My kitten is having trouble with her eye -- please advise!!!

I have an 8 month old (Ursula) and we recently introduced a new 5 month old (Buffy) to the household.  For the most part, they have gotten along.  They are kept separate and have supervised playtimes together, but these can get a little rough.  Today I noticed that one of Ursula's eyes is having trouble opening.  I can't see a scratch or anything on her eye itself, or on the skin around it, but it is noticeably more closed than the other at any given time.  My husband says that he thinks it might look kind of swollen, but we can't tell.  She has always been sensitive to being touched, so it's hard for us to get a very good look at it... should I take her to the vet ASAP or wait a day or two to see if it is just swollen?  I do not want to play games with her health, but we don't have money to make unnecessary vet visits.  

She is not in visible pain.  She does not seem to like it if we go to touch her head, but like I said, she is moody about when she does and does not like to be pet, so we're not sure if she is just being antisocial.

Please advise!  Thank you!

IMP I would watch her closely and wipe her eye with warm water & cotton balls. If she has an infection is usually has a discharge and is very contagious so keep a look out for Buffy too. There is a over the counter powder medication called Boric acid sold at most drug stores (at pharmacy counter) It's not corrosive, just follow dilution instructions on label. If Ursula does have a discharge she will need to go to the vet and get a topical med that works very good and vet may advise treatment for both kittens. Not to scare you because it could just be a rough housing injury and will heal itself if kept clean, but it's best to keep a close watch on both Ursula & Buffy.. Best of luck and let us know how she is doing... 

Please just leave her eye alone, I wouldn't wipe it or anything.

Their eyes heal quickly just as their legs will when it is mild trauma.

If it shows ANY sign of getting worse AT ALL, then she must see the vet so he can put a drop in it that will illuminate a scratched area.

If so he will likely just give you a small container of ointment to apply to help with healing without leaving scar tissue.

Chances are though with their roughhousing it was poked or something and should be fine soon enough, a day or 2 at the most, so just keep an eye on it.

This morning her eye has a tiny bit of crust on her lower lid... Since I am pretty sure I first started noticing her eye looked strange yesterday afternoon (I thought it was just because I had woken her), I will wait and see how it looks this evening, once it has been just a little over a day, or possibly early tomorrow morning,  Should I be keeping the two of them apart while I am waiting to check on her eye?

That's not such a bad idea since they do play so rough.

Being 2 females at the age now where they are establishing dominant position in your home, are you certain it is all play and not more?

The crust can be from her eye watering more than the norm.

I am not certain it is all  play but I try to pay attention and if I hear any sound of discontent (such as a growl, his, or whimper), I separate them immediately.  Neither of them seems to stay unhappy long or is unhappy with the other cat -- neither one growls at the sight of the other or flattens her ears or even stares threateningly.  I figure some of the play is trying to figure out who is in charge, but I figure that is going to happen at some point whether I want it to or not, so I try to just keep an eye on them when they're together... do you have any suggestions as to how to ease/cease that process?

Her eye does look a tad bit watery, but not enough to even get her fur wet, so I am not worried.  Her eye looks about the same, but sometimes it looks better than others, like she is capable of opening it when she wants to, and just doesn't want to exert that effort most of the time.  Hopefully it improves before tomorrow and I won't have to take her to the vet...

You wouldn't see flattened ears or hear growling, it's established more by what they are doing now.

You will clearly notice one is bossier, small things like meal time the one would maybe cross in front of the other a couple times, things like this that look like one is in charge basically.

The wrestling is not only determined by size, since I'm sure the 5 month old is smaller than the 8 mo old, but it doesn't mean she is as headstrong either, and the 5 mo old is only beginning to mature out of kittenhood and into the mature point, so smaller, she can still be the top cat, you will see her more headstrong and relentless, etc.

Yes, they must establish status, they all do. Nothing you can or want to do to stop it, besides of course making sure they are both safe and not bullied.

Aha, that is helpful.  Everyone has basically said that as long as there aren't obvious signs of discontent (like the ears or growls and stares) then it is probably play... but I knew that multicat households do have dominant cats (my parents have two males and it's very obvious which is in charge even though they never wrestle now).  

I guess I will have to watch closer... I want to break it up every time they get rough at all (to prevent things like Ursula's eye) but I feel like if I don't let them establish status, as you say, then it will just keep happening... is it right to break them up when I hear sounds, or should I break it up any time i see teeth or claws at all?  (I've been told they use teeth and claws in playing, so that's why I usually defer to the sounds).

UrsulaAndBuffy said:

 
Aha, that is helpful.  Everyone has basically said that as long as there aren't obvious signs of discontent (like the ears or growls and stares) then it is probably play... but I knew that multicat households do have dominant cats (my parents have two males and it's very obvious which is in charge even though they never wrestle now).  

I guess I will have to watch closer... I want to break it up every time they get rough at all (to prevent things like Ursula's eye) but I feel like if I don't let them establish status, as you say, then it will just keep happening... is it right to break them up when I hear sounds, or should I break it up any time i see teeth or claws at all?  (I've been told they use teeth and claws in playing, so that's why I usually defer to the sounds).

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As I was reading your post I thought to myself, I need to tell her about silent wrestling and vocal wrestling, then you mentioned it.

Yes, playing will not have any cats vocalizing except a very small amt if the other one bites down too hard, etc.

Then that cat will make a sound which signals the biter to back off a bit, it's too much. This is learned in stages of development in young kittens with their siblings.

Plus if there is vocalizing right before playing, this is also not actually playing, a bit since one is only a kid still but more like one is forcing the wrestling and the other doesn't really want it but is going to be pounced regardless, so more or less forced on one by the other.

Just watch and you will soon see who and what of their play or not play!

Can you tell if the eye is red/inflamed? An inflamed and crusted eye is a dead giveaway for an eye infection. I don't know how cats handle it but I had that once and it was nasty - felt like there was grit or sand in my eye whenever I moved it, and it persisted for several days without improving. In the end I went to the doctor and was given some special eye drops which cleared it right up in just a few days - if the symptoms continue to persist then I'd go to the vet and see if they can give you some drops, since eye infections are super infectious and darn hard to get rid of.

(About how infectious they are - seriously, it's very, very infectious. If you wipe an infected eye, then wipe your hands on a towel and touch that towel a week later, it could re-infect you. It's a real pain. After touching the eye you should always wash your hands, ideally with antibacterial soap.)

In case it wasn't clear, my whole post is derived from my own experience with a (human) eye infection. But the symptoms of your cat correspond enough that I thought my experience might be helpful. Take it with a grain of salt, though - I am not a vet!

Ursula's eye is not red and the crust that was there has gone away.  She still seems to be having trouble with it when she blinks or is waking up, but for the most part it looks a lot better, or almost normal.  I am feeling much better about it now!  But thanks to everyone for all the wonderful advice!  

I'm glad to see it seems to be resolving itself naturally. I had a similar experience. I have 3 cats, all litter mates. They can play rough & apparently 1 got scratched in the eye. He suddenly showed up with his eye a bit swollen, pink & had a hard time opening. No discharge, but watery. We took him right in since I feared it was a contagious infection. The Dr put an eye drop in then looked at it with black light. You could literally see a scratch line down the eye. About a week of eye drops & all better. Hope she feels better soon!