nuclear or posterior. Very minimal pedigree information received supported a possible hereditary basis of cataracts among the British Shorthair cats, but was insufficient to confirm this or apply to the entire study population.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40883858/