Q: My elderly dog's eyes appear to be getting cloudy. Is this cataracts? He seems to see just fine.

A:Nuclear sclerosis and Cataracts are the major causes of cloudiness of the eyes. Nuclear sclerosis is a normal aging change in the lens of a dog's eye. In this case the lens, which is a gelatinous material, begins to harden as the dog gets older. Fortunately, this cloudiness doesn't cause major changes in the ability of the dog to see. Sometimes this cloudiness affects depth perception at dawn and dusk. Dogs may be hesitant to bound up or down the stairs during these times of day, but otherwise you won't notice much.

Cataracts cause a more opaque cloud through which light does not pass. When lenses develop cataracts, they have a more white appearance. Cataracts don't have to fill the entire lens. They may begin as small dots that can enlarge over time into a mature cataract affecting the whole lens. The dots probably cause some obstruction of vision, a human might describe seeing spots, although a mature cataract causes complete blindness.

Many people have dogs with mature cataracts and total blindness and the pet's guardian has no idea that the pet cannot see. This is because pets remember where thing are and use other senses to help them get around. They can navigate the house and the yard perfectly. It is only when you move something that you will see the pet bump into an obstacle. Blindness is easier to detect in an active dog because you will notice that they can no longer find their ball or Frisbee.

While you don't need to do anything about nuclear sclerosis, cataracts do require treatment and monitoring.

After the lens develops a mature cataract it can begin to leak proteins into the rest of the eye. These proteins can cause inflammation which causes the eye to be soft and red.

This is an uncomfortable condition which requires immediate treatment. Eventually the inflammation can lead to obstruction of the channels in the eye that control fluid flow.

When this happens, fluid can't move out of the eye and glaucoma, or hard eye, results.

Glaucoma is extremely painful, although your pet may not tell you this in obvious ways such as whining or pawing at the eye. Instead, pets with glaucoma just become less active. Most people think this decrease in activity is from aging or arthritis, but when the glaucoma is treated and vision is restored, dogs regain their puppy-like attitudes.

Having cataracts removed early can restore vision, but more importantly, it reduces the chances of inflammation and glaucoma.

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(Dr. Katherine A. Saenger, DVM, owns Bees Ferry Veterinary Hospital and Boarding Kennel (www.beesferry.com) and is a former board member of the Charleston Animal Society. Contact her: vetsaenger@bellsouth.net )

The procedure requires a specialist and special equipment. Charleston is lucky to have a talented and compassionate veterinary ophthalmologist in Mt. Pleasant.

Another reason for hesitation is that the procedure does not guarantee that the pet will be able to see again. Fortunately, if you act early, many dogs do and a veterinary ophthalmologist can usually give you a good idea as to whether your pet will regain vision or not.

Finally, cataract removal does not come without complications. Most pets with cataracts are older and have other problems too. Fortunately, our local specialist's team is familiar with using anesthesia in dogs with heart, liver or kidney problems and complications are minimized. Following the procedure, the eye can react badly with inflammation.

Medications are used before and after the procedure to reduce this risk.

Overall, even with the potential complications, the rewards of cataract removal outweigh the side effects and may even reduce long term costs by reducing the risk of glaucoma.

If you notice that your pet has a cloudy eye, be sure to have your veterinarian take a look.

Sometimes the cloudiness is not in the lens, but rather on the surface of the eye, or the cornea. Cloudiness here suggests that the cornea has had some type of trauma, for example a sting or scratch. These injuries require treatment immediately to maintain vision. Cloudiness just behind the cornea suggests an infiltration of some type of cell like white blood cells (inflammation) or tumor cells. Again, early diagnosis is the key to controlling these conditions.

I have mostly discussed dogs here, but all species get cloudy eyes. My pet bird has a cataract and I recently saw a ferret with one. Cats get nuclear sclerosis more rarely than dogs, but they often have problems that cause cloudiness in other parts of the eye. So, if you notice a color change or haziness in any pet's eye, be sure to have it checked out.

Early detection of any of these problems can make the difference between perfect vision and painful blindness.

(Dr. Katherine A. Saenger, DVM, owns Bees Ferry Veterinary Hospital and Boarding Kennel (www.beesferry.com) and is a former board member of the Charleston Animal Society (formerly John Ancrum SPCA.) If you have questions about pet behavior or health, or suggestions for column topics, e-mail her at vetsaenger@bellsouth.net, and watch the column in coming weeks for her responses.)