# Pupil sometimes larger/smaller than other but not often



## oscy (Oct 7, 2008)

I have a black kitten who's 6 months old. He's a 'normal' cat, but sometimes, not often but I notice perhaps once every few days, he has one pupil larger than the other. I've looked losely and tried different amounts of light on different eyes and don't see anything wrong.

They dilate and contract normally and to the same size. It's an odd thing. I took photos on my phone one night when it showed up so I''m not imagining it. There's a slightly older photo of it as well so it's been a month or two:










My mum won't take him to the vet saying it's "just the light", whatever that means, and also cos of money.

What do you think?

Thanks.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I don't know, but...

Is it possible that the light is shining from the left side of his face, and the bridge of his nose is shading his right eye and that is why the pupils are different sizes?


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## oscy (Oct 7, 2008)

Pupils are supposed to contract and dilate at the same time so I wouldn't think so.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Oh. Well, then, not to scare you, but my kitty Reilly had that happen to his eyes fairly regularly. Reilly was born some time in early 1999 and we took him in when he was about 8-10mo old. He passed away last year. He had a severe problem going on for many years, I had always thought he was a 'klutzy' kitty, but when I noticed in 2004 that he was getting more and more uncoordinated I took him to the vet. She was stumped. Bloodtests didn't show anything wrong, but he was definitely having trouble with his motor skills, most noticeable in his back legs.

She offered several options, but I had to choose the one that cost the least, which was cortisone shots every 3-5mo. They did no good and over the years, Rei progressed from hesitating with every step of his back legs, to wobbling when he ran, to being too uncoordinated to run, to walking 10 steps and then suddenly sitting to the side because the muscles would give out, to only being able to make 2-3 steps before falling into the sitting position and finally to having to drag himself on the carpet with his front paws. The vet consulted with her peers and the unanimous consensus was a tumor in his spine...so no amount of treatment would have been able to save him. I'm glad I didn't opt for the expensive treatments, but with our vet we were able to give him many years of love and enjoyment by accomodating his disability. 

I never did ask or find out about his pupils being different sizes, but I don't think it was affected by his health problems of his back legs. Perhaps you could call your vet office and ask about it, though I suspect most vet offices will ask you to bring the cat in for an exam to rule out any neurological problems.
Heidi


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## oscy (Oct 7, 2008)

Oh no.


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## Mom of 4 (Jul 29, 2006)

Actually, the picture that you showed us appears to have the light coming from the cats left side. It is normal in that situation for the left pupil to be smaller, to reduce the amount of light coming in. The right pupil is larger because there is less light on that side of the face.
Do a test on yourself. Get a flashlight and go in the bathroom, in front of the mirror. Turn the room light off, with the flashlight on and hold it near one side of the face (don't shine it in your eye or point toward the mirror). The eye on the side with the flashlight should have a smaller pupil than the other eye. Move the flashlight to the other side of the face and see what happens.


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## Michelle L (Sep 4, 2008)

Does your kitty show any other symptoms?

This is a good link and may give you some info, but it doesn't give a specific reason for your kitty's problem. 

http://www.petplace.com/cats/anisocoria ... age1.aspxI 

I located a couple of articles that mentioned FeLV cats might exhibit anisocoria (uneven pupils) as well, which is why I am asking if there are other syptoms. 

http://www.moorevet.com/Feline/FeLV.html

You can do an internet search for "anisocoria in cats" for more info if you want.


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## oscy (Oct 7, 2008)

He doesn't have any other symptoms. I've done a lot of google searching but couldn't find anything about temporary uneven pupils.



Mom of 4 said:


> Actually, the picture that you showed us appears to have the light coming from the cats left side. It is normal in that situation for the left pupil to be smaller


That's not true, both pupils should contract and dilate equally, and when I tested it his does. It's just on the odd occasion they're unequal. :?


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## Michelle L (Sep 4, 2008)

I think my first link wasn't right...I fixed it (I hope).

http://www.petplace.com/cats/anisocoria ... page1.aspx

I did find something about intermittent anisocoria on this veterinary webpage, but it's specialized lingo for vets and diagnosing diseases, so it's not very useful. If you look about halfway down under "Ophthalmology", it mentions intermittent anisocoria and connects it with a FeLV....
"3. _Intermittent fluctuating anisocoria_, think FeLV".

It's also mentioned in #5 of the Neurologic section. 
"5. Urinary incontinence and _periodic anisocoria _think of FeLV or FIV infection."

http://www.mvma.org/convention_info_sma ... zencat.asp .

I don't want to alarm you unnecessarily, but I do think it's worth having the FeLV test run to rule it out. From what I understand, the disease manifests itself in different ways and the only way to know is to test for it. Good luck and let us know if you find anything else.


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## oscy (Oct 7, 2008)

Hi, I rang the vet about it and got a call back after one had been consulted and I was told it's normal for cats to sometimes have odd eyes.

But that worries me, why is it normal if I'm getting all this talk of leukemia, brain tumours and ear mites from others?


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

oscy said:


> ...why is it normal if I'm getting all this talk of leukemia, brain tumours and ear mites from others?


Because you posted a question about something you were worried about. I offered a plausible explanation and you were still convinced it was something terrible, so everyone started sharing their 'terrible' stories as things for you to ask your veterinarian about to help him diagnose your kitty. I also stated I did not think Rei's pupil episodes were connected with his other (spinal tumor) problems. Just that he HAD a severe medical problem and I also noticed his eyes dilating differently.
It just happens, unless it is obvious, don't become alarmed until the vet tells you to be alarmed.
Heidi


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## oscy (Oct 7, 2008)

Ok thanks then. But please don't suggest I'm a crazy, paranoid person, because I simply pointed out that pupils are supposed to contract and dilate equally at the same time, which meant your first post was inaccurate. Soooo...don't say you offered a 'plausible' explanation and I was convincing myself it's something terrible when that never happened. Not looking to be nasty but that's how you made it out to be.

How would you expect someone to react when you've pretty much told them their kitten could have a fatal illness even if they get the all-clear?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

When people post about problems with their cats and ask for advice, you're going to get all kinds of "diagnoses." Some people will Google the problem and post every single thing it could mean. I did that to ME! Scared the crap out of myself when Cleo's third eyelid was showing. And there are about 50 different things which could have caused it, from parasites (which it turned out to be) to eye problems to life-threatening issues.

Other people will post about similar issues with their own cat or other cats they know about. 

If no one knew for sure, would you have preferred that not one person respond to your post?  That's even worse.

I'm glad it turned out to be nothing serious, but we're not vets here. You did the right thing and consulted a professional about your baby, who is gorgeous, by the way. But I'm a little biased about black kitties.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Oscy, you are being overly sensitive...and because of that, I have become overly sensitive, too. I thought I was only sharing information in a friendly manner and it is obvious that you have taken it in a manner completely different from what I intended. This means I will need to be more careful with my posts to prevent future confusion.



oscy said:


> *...please don't suggest I'm a crazy, paranoid person...*


Who said "crazy/paranoid"? It wasn't me, and I certainly never intended to imply anything of the sort. 
If you are referencing this comment: "_It just happens, unless it is obvious, don't become alarmed until the vet tells you to be alarmed_." it is JUST a COMMENT. One that I live by. I don't worry about things unless it is obvious it needs to be worried about. When in doubt, I call the vet to find out.



oscy said:


> *...I simply pointed out that pupils are supposed to contract and dilate equally at the same time, which meant your first post was inaccurate. Soooo...don't say you offered a 'plausible' explanation...*


Here is what I said: "I don't know, but...Is it possible... " Meaning: I _did not know_ and _wondered if it was possible_ for differing amounts of direct light to be the cause. I did think that was a plausible explanation at the time I made it. Thank you for pointing out how inaccurate I was. I then shared with you the ONE EXPERIENCE I've had with a cat who exhibited uneven pupil dilation AND I distinctly stated I did not think his pupil dilation was connected with his other health problems, just that he HAD these health problems. I'm sorry it was a sad/scary story, but it is the only one I have about a cat with uneven pupil dilation.
MOST causes of uneven pupil dilation are going to be head trauma and/or other neurological problems, which is why I cautioned you most vets would probably wish to see him for an exam to rule those things out. I said that because you stated earlier your Mother wouldn't want to take him to the vet and spend money.



oscy said:


> *...and I was convincing myself it's something terrible when that never happened. Not looking to be nasty but that's how you made it out to be.*


I shouldn't have said "you were still convinced it was something terrible". I should have said "you were still convinced it was _something_..." and left it at that. People were trying to offer explanations and finding links for you about uneven pupils and you have got defensive when most of the (online) indications of uneven pupils DO point to serious medical problems. Sorry, its just a fact and it can't be helped. Please don't take it out on the people trying to assist you in gathering information when it is information you don't want/like to hear. I don't believe anyone said any of those things was what your cat was suffering from, just that this is the information we had, either through personal experience (mine) or internet searching (links), and you may wish to have some tests performed to rule some of these things out. THAT is why you were getting information about "_...leukemia, brain tumours and ear mites from others._".



oscy said:


> *How would you expect someone to react when you've pretty much told them their kitten could have a fatal illness even if they get the all-clear?*


WHAT?! Who said your kitten had a fatal illness after you got an "all-clear"? You may need to check the timeline of the posts on this thread before you make an accusation like that. NO ONE offered any other explanations after you posted your vet said everything was fine. ALL information was posted _before_ you posted your vet said everything was normal.
I would consider it perfectly normal for someone to be upset at the possibilities that were offered, but it is no one's fault that they shared available information with you and it frightened you. Please be aware that the internet is not the be-all~end-all for diagnostic information and you will get MANY different responses to varying questions, some of which you won't agree with and (_in this instance_) some of which can be frightening. Nothing can replace a good vet exam and/or phone call to relieve anxieties about your pet. Only you can control how you react. 

I am sorry you misunderstood my friendly attempt at sharing. I will try to be more careful with my posts involving sensitive material in the future. 
I am glad your kitty does not have anything wrong with him. Please don't let this experience put you off of CF. We really do care about our cats and there is a lot of information to share and learn.
Heidi


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## Michelle L (Sep 4, 2008)

I'm glad that the vet gave you good news. Not to be snotty, but why didn't you call the vet first before asking here? 

You asked a question, people responded with what they found, attempting to help encourage you to talk to the vet. So many people refuse to go to the vet that it is necessary to urge them to do so on occasion. Just saying, "Oh, it's probably normal" could lead to an owner ignoring what could be a serious issue. 

Frankly, if my cat had uneven pupils I wouldn't consider it normal since in humans, uneven pupils often signal serious neurological problems. I'd immediately go to the vet. As someone else mentioned, we're not vets here, and were only giving suggestions. Quite frankly, I'm a little sorry that I spent more than a half an hour online last night scrounging around trying to find information to help out.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Oscy...I refer you to the Disclaimer at the top of this forum

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=33494

When you pose medical questions on an internet forum, you have no idea of the experience or knowledge of the people answering you. It is best to use their responses as a jumping off point for you own research. And as always, your vet is your best resource for advice regarding your pet. 

I will now lock this thread as the issue is apparently a non-issue and the the subsequent conversation is quickly becoming non-productive.


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