Pesky Eye Infection

I am so discouraged... about 3 weeks ago, my cat's eye was extremely watery and had brown tears all around her eye...under her eyelid seemed red. So I took her to the vet and got an antibiotic ointment. It seemed like her eye was clearing up...then, after a week, it was suddenly very red and swollen--worse than before. So I took her back to the vet and got antibiotic drops. I used those for a week and the eye was clearing up nicely. I stopped using it last Thursday, but there were times she still was winking a little. This morning, her eye was looking really good --open all the way, so I was happy. After work, it was still looking good. Then I ran out for an hour...came back...and her eye was a complete mess. Red around it, the conjuctiva swollen so much I couldn't see her eyeball, yellow gunk in the eye, watering....why???? I don't understand why it isn't staying gone. Has anyone else dealt with anything like this? I really want to hear that this is gonna go away...

Before this happened, I gave the cats canned fish and I noticed she was really cleaning her face afterwards....maybe she scratched her eye? (Her nails were long...I just trimmed them in case she hurt herself while cleaning) Allergic to the fish? Irritated because I opened the windows? Or I just stopped the drops too early?

I'd use the drops for at least a few days after her eyes look clear. Also, you might ask the vet whether giving her Lysine might be beneficial. My partner's kitty had an eye infection, and the Lysine has helped tremendously in clearing it up and keeping it clear.

Thanks for the reply! Right now eye is looking better....no more squinting and it looks like the inflammation is gone. Both eyes are watering clear a little though. If they don't clear up this week, I will ask about lysine!

It's very possible that your kitty could have feline herpes and it manifests itself in eye infections, runny/watery eyes. What kind of drops are you using? I have a herpes + kitty and we use Gentamycin drops for her. There's also another one, NeoPolyDex (no steroids) that's very good.

Your kitty could also have allergies and could have rubbed her eye and scratched it. Did the vet do a stain on her eye to check for scratches and such?

The eye was stained and there were no scratches or ulcers...at the most recent visit, the dr. did suggest herpes as a possibility and we discussed how the eye becomes watery whenever there is stress such as a move or another major change (though usually it doesn't get as bad as it did) -vet said herpes flareups would make sense to be coinciding with stress. My cat started with tetramycin ointment and moved to tobrimycin(?) drops..it sounds like there are a lot of different options to try, which is good. I will make a list of these medicines to ask the vet about

Stress is a major cause of herpes outbreaks. Try adding lysine to your kitty's diet consistently and you might try a Feliway diffuser to see if you notice any change with the outbreaks. The key is to keep the stress level as low as possible and keep the virus from replicating itself. The feliway diffuser helps with the stress and the lysine helps break the cycle of the virus. Also, switching her to a grain-free diet will help tremendously. For the lysine, you can get tablets at Wal-Mart and crush them and mix into wet food or you can buy the 1 pound powdered variety online at Amazon. We use the powdered variety since it dissolves in wet food with a bit of water added. Start off with 250mg twice a day until the eye thing has cleared up, then go to 250mg daily for maintenance.

For her eyes, ask your vet for an eye drop that doesn't contain a steroid, since steroids also contribute to a herpes outbreak because they suppress the immune system.

Thanks..I am going to talk to the vet about all this...

We are at least making progress....

Here is an example of what was going on before

You're doing a great job! With something that severe to start with, it will take a bit longer for it to clear up.

Thanks! It is kind of encouraging to hear someone say it isn't too abnormal to still be having problems after a month!

Also, since it MIGHT be herpes, and herpes affects the immune system, it will take a bit longer as well. When Hannah gets sick, she usually has to have 2 10-day rounds of antibiotics to completely get rid of whatever (URI) is ailing her. Sometimes the kitties will pick up on your stress of them not getting better and that just stresses the kitty out more, so try to be relaxed and keep up the good work.