eye irritation-terramycin experience?

After putting Bubba down in August after his cancer came back full-blast, we took a few months to grieve and are now happy to announce the adoption of 6 month old Rula! We've had her over a week and she's a dream.

Took her to the vet on Monday night, b/c she had a bit of mucus in her left eye and had been squinting for a couple of days. Vet says it looks fine, maybe some minor conjunctivitis and gives us terramycin ointment to use 2x a day. I put some in her right eye, as well, this morning because that one looked a bit off. Now she seems to be squinting more than before. It's possible I put too much in her eyes this morning. Her fur around the eyes seems a little greasy from the ointment. She doesn't seem bothered by it at all--still playing, eating normally-- but when she looks at me, she squints a bit. Could it just be too much of the ointment? Should I use a cotton ball and some warm water to gently wipe around her eyes?

Thanks

I am using the same medicine as you are right now.
The cats do look greasy around the eyes after you use it.
Are you putting it on the eyeball itself?
My vet said to do that.

Yeah, I tried my best to get most of it on the eyeball. Are your kitties squinting?

Yea they are.
Cleo my sphynx had it first and it was easy to put on her but she did squint.
Now my Oreo is on it and she sqints like crazy after I put it in her eye.
She tries to block me.
They both pawed at thier eyes.
It also took Oreos eyebrows off for some reason.
It works very well though.
I used it on Wrinkles also.

Aw, I'm sorry you have to use it on so many kitties. I hope it does the trick!

Thanks,
I have 3 tubes of it.
Cleo got sick from a cat show and passed it to Oreo.
Wrinkles got sick when she shipped her in Sept.
Oreo and Cleo have the same thing.
Wrinkles doest.

I always have Terramycin home, as Bugsy has Herpes and the vet said to use it as need it... It does give the impression that the eye is irritated, and it is a strong antibiotic, so you need to make sure to keep using it for the number of days the vet tells you - I use it for 3 days for a mild eye infection, and 4 days for a stronger one, 2x/day.
You do need to put it inside of the eyeball.
Once you stop using it, the irritation goes away...

Terramycin normally causes them to squint. I think it burns a little bit and yes it makes them look greasy around the eye. You can use a cotton ball with warm water to get the excess off their coat, but wait at least 5 minutes. It takes about that long for the eye to absorb the medication. That is the rule of thumb we use at the vet hospital when it comes to animals with more than 1 eye medication. Good Luck with the eye boogies!!!

Thanks for the advice. It's spot on. I wiped both eyes with a warm cotton ball and she was bright-eyed right after. Then I let the night dosage get absorbed for about 30 minutes before I wiped her again. Good as new!

Terramycin works very well on mild conjunctivitis but it does burn quite a bit when you apply it. A vet told me not to use it because it burns while another vet told me that he's never heard that. So I actually decided to try it myself (terramycin is used for humans too) and it surely burned and was not comfortable at all. I do still use it on my cats but I do prefer to use Triple Antibiotic Ointment on them instead as it doesn't burn. You can't get that OTC though so you have to get it from the vet which of course costs more.

It can take a few days until you see results from the treatment and in the mean time it's possible that the infection gets worse so maybe that's what you're seeing. Like others sais the eye gets a bit greasy from the ointment too so that may be what you are seeing too. I wouldn't worry about it just yet since you are treating.

I came here looking for this answer as well. I have a 5 month old kitten that has seemed to have pink eye in left eye since we brought her home. I will give her one dose and she will be good for a few weeks and then it comes back. I was not aware I should give it more. I am currently living in Saudi Arabia and the so called vets here have no training with animals what so ever, so I would trust you all before even asking them.

So helpful! Just applied it to my 7 week old kitty and it looked redder and more irritated. Glad to hear it is normal. Macie is on terramycin twice a day and an antibiotic for a URI. She didnt have fever or loss of appetite. Just a crusty eye and sneezing.