I have a real problem with Juno's eye

Juno is a feral cat about 18 months. She never lets me pick her up and she will not sit on my lap. She does sleep in bed with me. I can pet her but only at arms length and mainly in bed or in the morning in the bathroom. Thats it. She has a runny eye. This is something I've always dreaded, her being ill. I can't even catch her to take her to the vet for treatment. She has had all her vacinations, but only because my grandson crawls under the beds for her. I am not in shape to hunt her down. I have the antiobiotic for her eye but can't trick her into letting me apply it. I've tried treats, and the flea comb which she likes, no fleas but she likes being combed but again at arms length. If I get too close she runs. This is the second day the eye is bad. I'm going to call the vet in the AM, maybe she can recommend something. I know she loves me, she follows me room to room. She's watching me type this now. She was 3mo. when she was rescued from outdoors but never trusted anyone. I don't know what to do with her. I'm going to take the meds in the bathroom tonight and maybe in the morning I'll be able to apply it to her eye. If this works I'll only be able to trick her once a day not the 3 times it should be applied. My other cat always has runny eyes, but she lets me apply the ointment. The vet said its some form of feline herpes. Anyone ever heard of this? All advice appreciated.

Yes it could be feline herpes but it also could be just a blocked tear duct. I really don't like to treat eyes unless the vet has looked at the eye. Me personally if it is only one eye and no conjuctivitus I would leave it be.

If it is Herpes virus induced, then stress is one of the main factors in causing the condition to break out or get worse. If she really doesnt want to be caught, Id leave her be as your stressing her out is only going to make her worse. When I came to this conclusion with my cat (same watery eyes all the time), the vet agreed that the best thing for him was to leave him alone. I give him L-lysine, a really cheap and easily found human food suppliment that helps his immune system and lessens the chances of him getting conjunctivitus breakouts. I mash it in with his food so it causes him no stress at all. Since starting him on this, his eyes have cleared up, and I've saved a fortune because I'm not dragging him off to the vets every other day!! I crush 1 500mg tablet into his breakfast. I crush a second tablet into his dinner if he starts looking sniffy. I hope this helps.

Originally Posted by jennywhite686

If it is Herpes virus induced, then stress is one of the main factors in causing the condition to break out or get worse. If she really doesnt want to be caught, Id leave her be as your stressing her out is only going to make her worse. When I came to this conclusion with my cat (same watery eyes all the time), the vet agreed that the best thing for him was to leave him alone. I give him L-lysine, a really cheap and easily found human food suppliment that helps his immune system and lessens the chances of him getting conjunctivitus breakouts. I mash it in with his food so it causes him no stress at all. Since starting him on this, his eyes have cleared up, and I've saved a fortune because I'm not dragging him off to the vets every other day!! I crush 1 500mg tablet into his breakfast. I crush a second tablet into his dinner if he starts looking sniffy. I hope this helps.

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Thanks for the info. I'll get some of this supplement for both of my kitties. I had family over sunday night and we were able to trap poor Juno and treat her eye. Also used the opportunity to clip her nails. She is so non-agressive. All she did was try to bury her head in my grandson's arms and hide. I felt so bad for her. I was able to get the ointment in the eye yesterday morning and also this AM. She loves her morning leg rub against me in the bathroom. I hated to ruin her trust of me in the bathroom, its like her safe haven. I'm going to stop with the ointment and try the L-lysine. Its odd but this is the first time she's had this eye thing. With my other cat its every few weeks. Thanks so much, and also thanks to the other person who also advised to stop trying to trap Juno because of the stress factor. Its reassuring to know that other cats also have this eye problem

I use this form of L-Lysine:

http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails....1&pid=653&at=0

The can will last about a year for 1 cat. 1/4 tsp is 460mg, just shy of a daily maintenance dose for herpes. During flare ups, I double the dose.

People on this site have mixed it with their water, but that takes some planning to figure out how to mix with the water to give them the proper dosage. I mix mine into their wet food. The powder form is so much easier than crushing the tablets and I've tried the paste form - too expensive and when they changed the formula, my cats hated it.

I also have cats that are semi-feral and one OTB cat that was pretty much like your girl. Medical treatments for these guys needs to be as non-invasive as possible and you need to have some honest discussions with your vet if you have to treat them medically. I don't allow a vet to prescribe something to me that I know I can't give to them, and have them find alternatives that I can give to them. It's not always easy to do.

If it is truly herpes, the condition can happen for life. My Muddy has been on L-Lysine for about 3 years now, and it really has helped control flare ups.