Eye problem - advise - not so nice pic

Hi !

I care for a stray colony, we live in a greek island.. .so not many resources.
I managed to catch this semi feral cat, she's had these eyes for about 10 days till I managed to catch her and take to vet.
Her inside lids are VERY swollen and she cannot see
Vet gave her a couple of injections, I asume they were a kind of antibiotic and gave me a cortesone eye cream to give her twice a day
This is the first time in my life I see something like this... has anyone had an experience with this kind of eyes? vet said that the inner lid is full of a substance that should go out somehow, her eyes are there, but we must save them !!
Vet is no specialist in eyes.... is just a rural vet that knows a little about pets... so I just want to get some feedback on this pic.
(The white stuff you see on her eyes is the eye cream)

Thank you !!

Poor girl!!!
I am no vet but it looks like a bad case of damage of the cornea probably from a fight. Inflamation and sticky discharge will cause the eyelids to close like that. Your vet sounds capable, although surgery is needed to save the eyes (if it is what I think it is).

It's a virus causing conjunctivitis - I've seen my fair share of kittens and cats with it.

http://www.animaleyecare.net/disease...unctivitis.htm has some info. Look up "feline conjunctivitis" and "conjunctivitis cats" for more.

I'll hazard to say since this is a cat, not a kitten, and she doesn't have a crusty nose to go along with it that it could just be herpes. Unfortunately herpes virus can cause a lot of damage to cats eyes.

Thank you for your replies ! It is definetely not from a fight, is just a super bad infection, the picture of the feline conjunctivitis is exactly how she looks... today it seems to me that is a tini bit better..... I hope meds will work and she'll recover her eyes....
I never thought it would be from feline herpes... she is around 5 yrs old female sterilized, and never ever was sick of anything. ...I know some feline herpes cats have droopy eyes (I have one at home) and are sensible to URI's ..... but I never saw any case like this...

Thank you !

Ronit

Anything is possible. Unless you specifically test for a virus you can't tell which one it is. I'm going to guess that testing for a virus might be a little beyond your vet.. Your vet could possibly handle doing a culture to see what else is present there.

I've aways had them treated with antibiotics and an antibiotic eye ointment - but most of those cats had respiratory symptoms on top of it.

How socialized is this kitty? It could take a while to get her better, so I hope she lets you take care of her.
L-lysine (if you can get it there), like what is used to help herpes kitties immune systems, could possible help her a little.

I hope she gets better and there is no damage to her eyes.
And most importantly, since this is likely something very contagious, wash up well after handling her and even go so far as to change clothes before you go back with your own cats.

Is there any update on this poor cat ?

my cat had the same problem, not in both eyes and not quite as bad but it was awful. vet suspected alot of things, gave eye drops that i had to put in every hour for two weeks!!her eye is now 100 percent better. she was also given antibiotics to take twice a day.xx

Originally Posted by Nance

Is there any update on this poor cat ?

Click to expand...

Yes please keep us posted! Poor baby!!!

Hi !!

Thank you ALL for your advice !!

Kitty is doing better, after 5 days now I see a little improvement, eyelid still red and swollen but not covering all eyeball as in the begining, now is 3/4 covered, and she can see, i do not know how well, but she can see my hands moving and the bowl with food
I've been giving her the cortisone eyedrops and the antibiotics. Tomorrow I will go and get more antibiotics cause vet will be closed for xmas.
I will try and take a pic tomorrow and post it !!

I am sure it will still take a while till she be totally recovered...

Merry X-mas to all !! and Happy New Year full of love for our loved ones (two and four legged)

R

Thanks for the update....I sure hope she makes a full recovery...

Here is a picture I took a while ago... as you can see there is some eye showing there !!

Awww still sad....but its getting better

She is so lucky she has you - and I'm sure you are being blessed for your love and caring.

Definitely an improvement. You can see her third eyelid, which looks swollen. That was a very serious infection, Ronit and it will probably take a while for her to recover. But she is on her way there.