Can you examine cat's eyes?

My cat had one watering eye, clear tears. I have been using Vetropolycin HC, this is the 4th day. This morning her eye looked pretty good...almost normal, but after I administered this, she was squinting and it really makes me worry. Is this probably just because I irritated her eye by putting the stuff in? It makes me feel bad to do it! Does it cause them some irritation or something? Does anybody know? I have such mixed emotions about using it. The Vet said 5-7 days so tomorrow is the 5th day.

I am also curious - when a Vet examines a cat's eyes for scratches or damage...this isn't something that would be visible to just anyone, is it? I am wondering if my cats eyes were damaged if I would be able to spot it, but I am thinking I would probably need the experience and tools of a vet to really do this.

Unless it's a larger scratch or very noticeable irritation it might be harder for you to spot. Vets (and doctors) use a small bright light that they shine in the eye, when checking for smaller scratches they use drops that stain the eye and make scratches or tears more noticeable.

Or at least that's what I had done to me as a small child when a cat scratched my eye

Isn't Vetro HC a bit much for just a watery eye to start out with. Why is the steroid necessary? Plus if the cat has conjunctivitis, it could make the eye worse. It just seems odd to me as I have had many cats with colds and eye problems and only once was given Vetro HC. I would imagine the ointment would sting if she has a scratch in her eye. If it was bad enough then you could see the scratch, otherwise it might be really small and a vet would use instruments to see it.

If the medicine doesn't seem to be helping, it could be that the eye is watering for a different reason. For example...

Our Abby has one eye that waters constantly, too, and when we finally took her to a veterinary ophthalmologist, it turned out that the problem is a blockage of the tear duct on that side. Normally, her tears would drain internally, into her nasal passages... but with the blockage, they're just pouring out of her eye instead.

We've been trying to decide whether to go ahead with the surgery that might or might not relieve this condition. They can't promise it will do any good, and of course, it's a bit of a risk, not to mention a huge expense... so we haven't moved on it yet.

I hope that's not the problem with your kitty, but I thought I'd mention it, just in case. Good luck!