can cats get pink eye?

i JUST had sabastian to the vet last week for his yearly exam and she said everything seemed good.

well i noticed last nite he kept squinting his right eye closed and there was a little drainage...just like the stuff we get from pinkeye, well today its the same so i again cleaned it off the best i can, it doesnt look swollen and hes not in any pain, he lets me touch the area freely, and hes also eating, drinking and purring.

Yes, cats can get pink eye because my sister's male cat Charlie had a case last Fall. The vet gave him some salve for his eyes and he was over it in a few days.

Articles for a little bit of info:

http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/conjunctivitis.html

http://www.peteducation.com/article....1+2124&aid=250

True Pink Eye virus can only be contracted by humans and swine.
Conjunctivitis and irritation have many causes including viri and may be called pink eye, but it is not the same virus as the one we get.

wow thank you!

i held a cool papertowel over his eye to help clean it up, i feel so sorry for him. If it doesnt clear up it looks like another trip to the vet.

Perhaps it's only a minor irritation (and not an eye infection) that will respond to home treatment. Try this: very gently wipe the eye lid and the area around the eye with wet (white, don't use colored) Kleenex or wet cotton balls (something really, really soft) a few times today and tomorrow. A minor irritation will respond by the end of the day tomorrow. If you don't see any improvement (kitty is still squinting and there is still a discharge tomorrow night or on Monday morning) then yes, you'll have to take him in. And if that's the case, he should be seen as soon as possible.

omg im freaking out....is this contagious to other cats?

Almost any infection can be contagious. However, it may just be an irritation. Our first cat had a terrible time with a watery eye for a couple of weeks. Finally the vet anesthetized him and did a thorough exam. He found a hair behind his eyeball!

The likeliest cause is probably a URI. The second is feline herpes. The former might respond to antibiotics. The latter might be helped with lysine.

ive been dabbing it and cleaning it with cotton balls...he seems to be opening his eye a little more, i think i may just bite the bullet and make a vet appt tomorrow unless theres a huge improvement tomorrow.

yay! i woke up this morning to crunch crunch crunch....

and i went in and it was Sabastian and he looked up at me and his eye is opening alot more! I can tell its getting better!

So today me and BF are still going to keep up with the cotton balls every few hours.

Good news! Do you still see a discharge?

What are you using on the cotton balls?

My mother, the farm girl, always used a weak solution of boric acid, which you can get at your local pharmacy. Most vet-prescribed eye solutions have some boric acid in them. And by weak, I mean like 1% - 2% or so.

Originally Posted by mrblanche

What are you using on the cotton balls?

My mother, the farm girl, always used a weak solution of boric acid, which you can get at your local pharmacy. Most vet-prescribed eye solutions have some boric acid in them. And by weak, I mean like 1% - 2% or so.

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i was just using water on the cotton balls to clean around his eye, and then i would dry it too.

luckily its all cleared up, no discharge, eye fully opened. My one friend worked as a vet asst for a long time and she also told me of another oinment i can get at a farm store thats not too far away from me and it would save me tonz of money being raped by the vet, so if it ever happens again i know i have options

Originally posted by cats4sky:
My one friend worked as a vet asst for a long time and she also told me of another oinment i can get at a farm store that's not too far away from me and it would save me tonz of money being raped by the vet, so if it ever happens again i know i have options.

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Please please please, take my advice and don't ever do that. Don't use any kind of preparation, ointment or eye drops, instead of taking your kitties to the vet and having their eye problem properly diagnosed. Cats can have many different eye problems and eye diseases. In some cases using the wrong preparation can cause blindness. Don't take that risk.