From:
coyote@macrophile.com
Date: 2001-08-31 11:37:00 UTC
Subject: Cataracts caused by electroshock?
This is an off-the-wall question but it's at least food for thought,
I hope.
I have a ferret of unknown origin (assumed backyard breeder), age
~4yrs, neutered & descented male. He came to me at 2 yrs old with no
history beyond having been bought at a flea market. He was also
grossly overweight from eating Tender Vittles. Since then, he's
trimmed up some, had a chordoma removed from his tail, and has
developed what I assume is cauliflower ear or a swelling of his ear
as a result of some kind of chronic problem.
Sam also has bilateral cataracts, but they are not the cloudy type.
They appear as 3 white dots in the center of each eye. I've not seen
others like them, and I do have 2 others with standard cataracts, one
bilateral and one unilateral. Of the 3, it's Sam that is showing
signs of loss of vision, like lifting his head and 'scanning' the
room and swaying his head back and forth to 'target' someone with his
ears.
A friend suggested the other day that it might be possible that Sam's
cataracts are the result of an electric shock. I know where the idea
came from, having seen the same episode of 'Emergency Vets' on Animal
Planet.
Any thoughts on the possibility?
Anastasia Kidd