My cat has a slight film covering his eye.

Hello Everyone!

I found this site when I put in something to search for on the "Google" bar regarding "over-the-counter" eye remedies for cats. First of all, my cat -- Lil Boy --  is my senior kitty [about 17-18 yrs old now] who had to have eye surgery on his left eye back in July 2011, when a tumor was discovered in back of his eye. Subsequently, the left eye was removed and he's been fine since then.  Last year in May 2012, he developed some kind of "filmy" covering over his right eye. Since this is his only eye to see with, I always keep a watch to make sure nothing is wrong with that eye.  I thought he might have started to get "Glaucoma" in that eye in 2012. 

I took him to the vet to have it checked out and I was given some eye drops called "Gentamicin" which is one of many ophthalmic solutions for cats. I treated him with this solution according to the directions, only the drops didn't clear up the situation, so I stopped using them. The eye cleared up on its own. The treatment period was to give him the drops-- 1-2 drops, 3x a day for 7 days. I think I stopped the treatment by the 4th day.

Jump to now in 2013, he appears to have the same look to his eye again. I still have some of the drops left, but not much. I'm hesitant to use the left over drops since they didn't really work that well last time.  I'm also wondering if there is an "over-the-counter" ophthalmic solution that I can get for him that isn't terribly expensive.  I'm not working right now and looking for work. The money that I get for my unemployment benefits are a joke to say the least. I've got a Petco that is close by, I can always ask somebody there what they might recommend.  Anyone out there have any ideas? i would like to hear what your thoughts are.  Thanks!!!      By the way, Lil Boy is the oldest of my 5 kitties.

Hello and welcome to TCS.

Aww poor boy. So sorry to hear he is having issues with his eye, but I can only suggest that he really needs to have a vet look at it. Please don't try anything over the counter, your risking his last eye.

Your right not to use the old drops. They are probably expired or may be contaminated. That said, and I don't want you to think I'm jumping on you for what I am about to say, but all antibiotics should be given for the full period prescribed. 4 days isn't long enough to see improvement and you risk his getting a resistive bacteria the next time. This is the same for humans and why doctors (and us nurses) tell you to finish the entire prescription.

I hope you can find a way to have his eye looked at and I'm sending it clears.

Hello Katluver4life!

Many thanks for replying  to my post about my "Lil Boy".  No, I don't mind you saying anything about his previously prescribed medicine. In fact, I appreciate it. When I have a prescription for any of my cats, I normally do complete the required treatment period.  I probably should have taken him back after the 4th day and informed the vet that this particular medicine wasn't doing anything to heal the eye, but for some reason I didn't get the chance.

With my "out-of-work" situation, my finances have really been tight. I'm behind on everything and any money that I do get, has to go towards paying my space rent for my mobile home. I've been on plenty of interviews, but a job offer has never happened.

My vet is close by and is a really good one too. I think the vet's office only charges around $35 for a office visit, so if Lil Boy's eye condition stays the same, then I'll take him in when my next unemployment benefits are deposited to my bank account.

I've also been watching his "routine" habits as well.  He still uses the litter box when he needs to and drinks his regular amount of water when he's thirsty. I have noticed that his appetite has increased to where he seems always "hungry." It seems that whenever he knows I'm in the kitchen, he wants a little more food.  I don't mind giving him a bit more food several times a day, as I would hope that his weight would increase a little more. Doesn't matter how often I feed him [several times a day in small amounts], he doesn't seem to be getting any heavier.  He seems to sleep about the same amount as the other cats do, so I can't really tell any difference there.

I've been doing some research on the internet about certain things regarding his health in general. I've been finding out some really interesting things too. There was a medical term that popped up called ~~ Polyphagia.  One of the things it mentioned is that it can be either a psychological or disease related.  One of the symptoms mentioned was an increased food intake.  The article that I read stated this condition is seen more in older cats than younger ones and may also be related to the cat developing a diabetic condition. 

I took a look at your kitty pictures -- all your furbabies are so cute!  I had started a photo album on here [maybe on my profile area] and posted 2 photos of Lil Boy to it, showing his "before" and "after" surgery of his left eye. If you get a chance, look at his photos. The one showing his "after" surgery photo is a bit blurry. Your ginger tabby ~ My Boo ~ looks very similar to one that I've got now. "Spunky" is the ginger tabby that I rescued back in 2010 from the parking lot where I used to work. She's a little spitfire too - especially since I had her spayed a few years back. Spunky only doles out her affection when she wants too.  Oh well, so much for kitty talk.  Before I sign off, can I ask what kind or nurse you are?  A "animal" nurse or a "people" nurse? Just curious..   I'll keep you posted on Lil Boy's eye condition.  Have a great weekend!  

A people nurse . Your Lil Boy is so handsome! Please do keep me posted on him.

I do understand how tight things can get. Last month my Babygirl was a bit "off". Took her to the vet and $400 later still no diagnosis, but the antibiotics she was given did the trick for whatever it was. My rent was late after that, but I have an understanding landlord. "whew"

Hi again!  Glad you got a chance to look at his pictures. I won't stay on here too long, as I've got to get my shower b/4 the meds that I took for an abscessed "tooth" roots kicks in full swing. Early this year, one of my teeth broke off in 2 pieces, at the gum line [incisor maybe?], and periodically the gum area where that tooth's roots are would get tender and sore, but always went away. Unfortunately, part of the root's tip is sticking out from the gum line & I think I might have hit the nerve ending when I was eating.  That was last week. Now jump to this week and the swelling is pretty bad. Since I'm not employed, I have something called "Arrowcare" which is similar to having Medi-cal.  I went to the ER at my local community hospital and was seen & released within about 2 hrs. I got an antibiotic shot in the rear [2 of them] -- each shot was 300mg of something called "Clandimyicin" [sp?]. I also got 2 scripts -- one for "Amoxicillin, 500mg, 30 tabs & the other one for pain -- Vicodin, 500mg, 20 tabs with refills available. I'll have to get them filled on Wednesday, since the pharmacy was already closed when I left the hospital. So, not only Lil Boy is under the weather, now I am too. I guess the saying is true -- "misery loves company"  LOL!!

Lil Boy is doing a bit better in the eye area. Still on "guarded" condition as far as I'm concerned.

When I last posted my message to you, his eye pupil had appeared to be "fixed & dilated" whenever I looked at it in the light. Maybe the light was causing that appearance on his eye, but not 100% sure.  So, I started to look at it without a lot of light around us.  The other day, it seemed that his eye pupil was going back to looking normal with the pupil being in a "concave" position. Okay, so I thought that his eye was going back to normal for once. I guess my hope was short lived, because now it looks like it's going back to the previous way it looked.

When EDD decides to deposit my unemployment benefits, I'll take him to my vet for an office visit, but I'll tell him that I only want to have a surface check on the eye, without running any kind of extra tests.  Last time I took him in when he had that other cloudy appearance to his eye, that visit cost me around $170.   Oh well.  I have an understanding mobile home park manager too, but she doesn't know about my cats. We're only supposed to have "1" pet --either dog or cat -- but not both. I have 5.  She's only seen one that I have, only because the cat was sitting in the window when I was on the porch talking to my manager. Yep, my space rent for November is late too, but that's due to not having a job.  When I do my "portrait" photography work on the 17th and 23rd of this month, all that money will be going to my space rent. Minus what I need for gas money for my car.   I started working as a "portrait photographer" for a company called "Portrait Scene" located back in Michigan. I'm in my element when I've got my camera in hand! 

I've been going on interviews, but have never been offered a concrete job offer.     I'm always getting a preliminary interview, with the comment "If your skills match what we need, we'll call you."  Needless to say, I never hear from them again.  Just out of curiosity, are you on Facebook? I am & that's where I post most of my photos that are "album" worthy.  Time to sign off and hit the shower & bed. Hope you had a nice Veteran's Day holiday.  Take care!