Cat eye problems

My cats left eye is bulging and red. I'm taking it to the vet hopefully tonight, but I only have $400 to spend from my recent paycheck. I think it's pinkeye, but its gruesome enough to suspect it might be serious and need surgery, costing money I don't have. If there are any vets here that could tell me what it is that would be great. Has anyone else had problems like this? How much did it cost? 

Did you get to the Vet?  I don't know why you would think this might require surgery.  It looks like pink eye to me, and might just need some eye ointment.  I could be wrong, but either way, it needs looking at.

Hopefully it's being taken care of by now

This does look like a severe case of conjunctivitis, though it could also be caused by the eye getting an irritant in it.

I hope you were already able to get your cat to the vet. If not, this needs to be done ASAP as there can be permanent damage done to the eye if it is left untreated.

My 2 male cats went at it, hard to seperate because of where they ended up   one eye was identical to yours, purchased a saline solution -chemical free pure water it's a wound wash pharmacist recommended, London drugs, wash up to 4 times a day - mostly 2-3 times..cleared up back to normal in a few days...This would be a good start.