Have you ever seen this happen in a cat??

[Emeraldgreen]

A friend of mine asked me if I knew why her cat's one eye would change colour. I have no idea! I'm hoping someone on PT might have a thought on this? Mandy is about 5 years old and her eyes were the same colour (greenish) for 4 years and in the past year, Mandy's left eye has gradually turned this brownish, rusty colour. Weird!
Sorry the pic is so big but I wanted to make sure everybody could get a good look at the eyes.

[kittycats_delight]

I just did a quick search and I think it would be a good idea to get it checked by a vet. It seems that dark color changes within the iris of the eye are sometimes melanoma. Your friend should get it checked out just in case it could be a problem. Better to catch anything early. And if it is nothing to worry about then she can breathe a sigh of relief.

[Freedom]

I was going to say basically what Michelle said.

There was something about in on here a bit over a year back, someone else was asking. And all I remembered was there is a possibility of a major issue so have a vet check on it.

[Grace]

I'm also recommending a Vet check. Look at the texture of that left eye - very different than the right. And so much darker.

[catfancier]

And please tell us what happens - I hope kitty is all ok.

[Emeraldgreen]

Thanks guys for the responses. I was also thinking a vet check should be in order. The problem is that they live in a fairly remote place and Mandy is very aggressive. We've never understood why she is like this but she has always been like this. They were looking for a kitten and I had heard through the grapevine that a litter had been born in a nearby native reservation. They went to see the kittens and brought home Mandy at about 7 weeks of age. As she grew, she began to display really aggressive behaviour and it never went away. She is good with John, the husband and will allow him to handle her and love her but even then, she will slash at him and hiss if he holds her for too long or whatever. Cathy, his wife can get away with petting her and even picking her up for a few seconds but then watch out! Mandy freaks out and let's her have it. Totally bizarre. And as it turned out, I later spoke with the woman who owned the cat that gave birth to Mandy and the other kittens. I told her that Mandy was very different and also quite aggressive. She said "ya, that whole litter was like that, it was a bad batch". I was kind of stunned. It was as if we were talking about a batch of cookies!
Anyway, they used to ask us to petsit for them when they went away as we used to be neighbours and it was always a bit scary. My husband and I would take care of the goats, chickens and then feed the cats. By the time we were ready to head out, Mandy would get her back up and literally start stalking us and my husband would say "quick, you leave, I'll cover you!" LOL and then as soon as I was out, she'd make a beeline for him and he'd just get out in time. It was crazy.
She also terrorizes the other cat, a senior manx female who was with them for years before Mandy came along. And then the manx would come over to our house and take it out on our cat Sneakers (our only 'outdoor' girl). It was awful but then we moved and that at least solved our problem.
They have since relocated and for whatever reason, Mandy isn't attacking Hibou, the manx as much anymore but she does on occasion.
It would be very interesting to find out if there was some kind of connection between her unexplained aggressiveness and her eye?!?
I know that they will probably not opt to take her to a vet because the last time they did, Mandy scratched the vet in the face and made her bleed.
I'll maybe google it some more and see if I can find out anything else. It might be worth it to bring her in, get her sedated and have a full and complete workup done on her. However, they aren't really the type of folk who take pets to the vet unless it's an emergency. But, if I can convince them that it might be, maybe they will.

[Catty1]

Oh geez...tell them it might be cancer, and if she got a thorough checkup with blood work and everything, it might give a clue as to why she is so aggressive.

Pain can make even loving pets turn into little monsters...I hope Mandy gets a good checkup...and a sedative beforehand. I wonder if her teeth might be painful as well. Is she spayed?

Please keep us posted on this girl.

[Catlady711]

If your friends call the vet and make an appointment, they may ask the vet if it's possible to pick up a couple tranquillizer tablets before the appt. That way she can be pilled by people who are used to her and already be a bit mellow on the ride over. It's a less stressful trip for the cat, and a lot safer for the vet & staff. Keep us updated.

[Medusa]

Mooka, one of my rescues that I was trying to home before I moved into this house, had an eye like that and it was a tumor. It ended up that she was put to sleep. I sure hope that isn't the case w/this cat.

[kittycats_delight]

Please really work on your friends about getting Mandy in to get this checked. What I read was from a vet and it said any texture and color change in a cats eye is cause for concern and should be dealt with asap. 60% of the cases it is melanoma and in most cases if it is then it is malignant. The eye may have to be removed it caught early enough. Let's hope it is early if it is a melanoma or that it is something less terrible.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Its so much more than the eye being a different colour - it is a different size and shape too! That poor puss doesn't look at all well, the entire side of her face appears to be swollen. I hope she gets to a vet sooner rather than later

[Emeraldgreen]

I think you are all right, this has to be looked at. Her face does look swollen on that side and the eye's rusty colour is all swirly and strange. Something is going on. So, my plan is to write them and email and I'm going to include some of the things you guys have mentioned and tell them that I asked quite a few people. Hopefully the number of people that seem alarmed other than just me will be enough to motivate them to take her in.
They thought her eye was just changing colour and that it may not mean anything but they did ask me about it and ask me to take some pics to see what I could find out so I think a part of them is a bit worried.
They're really good people and they love her. They've had some bad vet experiences in the past and are somewhat wary of vets and the enormous bills they tend to end up with. They're also now living in a remote place and living in a 5th wheel while their house is being built so they're trying to really conserve funds. But, they do love her and I think they will take her in. I certainly won't give up on it and will definitely keep you guys updated.
In the meantime, thankfully, Mandy seems very content and has 5 acres that she patrols and seems quite happy. But if she is in pain, it has to be dealt with and as some of you mentioned, could explain the aggressiveness.
The important thing is to make sure she will be able to continue to have a good life and to get this checked out before it's too late.
Here are a few more pics that show her eye in a few different angles:

p.s. I shrank the pictures on photobucket but they are still huge. I don't know why?!?



[IMG]

[Catty1]

I pray they get her checked out.

Please let her know that there are some PTrs that will donate...and maybe their vet will take a payment plan.

I imagine it is one of your vets...

Please keep us posted!

[Emeraldgreen]

I pray they get her checked out.

Please let her know that there are some PTrs that will donate...and maybe their vet will take a payment plan.

I imagine it is one of your vets...

Please keep us posted!

That's really kind of you Catty1. They are trying to conserve funds but it's because they are hoping to have their house built and by the time it's done, be close to mortgage free. So there is funding there but I think their goal in moving and creating this new life was to create a debt free, live off the land kind of life. So the funds are there, they will just have to access them. But thank you so much for your nice post.