cats we are trying to rescue

Hi everone I'm new here. To make a very long story short, our neighbor moved and left 3 cats behind. We stared feeding them outside. Back in april one stopped eating. We got him in a carrier and to make another long and horrific story short the cat had a gallbladder infection that caused liver failure. We had to go to 2 differnt vets to find out what was wrong and you can only imagin how much we had to put on our credit card. Any way by the grace of God he is 100% better and now is a indoor cat. He still has his 2 brothers outside, we want to bring them inside too. I was just going to give them a dewormer and let them in but I noticed one of the brother's 3rd eye lid is showing. It nerver showed before. We don't know what to do. We really can't afford any more high priced vets. Plus I am worried if we take him to the vet he will be so scared when we bring him home he won't eat and go into liver failure like the first one we rescued. I don't think the neighbor that left  him took him to the vet in years, he has been fixed but that's all the neighbor did for him. I guess my question is does anyone know what it means when a cat's 3rd eye lid shows. I would appericate any advice. Thank you  

A cat's third eyelid being closed could mean a lot of things. If it's just one eye that's doing it, he may have gotten a foreign object in it like dust or a rock and it's irritated, if it's both he might have an upper respiratory infection or a myriad of other things. Look to see if there's any discharge from the eyes or nose, if there is look at the color, if there is green or yellow snot, he needs to see a vet. If the eye is leaking pus, it's infected and needs to be looked at by a vet ASAP. Check to see if he's hydrated by gently pulling the skin on his shoulders up and then letting go, if it snaps back quickly he's good, if it stays up he needs fluids from a vet ASAP. Pay attention to his behavior and energy level, any lethargy or aggression is a big warning sign that something's wrong. Cats that live outside usually will have some kind of internal parasite, I would make sure to at least consult a vet on the correct de-wormer to use, as different types treat different parasites.

If you can't afford taking him to a vet right now, see if you can bring him to a local animal shelter or humane society (not to surrender him) and see if they'll just look at him and give you any advice on what's going on. If they're good to you leave a small donation, if they refuse, no harm done. The shelter I work at is open-admissions and would usually take a quick look and give some basic advice, we would also raise the option of you surrendering the cat to us, letting us treat him, and then you can adopt him when he is all better. Depending on the adoption+surrender fees, that could be the best and cheapest option, but every shelter is different. Definitely do research if you choose that route, don't take him to an over-crowded or dirty place, obviously, haha.

Hopefully he just got some dust or dirt in his eye and he's trying to work it out. I would just pay really close attention to him for the next few days and use your best judgement. You're an angel for saving the kitty that stopped eating, I'm sure these three cats are very grateful to have you looking after them.

The third eyelid showing is a sign of illness.  You can bring him inside and see if he improves in a day or so and then take him to the vet.  You can always check into Care Credit .  Read this thread for more help on what to do when you can't afford a vet.  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/155462/cant-afford-a-vet-please-read

Hi, thanks for the advice. He is eating ok, he might seem a little more tired but not much, the only real problem is the eye lids. I do have the dewormer drontal, I was thinking about crushing it and giving it in some tuna juice. We will watch him and make sure he eats and is acting ok, if he starts getting more tired or not eating as much we would have no choice but to take him to the vet. Our little indoor cat really misses his two brothers, we want to bring them inside so they all can be together again. If his eyes don't get better by next week I guess we have to take him to the vet. We are still traumatized  from our last experience with these vets, but I guess we won't have  a choice but to take him. Someone said worms could cause his eye lid to show does anyone know what kind of worms would do that?

thanks I'll check it out.

I've never heard of that association previously.  Most likely, it's either allergies, an upper respiratory infection, or an eye injury.

Hi, it's me again, the cat who's third eyelid was showing is ok now, but his brothers third eyelid also started to show and it to went away and is not showing anymore. I called the vet and talked to the vet  tec who really didn't help any.  Me and my mom want to give them both a dewormer and then let them in but one  has some hair loss on his back leg, has anyone else seen this problem in cats? We have to make a decision  soon. We want to bring them in the house but we have two healthy cats inside.We might take them to the vet first, but I am scared if we take them to the vet they will get scared when we bring them home and refuse to eat and get liver failure. 

Don't deworm them without taking them to the vet and having them checked out.