Discharge and closed eye. Help?

My tom, Tiger, won't open his right eye and the left is dilated with the third eyelid showing. There's a lot of cloudy, mucus-like discharge coming from the right eye. He's also not responding well to touch, even when it's his favourite spot. Tiger's turning nine next week, so is there a possibility it has something to do with age? He's also mainly outdoors and I've recently discovered a very large armadillo living in my yard, and Tiger is prone to getting into fights with other animals (mainly dogs). My kitten, Zenovi, seems fine and I would hate for him to get sick if what Tiger has going on could possibly be contagious. Sorry for rambling, but the gist of this is: Tiger has a possibly hurt eye and is in pain, and being older than most cats isn't helping. I've looked on many sites and in some of my books for help, but can't find anything. Help?

Tiger should go to the vet right away.  Since you're in Florida, this means an emergency vet.  His eye sounds like it's infected and it needs treatment or he might lose it.  He also needs something for pain.  

I just called an emergency vet. The lady comforted me and let me know to clean his eyes and keep a close watch on him. He's doing fine now, thankfully. I cleaned his eyes with warm, damp cotton balls and he's calmed down. I'll be sure to take him to a vet if it gets worse, but right now he's acting like himself. I feel like I probably overreacted, but he is my baby.

MCRWolfeh said:

I just called an emergency vet. The lady comforted me and let me know to clean his eyes and keep a close watch on him. He's doing fine now, thankfully. I cleaned his eyes with warm, damp cotton balls and he's calmed down. I'll be sure to take him to a vet if it gets worse, but right now he's acting like himself. I feel like I probably overreacted, but he is my baby.

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That's great news!  It was very nice of the person at the ER vet to help you so much. They usually want you to bring your cat in rather than dispense advice over the phone.  What about the pain?  Does Tiger seem more comfortable, now?

He's opening his eye now! I'm so relieved. He's letting me touch him, too. While cleaning his eye I got a "rock" of mucus out, so that may have been a big part of the problem. He's also sensitive, so he might've just had a bad reaction to it. I'm glad he's feeling better now, but I'll still watch him to make sure he's okay and that the discharge doesn't return.

Great.  It sounds like Tiger is in good hands!