Posted: Dec. 22, 2008, 3 a.m. EST
In what may be a first for veterinary medical history, a 15-year-old cat has been fitted with contact lenses to help protect his eyes from being scratched. Ernest, who lives at a shelter in England, suffers from a condition called entropion, in which his eyelids turned inward and scratched his eyeballs, the CBS KEYE Channel 42 News reports.
Veterinarians decided to fit Ernest with the contacts because the cat is too old to have surgery with general anesthesia. Staff at the Godshill RSPCA on the Isle of Wight, Ernest's home of 13 years, said they never heard of a cat wearing contact lenses before.
Shelter staff will remove and clean the lenses every three weeks. Ernest helps shelter employees test incoming dogs, to see if the dogs get along well with cats. He will continue to live at the RSPCA because he is a permanent and popular fixture on the reception desk, staff said.