Vibrating Eyes

[Dulane Crist]

Is that unusual? I don't want to jinx my cat's health, but I need to know.
I have a 3 year old Flamepoint mix named Theo. I always thought he was a bit cross-eyed, but now his eyes vibrate all the time. I first noticed it last summer, I think.
He seems very healthy, but I never remember having another cat whose eyes did this.

Any input?

Dulane

Theo

[slick]

Welcome to Pet Talk! You'll love it here. Gee, I've never heard of vibrating eyes before but hope somebody else can help you. BTW Theo, you are beautiful and in this picture you look like you are smiling

[Dulane Crist]

I found out what it is.
nystagmus (a slight but very rapid jerking back-and-forth of the eyes)
It is a congenital defect in short haired, siamese type breeds. I was on a roll, trying to figure it out, and I finally did the right internet search.
It doesn't sound like it really affects their health, and he can still catch mice.
It is not a desirable quality, but old Theo is past making babies in this life. As long as he is helathy, that's all I care about.

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

Welcome to Pet talk - Im sure you'll enjoy it here.

Theo is gorgeous! BTW we never get tired of seeing pictures! (hint hint)

[Randi]

Welcome to PT! I'm glad you found out what it is, and that it's nothing serious.

Theo looks like a BIG guy and a gorgeous one! Please tell us more about him!

[sasvermont]

I have a friend who owns a cat with dancing eyes. The cat is a Himilayan I think.....and is about 8 years old. The vet said it was from inbreeding, but has no impact on the cat other than it can't see like it would if its little eye balls would stop moving.

Welcome to pet talk.

[Dulane Crist]

I sure liked the response about 'dancing eyes'. I wonder if they get tired. That's what bugs me. Does it give him a headache? He is very good natured, and is, of course, spoiled.
He is probably a 'medium' cat. My daughter and I got him to keep my mom and I company, when she had terminal cancer.
Mom got weaker, but didn't suffer much. He was a kitten, and tormented her when she was in the bathroom, by knocking things into the tub, and stealing the caps off the bottom bolts on the toilet. He knew she hated it.
One day, she was in the bathroom and he was up to no good, and she chased him out, following him. He ran down the hall, picked up a toy with a string on it and, with ears flat, ran back to her. She reached down and said "I'll get you!"
I saw her begin to lose her balance, and before I could get to her she collapsed.
Well, that was the way she passed. Famous last words. As the EMTs left, Theo climbed on her chest, where he stayed until they came to fetch her.
Later, I went to see a medium, in a 'group session'. The medium told me that my deceased brother was looking in, and said, "He likes the white cat."
Theo is definitely special to us. My spouse was never fond of cats until recently. I do think Theo is a tie to my family. We always had cats.
Thanks for asking about him. By the way, I was in Denver with my mom, and when I went hunting for him, it was just after the Columbine thing. My daughter and I were calling around about 'cheap' spring kittens, and so we answered the only add that day, which was in Littleton. We did think it was a little eerie to go get him. But it just shows that there are all sorts of special things that fill your heart after losses. Never lose hope.

[Uabassoon]

Sorry I didn't see this thread earlier. My siamese mix Tibby has the same problem. My vet said it makes her partcially blind because she is unable to focus on objects. She doesn't seem to be bothered by it in anyway.

[jenluckenbach]

Hi and welcome to pet talk. I am left speechless by your eerie story. (a very unusual condition for me, something my friends here at pet talk will attest to)
And I never heard of the condition that causes vibrating eyes, buit I am glad that it causes little harm to the cat. he is handsome.

[kohala]

I forget sometimes how Grasshopper came to be with me. It was right after my Dad passed away. I had come home the night he passed to find my screen pulled down, and something had torn through the apartment. I had my neighbor go in with me, and could find nothing amiss, so pulled the screen back up (It had been bent down and out) and wrote it off to maybe an animal. That night at midnight I received a call from my cousin about Dad passing. I will always wonder - was he -----? Then a week later, friends insisted I adopt this so-called kitten for company, a black and white cat from the Pacific Beach area that was the last of the litter to be adopted. She was nameless for a week or so, but clung to me like an appendage, always putting her paws on my arm when I lay down as if to say, "Don't go, stay here and relax with me." On one very unhappy night, I looked at this trusting soul with her "paws over", and wondered, "What do you see in me, honorable Grasshopper?" The name stuck.
There is a very real spirit world connection where cats and people are concerned, I will always believe. And I thank God for her. And for Daddy.

[kimlovescats]

Yes... it is Nystagmus, and very common in oriental blue-eyed breeds. People can also have this condition.

My cat, Harper, blue-eyed siamese mix also has this. It's nothing to worry about!

[Uabassoon]

I had a friend in High school who was an albino and he had the same condition.