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My senior dog has cataracts. Can eye drops clear her cloudy eyes?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 12 lbs

I have a 17 yr old Mixed Chihuahua, she has cataracts. Are their any eye drops that I can use to clear the cloudiness in her eyes. Or maybe over the counter that is shared by myself for instance?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Ann Dion, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on August 1st, 2018

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Cataracts in dogs can be caused by diabetes, so if the cataracts are new you should have Lulu checked for this. Otherwise, cataracts cannot be fixed with drops, but would require a surgery to the eye. Also, cloudiness in the eyes isn't always cataracts, but can be something called 'nuclear sclerosis' which causes a cloudy appearance but the animals can still see. No human drops should be applied, and no drops will help with this. There are lots of medications to treat various conditions that occur along with cataracts (uveitis, glaucoma, etc). I recommend having her seen by your vet before any medications are given. Best of luck with Lulu.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Lauren Jones VMD

    Veterinarian

    Published on December 14th, 2017

    I'm sorry to hear that Leche may be developing cataracts. Cataracts occur due to a variety of underlying changes and are essentially an opacity on the lens within the eye. To the naked eye, cataracts can easily be mistaken for a normal aging change, called nuclear sclerosis which causes hazy changes on the cornea of the eye. Cataracts can only be treated with surgery, but this is not necessarily recommended for every dog. The eye drops available on the market have not been shown to be effective (except in the case of cataracts caused by diabetes) and can cause some deleterious side effects. Although cataracts do impact vision, they are not painful and do not always require an urgent visit to the vet. I hope this helps to clarify things and that all goes well for Leche!

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