Teary Eyes

tutti84 · Sep 3, 2013

Hello. I just came across this site and I hope you can help? I'have a female cat that I adopted 5 months ago (she's between 10-12 months old). Had all her shots and been fixed. She was a wild kitty and although she has come a long way she REFUSES to be picked up. Any motion she THINKS could be to pick her up totally freaks her out. You can tel how much stress this causes her. She's had a teary eye since I have her. Tried putting drops (Eyes So Bright) and cream (terramycin) but very inconsistently because of the no pickup issue. Last three weeks have been feeding her L-lysine but there has been no improvement. I dread the thought of trying to take her to the vet because I am sure the little progress we have made is going to be gone if I try to catch her and put her in the carrier. It breaks my heart to see that teary little eye. Any suggestions that don't include catching her? Thank you.

PS: I have three other cats and none of them have this problem so it may no be contageous.

Ruth

ldg · Sep 3, 2013

Hi and welcome to TCS. I hope we can help. :hugs:

Two things come to mind. We had a rescue kitty that ended up having an eye removed because it was so badly infected with herpes. I don't say this to scare you, but we fought for 7 months to save her eye. I never picked her up to put the medicine in her eye. I would put down a teaspoon or so of canned food as a treat for her. When she ate, I'd sit behind her, my butt on my heels, my knees out in a "V" around her. This "traps" her without her feeling trapped. When you give them medicine or drops or cream in their eyes, their natural instinct is to back up - but there's nowhere to back up. Just make sure you have the drops ready-to-go, or the cream already on your finger, ready to put in her eye. Hopefully she'll be busy eating. Just hold her head firmly with the hand that won't be doing the dropping or putting in creme, tilt it up, and get the drops or creme in quickly. You may fumble around a bit the first few times, but you'll get the hang of it.

The real "trick" to this is being calm yourself.

Next - what dose of L-lysine are you using? Are you giving it twice a day?

You need to work up to the 1,000mg dose, given as 500mg in the morning and 500mg at night. But for some kitties, the higher dose is needed to be therapeutic.

mservant · Sep 7, 2013

LDG said:
Hi and welcome to TCS. I hope we can help.

Two things come to mind. We had a rescue kitty that ended up having an eye removed because it was so badly infected with herpes. I don't say this to scare you, but we fought for 7 months to save her eye. I never picked her up to put the medicine in her eye. I would put down a teaspoon or so of canned food as a treat for her. When she ate, I'd sit behind her, my butt on my heels, my knees out in a "V" around her. This "traps" her without her feeling trapped. When you give them medicine or drops or cream in their eyes, their natural instinct is to back up - but there's nowhere to back up. Just make sure you have the drops ready-to-go, or the cream already on your finger, ready to put in her eye. Hopefully she'll be busy eating. Just hold her head firmly with the hand that won't be doing the dropping or putting in creme, tilt it up, and get the drops or creme in quickly. You may fumble around a bit the first few times, but you'll get the hang of it.

The real "trick" to this is being calm yourself.

Next - what dose of L-lysine are you using? Are you giving it twice a day?

You need to work up to the 1,000mg dose, given as 500mg in the morning and 500mg at night. But for some kitties, the higher dose is needed to be therapeutic.

I second LDG: It may not sound, or seem easy at first but if you can manage to get close enough it works. You do need everything organised and in place beside you before you start to get in to position though! This is the technique I used to use with one of my cats that I couldn't hold in any other way - and no one else could manage her either even with 2 people. It is much calmer and controlled than trying to catch or hold using your arms as you are just slowly moving in from behind and above and then pressing in evenly from sides, back and from above using your large muscles and body weight. You might want to wear a thick glove on the hand you will support her head with if you think she might bite you (there isn't much else she can do as you are effectively pinning her down in a sitting position) from all directions. Because you're not struggling the same and worrying about our arms and hands not being strong enough or digging in and hurting her it is also easier for you to feel calm. You could try getting in to this position with her giving treat food associations first if you have the opportunity.

tutti84 · Aug 7, 2014

Hi there....I never saw your post until now.....thanks for the suggestions!

Teary Eyes

tutti84

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ldg

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mservant

The Mouse servant

tutti84

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