DR BRUCE CHARD

contact@northharbourvet.co.nz MY 2-year-old shih tzu called Bess has recently had an eye discharge in her left eye, which I cleared with saline wipes. While treating this I noticed there were hairs on the eye surface coming from the inner corner of her eye. Should I have these removed?

Good detective work on your part for seeing the hairs on the eye surface, or cornea, of Bess. There is a condition of shih tzu where hairs grow from tissue in the inner corner of the eye and lie across the cornea. They can cause irritation and increased tears. The hairs can be plucked out under anaesthetic but they usually regrow. Your vet may recommend surgical removal of the tissue, or freezing the area of hair growth. It is important to not damage tear drainage with any treatment, so Bess may be referred to a veterinary ophthalmologist.

Spencer, our 10-year-old tabby cat, has a couple of soft swellings over his chest, which my vet says are benign fatty lumps. Recently, he developed a firm growth over his left side, approximately 5mm in size. It is not bothering him so should I just keep an eye on it for further change?

As Spencer has been checked previously for two growths it would be best to have the new growth checked. Your vet will measure the size of the growth and check there has been no change with the fatty lumps previously identified. Best practice is to have a needle placed into the growth and a smear made on a slide and stained for your vet to look for any suspicious cells. If it is confirmed as a potential cancer your vet will arrange to have it removed, then have it identified. Your vet can also confirm that the other swellings just contain fat cells.