Are my cat's unequal pupils caused by medication or recent surgery?

Question

Hi, My cat Neo has recently had multiple tests done, -blood, urine, ultrasound & been diagnosed with feline triad disease. About 2+ weeks ago he also had an O tube put in. He has been taking Noroclav, Metronide, Temvet illum & Denamarin. I have just noticed in the day his pupils were unequally dialated. After darkening the room they went back to normal, large & equal in size. No issues with vision or other noticiable changes. Could it be a symptom from any of the medications he is taking? Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Mediumhair | Male | neutered

Christie Long, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hi, I'm so sorry you and Neo are going through all of this. I believe you use a different spelling of "esophagus" in Australia than we do in the U.S., so I'm going to assume that's what you mean by an O-tube. Figuring out the cause of anisicoria (that's when the pupils aren't the same size) usually involves determining 1.) which eye is the "affected" eye and 2.) whether the pupil is inappropriately dilated or inappropriately constricted. So we'd likely need a bit more information after doing a physical exam to answer the question exactly. However, as Neo is on buprenorphine (that's the "Temvet ilium" you've mentioned) I would say it's *possible* to see neurologic effects such as slight anisicoria on this drug. However, a bigger question/concern would be whether the installation of the E-tube affected nerves in the neck, as this may cause something called Horner's syndrome. I would recommend having Neo re-examined in order to nail down the questions I've outlined above. If the affected eye is on the same side as the E-tube, I would be suspicious that the two are related.

Are my cat's unequal pupils caused by medication or recent surgery?

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