My kitty has conjunctivitis.

My kitty, Panther, has conjunctivitis. When we visited the vet about 3 weeks ago, he said he would wait and see if it would recover by itself.

His third eyelid is not as red as when he was at the vet, but he still has discharge from both of this eyes. How long should I wait before going to the vet again?

Is he on any meds for it?
My Cleo has a eye infection and is on Terramycin and Clavamox for it.
I would see the vet again.

Originally Posted by mews2much

Is he on any meds for it?
My Cleo has a eye infection and is on Terramycin and Clavamox for it.
I would see the vet again.

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No, he is not on any medication. The vet said he wanted to see if he will recover himself. I will make an appt after Thanksgiving then.

Originally Posted by mews2much

Is there any green or yellow coming from his eyes?

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Yes, there is green sticky thing coming from his eyes.

Originally Posted by koobe

My kitty, Panther, has conjunctivitis. When we visited the vet about 3 weeks ago, he said he would wait and see if it would recover by itself.

His third eyelid is not as red as when he was at the vet, but he still has discharge from both of this eyes. How long should I wait before going to the vet again?

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I'm surprised your vet didn't prescribe any medication or at least tell you to come back in a week. When the vet saw him, did he have the discharge in his eyes? At that time, was it clear?

I would follow up ASAP. If there is green discharge now, that's a sign of infection and he'll probably need antibiotics. He may be at risk for developing ulcers or damaging his eyes - 3 weeks is a long time, and his vision may be at risk.

Any chance you can get him in today?

NOW is the time to go back to the vet, or a new vet who will prescribe meds when he diagnoses the problem. How uncomfortable for your cat to have been hurting this whole time! I have a cat who gets conjunctivitis often and we never leave the vet without some kind of eye drops and an eye lubricant.

When I saw the vet, Panther had the green discharge. I raised the question about how to clean his eyes, because I did not know that is abnormal.

Then the doctor showed me his red third eye lid and briefed me about it.
He said he will wait and see if he gets better before giving him antibiotics.
He de-wormed both kittens that day (I have 2).

Since I adopted my kittens from the shelter, so he did not charge us for that first visit. I wonder if he intentionally did not give Panther medicine because he wanted us to go back so he can charge us.

He sounded like conjunctivitis is really common and minor. I will see if I can make another appt asap. Thank you for all your advices.

Since it's Thanksgiving weekend I don't think I can find a vet before next week. Do you think this is serious enough to bring Panther to ER for the conjunctivitis?

If there is green, yellow, or some other discharge, there's an infection. It could be an eye infection only or part of an upper respiratory infection. Whatever it is, your little one is sick and probably somewhat uncomfortable. I don't know if it's severe enough to go to the ER vet on Thanksgiving. If you can find a vet open regular hours on Friday, you can probably get by with waiting. If not, then you'll need to go to the vet at some point in time as your little one is sick. If nothing else, it's uncomfortable (think pink eye and eye infection in a human kind of uncomfortable). There is the possibility that if left untreated it will cause permanent damage.

At least call the vet's office and find out if they'll be open regular hours tomorrow. If not, call around to other vets in the area and find out if they'll be open on Friday. Most vets have an answering service or message on an answering machine/voice mail. If not, then go to the emergency vet so that your little one will start to feel better.

Originally Posted by BrookeSphynx

I'm surprised your vet didn't prescribe any medication or at least tell you to come back in a week. When the vet saw him, did he have the discharge in his eyes? At that time, was it clear?

I would follow up ASAP. If there is green discharge now, that's a sign of infection and he'll probably need antibiotics. He may be at risk for developing ulcers or damaging his eyes - 3 weeks is a long time, and his vision may be at risk.

Any chance you can get him in today?

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Originally Posted by stephanietx

NOW is the time to go back to the vet, or a new vet who will prescribe meds when he diagnoses the problem. How uncomfortable for your cat to have been hurting this whole time! I have a cat who gets conjunctivitis often and we never leave the vet without some kind of eye drops and an eye lubricant.

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Originally Posted by stephanietx

If there is green, yellow, or some other discharge, there's an infection. It could be an eye infection only or part of an upper respiratory infection. Whatever it is, your little one is sick and probably somewhat uncomfortable. I don't know if it's severe enough to go to the ER vet on Thanksgiving. If you can find a vet open regular hours on Friday, you can probably get by with waiting. If not, then you'll need to go to the vet at some point in time as your little one is sick. If nothing else, it's uncomfortable (think pink eye and eye infection in a human kind of uncomfortable). There is the possibility that if left untreated it will cause permanent damage.

At least call the vet's office and find out if they'll be open regular hours tomorrow. If not, call around to other vets in the area and find out if they'll be open on Friday. Most vets have an answering service or message on an answering machine/voice mail. If not, then go to the emergency vet so that your little one will start to feel better.

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... I would call the er vet if it is not getting better and talk to them

I have looked online for more information.
Panther's discharge has been much less than when he was at the vet 3 weeks ago. When he was at the vet, the discharge was thick and sticky.

Now his discharge is little and mostly dry. His eyes are not blinking, his third eyelids are not as pink, more towards pinkish grey. His eyes are bright, and his third eyelids are not visible when his eyes are open. Cheetah has some dry eye discharge too on one eye. I am just hoping that is normal.

Anyway, I have made an appointment tomorrow at an animal hospital to have Panther check out. When I called, they said if my vet said I could wait and let him recover himself, that should not be serious. So they said I could wait until tomorrow.

My vet has very good reviews online, but I think it is a good idea to have my kitties in the record of the animal hospital too in case of emergency.

Thank you all for your advices. Happy Thanksgiving!

So glad you called and so glad you'll be taking her in tomorrow. Keep us posted!

Conjunctivitis is pretty common and usually not serious although if it's left untreated it can cause permanent damage. I'm surprised your vet told you to wait with treatment. I've never had a vet tell me that even with minor conjunctivitis.

Since Panther has had this for a while now he will probably need both an eye ointment and an oral antibiotic, usually Clavamox or Amoxicillin. In my opinion the Triple Antibiotic eye ointment works best. If you have a choice between drops and ointment I would pick oitment as it's so much easier to apply.

Just to let you know, for future reference, if your kitty gets conjunctivitis again and it's not serious you can usually treat it yourself with Terramycin which you can buy online or in stores like Tractor Supply Store or other farm supply stores. You give it to the kitty three times a day for 7-10 days. If you don't see results within a few days though you should see a vet. Always start treatment as soon as you see symptoms so that it doesn't get worse.

Good luck. I hope Panther feels better soon.

How did the vet visit go?

Thank you all.

The vet at the hospital said he does not see anything wrong with Panther. Everything looks normal.

Viewing all your replies, sound like a good vet should always give treatment even with the slightest symptom.

My vet, right from the beginning, told me,"Cats are just like kids, if there is something minor, you wait for a few days to see if they will recover by themselves. If he does not get better, then you come back for some treatments."

Even when I called my vet about Cheetah's (my another kitten) diarrhea, the reception lady told me there was nothing available that week (for 2 times) and asked me to give him chicken breast and rice/baby food. The vet and his staff sound pretty laid back.

He has very good review on yelp, but now I am worried.

Originally Posted by koobe

Thank you all.

The vet at the hospital said he does not see anything wrong with Panther. Everything looks normal.

Viewing all your replies, sound like a good vet should always give treatment even with the slightest symptom.

My vet, right from the beginning, told me,"Cats are just like kids, if there is something minor, you wait for a few days to see if they will recover by themselves. If he does not get better, then you come back for some treatments."

Even when I called my vet about Cheetah's (my another kitten) diarrhea, the reception lady told me there was nothing available that week (for 2 times) and asked me to give him chicken breast and rice/baby food. The vet and his staff sound pretty laid back.

He has very good review on yelp, but now I am worried.

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Wow, IMO that's VERY irresponsible for the receptionist to give you advice about your kitten if the vet hasn't seen him, and I have never had a vet tell me to "wait a few days" to see if something will go away on it's own unless they have seen the pet first and can make a proper evaluation. We all know that with animals, especially young ones, early diagnosis and treatment can be the key to a full and easy recovery.

If you aren't comfortable with this vet, I would highly recommend finding a new one. It's so very important to have a good, trusting relationship with your vet - these are our babies, after all!

That said, I am so happy to hear that Panther is doing well!

The vet was seeing the kittens when he told me about this recover-by-itself theory.

But yes, they are really laid back and they are always fully book. I have another animal hospital in mind so I can always bring them there even for emergency.