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Dogs > Health > Acquired Disorders > Cataracts Cataracts Digg this article Cataracts Can Affect Your Canine Cataracts are one of the most common eye problems in dogs, and they show up in canines of all breeds and in animals both young and old. As with humans, the only successful treatment is surgery.The word "cataract" literally is Latin for "break down," and refers to a problem that develops with the fibers in the lens of the eye. The disruption of these fibers causes the lens to become cloudy, reducing vision. There are several types of cataracts, which have different causes. All, however, result when the biochemistry of the eye (66 percent water and 33 percent protein), becomes out of balance. The end result is that too much water remains in the lens of the eye, while the percentage of insoluble proteins increases. The combination causes the cloudy white coating, loss of transparency and loss of vision characteristic of cataracts. [...] Comments Email to a Friend Digg this article Cloudy Eyes Common in Many Aging Dogs In a normal eye the lens is clear and translucent, the better to perform its job of transmitting and focusing light onto the retina in the back of the eye. When disease, aging, or injury clouds and/or damages this lens, a variety of vision-related problems can occur.One commonly recognized form of lens opacity is a cataract, which causes a cloudy film to gradually grow over the lens, obscuring vision. Most cataracts in dogs are genetically related. How old the dog is when cataracts appear and how severe they become depends largely on what type of breed is affected. [...] Comments Email to a Friend Digg this article Cataracts Can Occur in Young and Old Dogs Cataracts are one of the most well-known forms of eye disease, appearing as a cloudy or opaque spot that changes the lens of the eye and causes it to lose its translucence. Cataracts may be limited to a small section of the lens, or they may grow to affect the entire eye. Cataracts also can strike one or both eyes, depending upon the cause. If left untreated, cataracts inevitably end up costing the dog its sight.Many breeds are prone to inherited cataracts, which can be passed along through both dominant and recessive genes. Inherited forms result in what are known as primary cataracts. [...] Comments Email to a Friend