Casper's Vision

I hope I'm not being too worrisome but I've noticed that Casper seems to have trouble seeing well.

First, he gets black "eye boogers."  We can wipe them off with a wet Kleenex but they come back within a day.

He's been like this since we got him, two, going on three, months ago.

Here's a picture of Casper at the vet's office during his last vet visit, a few weeks ago.

(He was hacking/coughing and throwing up worms.)  (We also got him microchipped at the same time.)


Notice the cat's own left eye.  He's got a black "booger" in his eye and that eye squints a bit more than the other.

I asked the vet about the eye boogers and she said that many cats get boogers in their eyes but you can't tell as easily because they blend in with the cat's color.  Since Casper is all white, they show up more.  I accepted that explanation at face value.  I also didn't notice the squinting because I didn't know Casper well enough.  We had only recently adopted him.

All of this would have gone unnoticed if I didn't also observe that Casper almost never jumps down from a high place.

(He's allowed to jump up almost every where except the kitchen counters or the stove.)

So, for example, if Casper is on the coffee table (knee high to a human) he almost always puts his front paws over the edge and slinks down to the floor instead of jumping down.

Individually, I would have thought nothing...

Eye boogers?  He's a white cat.

Squinty eyes?  He might have dust in his eyes

Slinking down instead of jumping?  He's new to our house and hasn't gotten his bearings yet.

If you put the three things together, it might mean he's got a problem with his eyes.  Maybe an allergy or something?

What do you think?

Or, am I just being hypervigilant as I am prone to do?

T.I.A! 

Hi Caspers Human !

I was surprised to read that the picture was taken in the Vet's office.....he looks purrrfectly at ease, at home there. Maybe he was auditioning for the 'Clinic Cat' position ?

My little 'White Shadow', Sam (in the avatar), has the same 'issue'.......which, it turns out, is no issue at all.

Here's a little background on what's going on (note that Casper's 'condition' is a very minor version of this....his is not "excessive" in the extreme...and, so, not of concern, but, the cause is the same).....this is from a reputable site: Epiphora in Cats - PetPlace.com

That article also speaks to the types of discharge that should concern you.

I also think you get bonus points for hyper vigilance.....'pity that so many people with cats are prone to "suddenly discover" problems that obviously have existed and been allowed to fester for a long time.

More pix......?

Because one eye is closed he may also have a condition called entropian where the top line of the eyelids inwardly turn irritating the eye. He looks just like a cat I had with this condition. It look more than 10 years for someone to tell me that is what was going on with my cats eyes. He would have repeat infections and crusty eyes. A vet fresh out of vet school spotted it. Apparently there is a simple surgery to correct it but by that time my cat was 14. It would have saved him a lot of grief if he was diagnosed earlier. If you have another cat wo the condition to compare to it is easy to spot. It does affect their vision.

So, Casper just has watery eyes from some, as yet, unknown irritation?

That's a bit of a relief.  I will keep a watch out to see if his eyes get red or swollen, etc., but it's good to know that this will (mostly) keep until I can figure it out.

I think I have noticed that his squinty, booger eye does change sides from time to time.

I have given Casper the "flashlight test."

His retina are shiny, his cornea aren't cloudy, his pupils contract mostly equal, he blinks his eyes and follows the light when I move it.

So irritated, watery eyes (epiphora) sounds like a reasonable cause.

I'll just keep a watch on him for changes and try to figure out what's making his eyes watery.

Thanks! 

Casper was one cool cat at the vet. 

He's always been a calm cat.  Never makes noise.  Very well behaved.  He did very well at the vet. 

He took his worming pills with moderate effort.  He "suffered the indignity" of having his temperature taken without a sound.  He barely flinched when his microchip was put in.

As you know, cats often shed fur when under sudden stress.  Casper furred up the office quite a bit!

He didn't struggle at all during the visit but, by the end of the session, the whole room was full of fur!

Here's another pic of Casper at the vet. 


I guess he wanted to be sure his records are up to date. 

Smoochie has had black boogery eyes since she was a tiny kitten. I mean, people get boogery eyes too but we rub the sleep out of them. I think some cats are more high maintenance.

But Ms Jilly gets a blocked tear duct every so often that causes her eye to water and be squinty. That seems to be pretty common in rescue cats.

Or like Gizmo-sama had goobly eyes for a couple months after we first got him from a very low-grade URI. 

There are lots of reasons your Casper could have eye goobles too is my point. If your vet saw it and wasn't concerned, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just keep him clean with a moist kleenex or washcloth.