Dilated left pupil

[Shari4351]

My Mother's cat has developed unequal pupils today & the left is much larger than the right (which seems to be normal in size & shape.  She seems ok, except that left pupil is obviously abnormal.  There has been no trauma, unless she fell asleep in one of her odd positions & fell to the floor (she rolls around in her sleep often & probably falls off things when we are not looking).  She is strictly an indoor cat, so a disease is not likely.  My parents are quite elderly and on multiple meds, some of which are tiny little pills that they drop and don't hear when it hits the floor.  If it is a medication poisoning, and she seems to be doing ok, will she continue to improve or is it a mistake to "wait and see"?  I work full time and have my hands full taking care of all my parents appointments and meds, taking the cat to the vet would be inconvenient, but it it's and emergency, that's the way it is & we'll just have to go.  What do you think?  The one pill that seems to be dropped the most is the carvedilol & it is a 3.25mg dose (one half of a 6.50 pill, twice a day).  Another suspect is lisinopril, another tiny half pill, don't remember the size for sure.  What do you think, will she keep getting better?

[opus88]

thx for the nice comments....yes my cats are my company for sure, they run my life!!
I truly hope the kitty will be ok, I understand not having a great deal of money for a Vet visit, that can be very costly anymore....however maybe its possible for your mom to put away each month for an emergency fund, thats what I do because money is very tight for me too and when we have these critters they too need to see their family doctor occasionally.....
do keep us informed on kitty(name?)
Could there be a better system set up to ensure that no medications get dropped?
Can I suggest you putting them into a daily holder, can add up to a weeks worth in individual daily doses....that way it would be apparent if one were dropped.
Some pharmacies also do up whats called 'bubble packs' for seniors, where daily medications are all in individual packets right from the pharmacy...please look into this to prevent an accident.

[Shari4351]

When I called Mom from work today, she said that Minnie had a good night & seemed fine this morning when they all got up.  Her left pupil was even bigger at first then throughout the morning, waxed and waned but remained unequal to the right pupil.  When I checked again after work, the cat had slept all afternoon & seemed the same as morning when I called the first time.  Since she seems to be stable, we will continue to wait and see if she needs to go to the vet.  We have only had her for a little while & don't know a vet that we can afford yet, so kinda think a call to the vet would get us a "so, what?" "bring her in"
We all love the cat, but our resources are limited, so it would take something more to make my parents take her to a vet.  

I just have a feeling she's gonna sleep off the poison & everything is going to be fine.  I'll let you know.  Thanks for your concern, your cats are beautiful & must be great company for you.  

[opus88]

Oh my that is a tough call, trauma would be my first suspicion to, however just a fall from a sleeping position wouldn't be enough to cause a problem, cats tumble all the time.....I don't know these medications you listed, it would be sure worth a call to a Vet clinic they could sure answer those questions for you and I'm sure there would be no charge for a phone consult, but I would suspect if kitty is still showing the unequal pupils they  would want to take a look?
How is kitty today?...I don't know what to tell you, seems strange that he would react normally if he had swallowed one of these pills, I would think they would certainly give many reactions, but again I am no vet and don't know the meds you list....I would recommend a phone call to be sure.
best of luck with poor kitty, please post again and let us know how he makes out ok.