Cookie's eye's are bad

Looks bad! Not sure what it is. Pls keep us posted about what ur vet says tmr. Hang in there Hedi...

It looks like some kind of infection - I don't think u did it with ur fingernail because u said u touched ONE eye right? BOTH of his eyes look affected.. U have a vet appt tmr right? HOPE it can be fixed soon and that he'll be 100% better. Keep us posted!

Oh my, poor baby - at least the vet appointment is today! Keep us in the loop and let us know how Cookie is doing and what the Vet said.

Oh Hedi,
It seems for both of us right now, our kitties are just not "behaving" (I have an older kitty now who is either early diabetes or pre-diabetic)! I'm glad you have an apt. for Cookie today, and no, I don't think your cleaning away the crusting with your fingernail is the problem. I hope it will be an easy to clear up with eye ointment infection and nothing more serious.

It's great to hear his eye problem is treatable! You must be so relieved!

Yay Hedi, I'm happy to hear that Cookies eye condition can be helped with meds!

That happened to one of my parents' cats and they had to use ointment on him too. I thinks 2 different kinds like Cookie. The vet told them he would probably have a white spot like a scar on his eye for the rest of his life because of this, but he healed completly with the meds and has nothing on his eye to show it! The oinment can be hard to get in the eye but I'm sure Cookie will behave for you!

I hope your eye gets better soon Cookie!

I'm glad you have your answer and get this healed up now. My fellow with the ?diabetes has a second follow-up apt. this weekend, and is being at this point, treated by diet only.

I'm happy that Cookies eye is nothing serious. It will be treated soon. *hugs*
Sam.

HEDI!! I am so happy to hear that it is treatable!! WHEW!!

SAME HERE!!

YAY! SO glad it is treatable...get better soon Cookie!

Good news Hedi! I'm glad Cookie can be treated with meds - it looks like it hurts poor baby!

Go Cookie, Go Cookie YEAH!!!!! I am so thrilled it's something that can be treated so easily what a relief!!!!!

Taken from http://www.vetinfo4cats.com/cateye.h...rneal%20Ulcers

Corneal Ulcers

Q: My cat has a corneal ulcer. How long will it take to heal?

A: Most of the time corneal ulcers heal with antibiotic eye drops within 3 to 5 days. If this problem has persisted longer than that, please let me know.

Mike Richards, DVM


Q: About my cat's eye ulcer --- As you have said, most corneal ulcers probably heal within 3 to 5 days with antibiotic treatment.....However, poor little Tigby is now into this for 18 days!!! My vet has chosen Neobacimyx QID, and atropine sulfate BID. He went in for a re-check, and had his sutures for the 3rd eyelid
removed.....he's doing better, but not that much. His eye is still very much dialated from the atropine (which I've stopped), and I'm still using the antibiotic on a QID basis. What else, if anything can I do to help him along....He's still having trouble with the eye, and I'm not altogether sure that this vet is doing all that can be done for Tigby. You mentioned something about more information about difficult ulcers.....it very much appears that this one is VERY DIFFICULT!!!!


Thanks S

A: S-

Persistent corneal ulcers in cats are usually due to herpes virus. In these ulcers, antibiotic drops are not helpful except to prevent secondary bacterial infection. Atropine sometimes makes the eye feel a little better by relaxing the muscles that may spasm due to ocular pain but has no direct healing benefit that I am aware of.

It is necessary to use antiviral medications in some cats to get these ulcers to heal and it can be helpful to use l-lysine supplementation (this is a food supplement). Some ophthalmologists think that debriding the ulcer edges is helpful and there is some disagreement about what the best topical anti-viral ophthalmic preparation is.

I tend to refer these cases to a veterinary ophthalmologist in my area because this is an easy option for me, but it is possible for most general practices to write prescriptions for anti-viral eye drops or to use very dilute povidone iodine to treat these eyes. Interferon is reported to help sometimes (orally and/or topically) and oral acyclovir has been reported to help in severe cases.

There are cats who are treated with several anti-viral agents who do not respond to treatment. This can be a very frustrating disorder to treat.

Once in a while we see a case of eosinophilic keratitis in a cat that really looks like it has caused a corneal ulcer (or is a corneal ulcer). This is treated differently than persistent ulcers due to herpes virus. In these cats, corticosteroids are necessary to resolve the problem. It is obviously very important to distinguish between the two types of problems. Corneal scrapings submitted for cytologic exam by a pathologist is a good way to distinquish betweeeosinophilic keratitis and ulcers from herpes, if there is any question of this.

Lots of places in the country now have veterinary ophthalmologists on at least a visiting basis, so it may be worthwhile to ask your vet for a referral.

Good luck with this.

Mike Richards, DVM
9/1/99


Repeated corneal ulcers

Q: We have an Exotic Long Hair, five years old who now has had 3 episodes of corneal ulcers. No history of trauma has been noted. Each time the vet has treated him with Chloramphenicol eye drops, for secondary Infection. The ulcers are singular and sheet-like across the cornea and always unilateral. What could their origin be and is there anything we can do to prevent them? Thank you very much

A: By far the most common cause of recurrent or difficult to cure corneal ulcers in cats is chronic herpes virus infection.

It can be helpful to use l-lysine at 250 to 500mg/day to help control this problem. It can be purchased at health food type stores, usually.

If your vet knows a source of anti-viral eye drops (I think they are hard to get right now but haven't had to treat for this recently so I am not sure), they can be helpful, too.

It is possible to do punctate keratotomy surgery for stubborn ulcers in cats. This is a fairly simple procedure but if your vet hasn't done this before he or she may want to send you to a veterinary ophthalmologist for the procedure.

That may be a good idea, anyway, given the difficulty in clearing up this ulcer. These are frustrating and the ophthalmologist may not be able to help much more than your local vet but at least you'd get a second opinion.

Mike Richards, DVM

This was the same problem Tiki had...



The ulcer actually looked worse before it got better. If memory serves, it was a few weeks before it really looked better, and we had the vet check her out on a few occasions during that period. You need to follow the vet's advice and be really good about the medicine. I don't remember the exact meds, but there was one we bought which cost $100. Tiki required a cone for awhile to keep her from scratching her eye and making it worse.

I just wanted to post the photos so you realize that this is treatable. She still has cloudiness in one eye, but it doesn't seem to have affected her eyesight at all - she can run full-charge all over the house without running into anything, and she spots anything I throw right away.

Hedi,
That's a great post full of information by Sue! I had one kitty who developed a corneal ulcer, and it did take us some time to clear it up, and we were eventually referred on to and saw a veterinary opthamolgist. Most importantly, we did succeed in saving the eye and some of her sight, and it didn't go on forever...we did get it healed. It may take persistance and patience but I believe you will get this cleared up.

best wishes to Cookie,