Cataracts

[Aimee&Chrispigs]

One of our Girls Betty recently developed a cataract in one of her eyes which has not seemed to hinder her in any way, we have noticed the other eye is starting to go cloudy and its looking likely she will not have sight In that eye much longer. we have not had a piggy with cataracts before so is there anything we can do to make her feel more comfortable and make her life easier?

thanks in advance..

 

[Elwickcavies]

Cateracts are reasonably common in older guinea pigs. As the sight is lost gradually (and to be honest isn't fantastic to begin with), the pigs adapt well and use their other senses. I would advise keeping the layout of the cage the same so Betty can get used to where everything is. I'm sure she will be piggying around quite happily, even with cateracts ...as long as she can smell the food, she can find the food (and that after all is the important thing for a guinea pig!)

 

[Wiebke]

One of our Girls Betty recently developed a cataract in one of her eyes which has not seemed to hinder her in any way, we have noticed the other eye is starting to go cloudy and its looking likely she will not have sight In that eye much longer. we have not had a piggy with cataracts before so is there anything we can do to make her feel more comfortable and make her life easier?

thanks in advance..

Hi! It is sadly pretty normal that the second eye is developing a cataract, too, within a few weeks or months of the first one. There are two main varieties of cataracts, congenital ones (i.e. genetically determined ones) that affect young guinea pigs and old age cataracts. I have and have had a number of piggies with either.

The good news that after a phase of transition, the other senses start to compensate for the loss of sight, especially hearing and smell. Guinea pigs can still enjoy a happy, full and normal life, including free roaming, lawn time and shallow ramps with a surface that is good at retaining smells. They can also cope with changes to the outlay of their cages and furnishings.

Don't be tempted to pamper your piggy; just treat her as normal - the more you ask for, the more they learn and and can do.

You may find these two links here comforting; Mischief was a guinea pig with fast onset congenital cataracts. Cataract lady Mali came here aged five because she failed to integrate into the rescue herd after the loss of her companion; but after a not very easy bonding because of her fear-aggression issues, she happily integrated into my then cataract group of three formidable ladies with their gentle husboar as soon as she realised that her companions had the same issue as her. She lived to 8 years old and kept doing her scent spoor zoomies until 2 days before her death despite being virtually blind by then. I have currently got 6 piggies with cataracts in various stages; congential ones as well as old ages ones.

Turning a blind eye on mischief - another piggy story