Vet. Pathol. 27:35-40 (1990) The Causes of Glaucoma in Cats

Abstract. The cause of glaucoma in 13 1 enucleated eyes from 128 cats was determined in a retrospective histologic study. Obliteration of the ciliary cleft by diffuse iridal melanoma (38 eyes), or other neoplasms (14 eyes), or by the presence of idiopathic lymphocytic-plasmacytic anterior uveitis (53 eyes) were the most frequent lesions likely to explain the development of glaucoma. Secondary changes of inner retinal atrophy, optic disc cupping, scleral thinning with megaglobus, and atrophy of ciliary processes were similar to those described in dogs and human beings with chronic glaucoma. In light of the duration and seventy of the glaucoma, the degree of inner retinal atrophy was often less than expected. Diffuse corneal edema and breaks in Descemet’s membrane, changes typical of glaucoma in other species, were rarely detected. Eyes with chronic uveitis and glaucoma had collapsed ciliary clefts, iridoscleral adhesions, and posterior displacement ofthe ins. We were unable to determine whether these changes were consequences of the uveitis and thus responsible for the development of glaucoma, or if they were merely the result of the chronic glaucoma itself. Key words: Cat; glaucoma; melanoma; uveitis. In contrast to the voluminous information about most aspects of glaucoma in dogs, there is scant pub-lished information about glaucoma in cats. Account