Andrew - I have a cat, Butchy, with microphthalmia (undersized eyeball).
He only has it in his right eye also.
 
I came home for lunch one day in 1992, a very rare occurrence, and saw a
tiny kitten fall from the retaining wall into my backyard.  There was a
great big field behind my house were lots of feral cats lived and he was
from one of their litters.  I picked him up and he was skin and bones.
 
It was over 100 that day so I took him in and tried to give him water and
food but the poor guy was too weak, so I rushed him to the vet.  The vet
said that he had been abandoned by his mom because of all of his birth
defects, he had no upper eyelids, one oversized eye and one undersized
eye, bent tail, his black hair was light brown and falling out and God
knows what else.  He was the size of a 3 week old but the vet thought he
was about 6-8 weeks old.  What is even more strange is the last couple
of nights when I was in bed I could hear a kitten crying behind our
townhouses.  I figured it was just crying out for it's Mom and since it
would stop off and on, I figured the kitten was a wanderer that the mom
had to keep bringing back.  How little did I know this guy was fighting
to get anyone to help him.
 
The vet advised me to put him down because he would never survive outside.
I quickly straightened that out and told the vet this guy was never going
back out there again because he was going to join my menagerie.  My vet
injected subQ fluids and started him on an IV.  The oversized eye was
ulcerated without an upper eyelid so that was removed.  The vet took the
lower eyelid from the removed eye and transplanted it over the undersized
eye, however after a week it was evident it wasn't going to take.
 
I named him Butchy because he looked like a tough guy with one eye removed
and one strange eye.  Over the years we have discovered many weird birth
defects, like problems with the neuter- won't go into that, oversized gums
around his canines, back toenails that don't retract all the way, OUCH we
keep those nails trimmed.
 
Butch's eye oozes too and needs regular cleanings.  He also has an ointment
that I put in to hydrate the eye and keep it from getting irritated.  Over
the years the sight in Butch's one eye has diminished.  He started to loose
the eye sight after about 4 years and within 3 he was totally blind.
 
Butch however has never missed a beat.  When we move he is the first to
check out the place, while the other 2 kitties hide in fright.  This guy
never misses a meal and will walk all over anyone in his way.  He has the
greatest will to survive.  Here he is 9 years old and still the boss of
the house and all the critters in it.
 
As far as butt scooting, I have had really good luck with Care Fresh
litter.  It is sanitized paper mill left overs which may help with the
irritation issues and it really keeps the odors down.  The pellet newspaper
stuff I thought stunk even just out of the bag.  I would not use any of the
cat litters because of the dust, which creates problems for the lungs and
because of the silica which absorbs moisture and will probably acerbate the
sore butt problem.
 
Just my $0.02, I hope it helps.
 
Kim the Oregon one
 
Kim Reyes
John L. Scott Real Estate
Westside Residential Specialist
Direct:  (503) 380-4195
Fax: (503) 579-8745
Toll Free:  1-877-490-2595
Voice Mail:  (503) 245-6052 x 180
Website:  http://www.kimreyes.com
[Posted in FML issue 3469]