Not sure whether kitten with watery eye needs to go to vet

Hi, I could use some advice here because due to ongoing health problems with our other cat I've become paranoid. I don't know if I'm finding problems where there are none in our other kitten or if this requires a vet visit.

Our Maine Coon kitten, about 4 months old, has clear discharge from her left eye. She's always had a bit of "normal" discharge from both eyes (the brown crusty stuff that they seem to get a lot), but this is totally clear and watery. Her eye doesn't look swollen but she favors it when blinking (that eye closes first) and the squints a bit when there is liquid coming out. It tends to come out a few times a day and then the "water" fills up the corner of her eye and she keeps it a little more shut. She is not pawing at it and it doesn't seem to be in pain, nor is there redness that I can see at this time. We have noticed her sneezing a bit and maybe doing some light coughing at night (it's like a weird sneezy sound that doesn't sound exactly like a cough or exactly like a sneeze). She likes to roll around and play in her litter, so originally we were thinking that maybe she's got a piece of litter stuck in her eye or nose or something, but now we're also thinking maybe a cold?

Her appetite has been normal, attitude hasn't changed so far - very playful. She's less hungry without our other cat here (they are very close) but eats regularly 3-4 times a day.

I've been wiping her eyes with warm damp cotton and also bringing her into the bathroom with me when I shower to have her breathe some steam. Our apartment is quite dry (we will be looking into getting a humidifier, but need to save money for the other cat's vet bills before we can invest in one). I am just not sure if I should take her in at this stage or wait and see if the condition worsens, or doesn't go away, or if there's something else we can be doing at home first. We've had bad experiences with vets so far and I'm now both paranoid of vets and paranoid that our other kitten is going to get sick. It's quite cold out now and she hasn't grown a very thick coat yet so I'd also rather not put her through the stress of going outside and travelling to a strange place in a taxi if it isn't needed. What do you think? She has insurance so money shouldn't be an issue if our best bet is to take her now.

(The problem with our other kitten is unrelated, so I don't think it's any kind of virus that she could have caught from him. He was given a urine infection at the vet during neutering surgery over two weeks ago and has been very sick ever since. Currently staying in hospital, still unable to pee and now with what seems to be a distended bladder when another vet waited too long to empty him. With all of the vet fiascos I'm just terrified of taking her to a place that'll make her worse. This would be a different vet, but that doesn't really alleviate my fears much.)

Thank you in advance for any advice!

Hi Lazer,

Watery eyes can be a symptom of many conditions. You mentioned she is sneezing as well so it could be a cold, an allergic reaction, a reaction to the dry air, anything really. Eye problems can become serious if not treated, it's best to do something about them before they get any worse.

Is there another vet you could take her too? It's often just a case of getting some eye drops to treat her with, but without taking her to a vet it's impossible to know.

Thank you!

I've called the clinic. They have no appointments today but say it may be possible to get one tomorrow if I call early enough. Otherwise we will try another nearby clinic. 

Good luck at the vet, keep us posted.

Norachan said:

 
Good luck at the vet, keep us posted.

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I thought I'd come and provide a quick update - we took her to a vet. The vet seemed nice, we're eternally suspicious of veterinarians after what's happened (and is still happening) to our other kitten, but this place seemed nice. They took a blood sample and found no trace of infection, but did find something that would indicate a potential mild allergy. We're thinking maybe dust from the litter, so we've ordered a new wood-based clumping litter today that may be less dusty. She needs no medication or anything at this point, but the vet said to go back if the new litter doesn't help or if she gets worse.

Our other cat, in the meantime, is at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences veterinary hospital two hours away. He isn't responding to medication to help heal his bladder and they don't know why. Today they are doing a surgery to examine his bladder in person and see exactly what may be wrong and take tissue samples, plus check for blockage in the urethra again - that is all they can think of to do at this point. He's had to be sedated every day to be drained with an ultrasound needle, and they will consider putting in a surgical catheter (ie Foley, mushroom-capped, or maybe low profile catheter tube) to drain his bladder without more needles, but it really depends on what they find in there and whether that's an appropriate option at the time. His bladder is just completely limp and distended, they said. I can't believe this all started with a routine neutering surgery. I am hoping with all my heart that they will miraculously find something, some way they can help him. He's happy and energetic, and they say totally healthy except for his bladder, even with everything he's had to go through over the past 3 weeks he's bounced back and has a joy for life. That cat is the best thing that's ever happened to us. They have to fix him.

I'm glad to hear the watery eye wasn't too serious. 

So sorry to hear about all the problems the other kitten is having. Poor little guy! Keep us updated on his progress, I hope he pulls through.