Please Help! Pink Eye!

I seem to be having some pink eye trouble with two of my cats.
The one siamese cat brought it into our house when we adopted her. We brought her to the vet, they gave us a gel, and it seemed to clear her up. She then passed it on to our black cat, so we brought her in and they put her on a different gel. Both were also on a white antibiotic. They were cleared up in a week and have been clear for about two weeks. Now, the siamese started showing signs of red around the rims of her eyes and the black cat has a SEVERE red, puffy, gooey thing going on with her one eye. It's horrible. I don't like the vet that I am currently seeing and would like any advice that this thread can offer. I have left over gel medicine that I started to administer again--but no white antibiotic. Does anyone know of any thing that will help the black cat? The siamese responds well with the gel. She's almost clear--whereas the black cat looks as if she's about to pop her eye out any minute. It's just horrible.

They need to see the vet again asap

If the ones eye ruptures, she will surely lose vision in that eye, not to mention how painful that will be. Did the vet run any tests for feline herpes? If not, they need that test

I would find another vet (if you really don't like yours) and take them back and have them swab the eyes and make sure they are treating the correct eye infection (calivirus, herpesvirus, chlamydia)

I just posted on another thread about how conjunctivitis frequently self-cures but can get worse if the treatment is wrong. Maybe your one cat has latent herpesvirus that is being exacerbated by the treatment.

Most vets will give a steroidal treatment, the same as what a doctor will give a person with an eye infection. This is fine but if it is herpesvirus (a common virus for cats), that treatment will make your kitty show initial improvement and then the eye will get worse because steroids are not good for herpes.

Also if it is herpesvirus related, siamese cats seem to get it worse.

Here is a good article about it:http://www.hcvma.org/articles/Feline...unctivitis.PDF

I also just recommended this book on another thread http://www.amazon.com/Cat-Owners-Hom.../dp/0876057962 where you can get a used one very cheaply. It goes into explanations of types of upper respiratory illnesses and it is a very practical guide if your cat gets ill .

Thank you for the replies.
I just got word from someone at work about another vet in the area that is a good one.
She's had quite a few cats in the past and shares the same "STRONG dislike" for my current vet as I do. I'm definitely going to look up the number right this moment and make an appointment. The last thing I want is for poor Puma to rupture her eye!!!!!

PS: Can someone send me the link to the other threads that talk about this? I tried a search via the search button on this forum, but found only one post. I must be doing something wrong because I'm sure there's more than one post about pink eye!

You'll have more luck with a search on conjunctivitis

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...conjunctivitis
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...conjunctivitis
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...conjunctivitis
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...conjunctivitis
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...conjunctivitis

Originally Posted by chichismom

You'll have more luck with a search on conjuctivitis

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...conjunctivitis
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...conjunctivitis
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...conjunctivitis
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...conjunctivitis
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...conjunctivitis

Click to expand...

LOL, i should have figured! I suppose my head is so filled with worry I didn't even think of that. Thanks so much for the links!

No problem

You can also try a search on herpes- that might even bring up more


I would'nt go back to the first vet- try the new one
Good luck! please keep us updated

Good news! I was able to make an appointment with the NEW vet for this evening!
Over the phone, she was able to give me such good information to calm my fears. I also was able to read pretty much EVERY thread available about feline herpes and conjunctavitis.
I've gained a lot of knowledge and feel much better about the current situation. I am dissapointed that my previous vet tested for several other things and medicated my cats for anything BUT herpes. If it were a normal vet, I would defend their actions by saying "they must have had their reasons" but these cats have shown ALL the "classic" signs and symptoms of herpes and it should have been a red flag to this vet...I'm just pretty sure they wanted as much money out of me as possible.
ANYWAYS!! Thanks to all for the great info--I'll certainly be writing tonight to let you all know how things go!

How are your kitties tonight? What did the vet say?

I have 2 cats who have Herpes, but we rarely see a flare-up. Herpes is triggered by stress and changes in their environment. I've found, after reading such good things about it on this board, that L-Lysine is a wonderful "treatment" for Herpes. (There is no cure for Herpes, but it can be managed.) It boosts the immune system and helps the Herpes stay in check. I give each kitty about 500mg a day in wet food. I buy the tablets at Wal-mart and just crush between 2 spoons, then sprinkle on their food. If I notice them sneezing more or rubbing their eyes/ears, I increase the doseage to 1000 mg, and medicate in the morning w/ food and in the evening w/ food.

For my older kitty, who is easily stressed, I use a Comfort Zone w/ feliway plug in. The natural pheromes released really help her relax so she becomes more socialable and keeps the URI, UTI, and Herpes outbreaks to a minimum.

Stephanie

Hi Puma,

I can relate to what you're going through. I already had an adopted cat when I found two feral kittens a few months ago. They have gone through numerous "pink eye" problems and I had exactly the same cyclical problems as you. I'd treat, it would get better, then it would come up again. One of my kittens also had a reaction to the eye ointment (antibiotic/steroid) and so I went back to my vet with the concerns you mentioned of herpes, or an allergic reation, etc. My vet said that if they had herpes the infection would be extremely bad and we found out that that kitten had a scratch on his eye (which can also cause a reaction to steroids). My vet perscribed a steroid-free ointment (terramycin I think) and we treated, got better, then all 3 cats started having problems... plus sneezing. At that point, I figured that they were "passing it around" like kids at daycare... one would improve, but had passed it on, then I'd treat them, they'd improve, then pass it on, etc.

So, back to the vet 2 weeks ago. Now I'm treating all three cats with terramycin three times a day and giving them all oral antibiotics. The vet said that either it was herpesvirus or chlamydia (a more severe infection than pink-eye). We have to continue the treatment for one month and go from there. If the eye problem doesn't improve the vet said herpes is likely the cause... From what I've read, herpes is hard to diagnose, even with the bloodwork/test so that could be why vets are hesitant to use an unreliable test. That said, I'm also treating with L-lysine every day (500mg on food that both of the kittens eat).

My cats' eye problems have drastically improved, but I have 3 weeks yet to go (they so LOOOVVEEE taking oral meds and getting stuff in their eyes). So we'll see.. The bad part is that I've got to wait to get them altered until the treatment is through so I've got my fingers crossed that they won't start marking before they're done.

Good luck with your kitties!
Art

How did the vet appt go?


One of royal canins' dry formulas: special 33- has L-lysine already in it
when I heard how well it works, I went on a search for a food with L-lysine in it.I found this one- Murphy loves it, and has'nt had a flare-up since

Here are a few threads on it

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...light=l-lysine
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...light=l-lysine
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...light=l-lysine
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...light=l-lysine