# Cloudy eye = Certain death?????



## ratjpg (May 9, 2014)

I just found something on a website saying if an animal has a cloudy, matte eye then it will probably be dead in 3-4 weeks. Is this even half true? I have never heard anything like this.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

ratjpg said:


> I just found something on a website saying if an animal has a cloudy, matte eye then it will probably be dead in 3-4 weeks. Is this even half true? I have never heard anything like this.


No not necessarily. A cloudy eye can be a cataract which happens with old age. It can also be an injury or infection, and infections that aren't treated can be fatal.


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## ratjpg (May 9, 2014)

"Clouding of the surface of the eye is another bad sign - not to be confused with cataracts, which are seen as white or smoky patches deep inside the eye and which, while commonest in old rats, have no bearing on life-span. If the surface of the eye takes on a cloudy, matte appearance ask your vet for drops in case this is due to an eye infection - if it isn't, the animal will probably be dead in three or four weeks. However I have seen one case where a doe whose health was being pulled down by a large tumour developed cloudy eyes which cleared again after her operation, so it isn't an invariable terminal sign - only nearly so." This is what it says. Am I missing something? I am confused.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

What's the source? Obviously not everything is to be trusted on the web. 

Cloudy eyes (depending on what "cloud" you're seeing) can mean nonserious things such as a scratch or cataracts. As I said, it can also mean infection. They touched on another possibility - a tumor. However, there are more symptoms than just a clouded eye that would mean tumors (which can be fatal and untreatable), and a vet can diagnose a tumor easily enough and on occasion easily remove it. 

However I stand by original assertion that a clouded eye can somehow mean a month to live is false. There are cases, perhaps, but there are so many other outliers.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

I wouldn't say it's a sure sign of death of the eye (or rat), but a cloudy eye can be quite serious and definitely warrants a vet visit. I have seen a few cases of glaucoma over the years, which can end up with a blind eye, dead eye, or an eye that needs removed, depending on when treatment is started.


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## ratjpg (May 9, 2014)

Thanks guys. I think it was "myadasa fish" or something. I actually woke up to a rat with cloudy eye this morning though and am about to post some photos now.


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