What's wrong with my cat's eye?

Oreo was a cat who walked up to my doorway after Hurricane Charley. I've had her for 10 years now and she's such a sweet cat. For many of those years, she's had a chronic eye problem. She had discharge that's yellowish brown in color and hardens into a brown crust. Several times a day I take a wet washcloth and wipe away the goop and crust. After that she can open her eye a bit more, although she usually never opens it more than halfway - with or without the goop/crust.

I've already taken her to a vet and he said that he didn't know what the problem could be. He didn't prescribe me anything and he told me to just wipe her eyes off on a daily basis. He said it might just be regular "eye boogers," but I believe it's much worse than that. I was wondering if anyone else here has ever experienced this before or what you think it might be.

The pictures that I am posting show a bit of the goop and crust. I should've taken a picture before I cleaned her off, but I didn't want to stress her out too badly. Usually the goop runs halfway down her nose and the crust gets really bad around her eyelashes. It gets so bad that sometimes she can't open her eyes. This problem has mainly been with her left eye, although the right shows some symptoms sometimes. Her left eye is always pink and irritated, and I also believe that she might be rubbing her eyelashes off.

Her third eyelid is always over 1/4 of her eye, no matter how much goop there is. Also, whenever I pulled up her eyelid, I don't know if it's an ulcer or if it's just her eyelid flipping over itself from me forcefully opening up her eye. What do you guys think?

One more thing, I noticed that with flash (I don't think it appeared that well in the photos) her pupils turn green. Is that normal or is it something I should be concerned about? All of my other cats have yellow pupils with flash. I do have one cat who has red pupils with flash, but he has blue eyes.

Here are some pictures without flash.



Here are some pictures with flash.

I would take her to another vet as soon as possible. That does not look like regular eye boogers. I cant believe the vet didn't even try any antibiotic drops. Did he do any tests such as staining to check for ulcers?

It looks like your cat has turned in eyelids by the looks of it. It's a genetic condition where the ridges of the eye turn inward towards the eye rather than away,the fur irritates the eye and causes issues. It's got a fancy name I forgot. I'm not a vet but my cat Bob had this condition and we were at a loss to figure out why he kept getting infections in his right eye. Your kitty has eye ridges that look similar to Bob's It look a vet fresh out a vet school to spot it. Antibiotic eye cream is what I was prescribed to treat the flare ups and daily eye lubricant to avoid flare ups. Surgery is the only thing that's a complete cure. I opted not to have that and I was able to manage without it.

Could also be feline herpes effecting his eye. 

Even though I've not experienced this, some vet shopping online for your area. Look at reviews, see if they have a Facebook and see what other people say regarding local vets. And get that kitty to a new vet. That's what I'd personally do.

Here is a photo of Bob the right was acting up here you Cat's eye looks a similar shape.

I always find that when there is eye goop/boogers/drainage, I use terramycin eye ointment and it clears up perfectly.

It's antibacterial and very effective, meant for eyes and not harmful.

The yellow and white tube, can be found on ebay now.

Neomycin is what I used on Bob that's from a vet. Entropion is the name of the eye condition. Apparently it's rare maybe that's why it took 6 years to diagnose with my kitty. You may need to do your own doctoring if no vet can spot this condition. I'd try an antibiotic eye gel like the ones we suggested and keep the eye lubricated when you don't have a flare up with over the counter dry eye gel. Your cat will not like you for awhile but she'll get used to the applications after a couple week. I don't understand why you were send home without antibiotic eye gel. The lubricant alone may solve the issue. please make sure if you use OTC antibiotics they are especially for the eye.

hexiesfriend said:

Neomycin is what I used on Bob that's from a vet. Entropion is the name of the eye condition. Apparently it's rare maybe that's why it took 6 years to diagnose with my kitty. You may need to do your own doctoring if no vet can spot this condition. I'd try an antibiotic eye gel like the ones we suggested and keep the eye lubricated when you don't have a flare up with over the counter dry eye gel. Your cat will not like you for awhile but she'll get used to the applications after a couple week. I don't understand why you were send home without antibiotic eye gel. The lubricant alone may solve the issue. please make sure if you use OTC antibiotics they are especially for the eye.

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Bob is absolutely gorgeous.

Thank you so much for the help! Can you provide me some links of what you would prescribe so I can see what I'm looking for? What type of over the counter gel or eye lubricant do you use for Bob? With Oreo being as severe as she is, should I use antibiotic ointment first and then the daily lubricant?

I did some looking. Should I use Puralube Vet Ointment or Terramycin Antibiotic Ophthalmic Ointment?


http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=9675

I use neomycin ophthalmic ointment

Do you thin Oreo might need the antibiotic ointment? I was thinking about getting the lubricant first and then if it doesn't go down using an antibiotic ointment. I'm still thinking about gong with Puralube.

And, no, I was never sent home with lubricant or antibiotics. The vet did nothing except spay her because that's what I had brought her in for. That's when the eye problems first arose, during the first winter I had her. Now it's getting cold again and her eye is acting up. I want to get some lubricant today so it can arrive later in the week. That's why I'm wondering about everyone's thoughts onto the Puralube as a daily lubricant.

Eye conditions can be very difficult to diagnose and to treat. even vets get it wrong and it can be very dangerous to use the wrong things. I would get some tests done - but to me it looks very like herpes, which is manageable with supplements like L-lysine and small dosed of prednisone. But a vet should check for it first and suggest the right dosage for your cat. It could also be an ulcer at the back of the eye or one of several other infections. A biopsy might be necessary - that was done with one of mine and we found the right combination of antibiotics with a lab culture of the discharge. If you are not happy with the vet you have been to then go to another one. Mention some of these possibilities - they do not always check for everything.

JennyR said:

Eye conditions can be very difficult to diagnose and to treat. even vets get it wrong and it can be very dangerous to use the wrong things. I would get some tests done - but to me it looks very like herpes, which is manageable with supplements like L-lysine and small dosed of prednisone. But a vet should check for it first and suggest the right dosage for your cat. It could also be an ulcer at the back of the eye or one of several other infections. A biopsy might be necessary - that was done with one of mine and we found the right combination of antibiotics with a lab culture of the discharge. If you are not happy with the vet you have been to then go to another one. Mention some of these possibilities - they do not always check for everything.

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I understand. It's just difficult because I don't have much money, not any really. I just had to take my dog (the Bichon Frise in my avatar) to the vet for several different things. First he had to have many tooth extractions, then he had a tumor that needed to be removed, then he had a bladder infection with minor stones forming. I spent $1,500 in vet bills within 4 months. I just got done paying everything off, so I'm trying to recuperate and gather up more money since I might be moving soon. I really only have enough money for some OTC ocular antibiotics and/or some daily lubricant.

At least I'm in the middle of college studying to become a veterinarian, so I know what I'm doing when it comes to applying medicine and basic care whenever poible problems arise.

It is dangerous and ineffective, as a trainee vet you must know, to use antibiotics when you may need anti-viral drugs or vice versa. If you are at vet college can you not get someone there to look at your cat? When I was in Bosnia I could not get good treatment for my cats until I went to the university vet school, then they used them for lessons and tutorials and it cost me almost nothing.

JennyR said:

It is dangerous and ineffective, as a trainee vet you must know, to use antibiotics when you may need anti-viral drugs or vice versa. If you are at vet college can you not get someone there to look at your cat? When I was in Bosnia I could not get good treatment for my cats until I went to the university vet school, then they used them for lessons and tutorials and it cost me almost nothing.

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I'm working at home and my internship doesn't start until mid-2015, so I can't get any discounts. I do understand why different medicines are important. I think I'm going to start off with the basics. I think I'm going to get a daily lubricant and see if that helps her. Hopefully it will, since it has gone down quite a bit in general. If, while using the lubricant, she has a flare up then I might take her to another vet and maybe even ask for a culture.

Here's hoping it gets better!

My cat's eyes get like that. She is diagnosed with Herpes. I hope you can get something that works. Eye conditions are tricky and can be dangerous if not treated properly. Good luck.

Thank you everyone. i've looked at pictures and I really don't think it's herpes ... but, I will get the daily lubricant and see if her eye improves. Whenever I have the money I'll take her to the vet again.

I would do that everyday and see what happens. When you wrote this has been going on for years it made me think of my Cat Bob and the eye lid issue. Once I lubricated the eye daily the flare ups were very few good luck !!!!