My cat is sick... Hopefully nothing too serious??? help

I have a orange, long haired, male cat named Zeus. Age is around 5-7 years but I do not know for sure. Former outside cat but recent years has had him as an indoor cat. 

Note that I have been taking precaution in health and always made sure to wash hands before and after handling sick pet, as well as trying to keep Zeus away from further infection. I am nowhere near to being a vet, so i have no experience in this. I have been wanting to take him to the vet because i do not know whenever this is viral, bacterial, or allergy, but parents would not take this kind of thing seriously, and with money being a very, very big issue there is no way that i am able to take him.

On august 30 2016 I have noticed that Zeus's eyes are a bit sunken in and slightly pink. Which is odd so i kept a close eye on him for the rest of the day. Around 8:00 pm the same day I have noticed that his eyes were watery, thinking that it may of been dehydration i gave him a large bowl of water, he took a few laps but never really went back. So trying to get some water in his system I mixed half wet food and half water and gave that to him. Zeus didn't seem to mind and finished that up. 

August 31 2016 Morning, I checked up on Zeus to find a light yellow eye gunk floating around in his right eye, didn't want to take a cloth to the eye so i let that blink out on it own and wipe it away later on. Eyes are still sunken, a little bit more pink, and a small swelling started to show up on his right eyelid. Gotten a bit closer and lifted the top eyelid to find that the whites of his eyes are slightly pinkish. Noticed that he is squinting a bit and would stay out of the light because it would make his eyes water more. By this time i am starting to search up on what could cause this. Did some research and decided that it must be feline conjunctivitis, seems to be logical. Ruled out feline herpesvirus because there where no other signs that could lead to this. 

Trying to find something to help Zeus I searched the web for anything that could do anything. A simple saline solution is something that can be used to rinse the eye out but, surprise the only thing close to that in our household is contact solution. No thank you. Further research has me worrying about whenever the pH of anything is safe to use for cats. Parent suggested to buy human pink eye treatment drops, too expensive and didn't want to risk anything. Eventually found an article that says Apple cider vinegar diluted with warm water and applied to the back of the cats neck works. Being desperate i gave this thing a try.

today eyes seems somewhat clear and more open, attitude is lighter than previous day. Zeus still haves noticeable pink around eyes, swelling went down. Apple cider vinegar seems to work. But at 7:00 - 8:00 am there was diarrhea in his litter box and a bit on his back side. Cleaned up the litter and I am now debating whenever or not i should give Zeus a quick bath. Either wash away the feces on his backside and rise out his eyes a bit ( of course would make sure that hands are totally clean and no trace of feces are left to make infection worse ) while getting a chance to give him a Apple cider vinegar neck rinse. Or hand wipe down there which Zeus is not a big fan of and would be willing to swipe at someone at whoever touches his behind.

idk advice would be very helpful, sorry for the long running paragraphs.

So worrying when you see your cat not looking well and no money for the vet.

It does sound like he has a bacterial infection in his eyes - rather than paying for any bought solution or putting anything acid like apple cider vinegar in his eyes (try rinsing your own eyes, it isn't pleasant) you are best using a simple solution of cooled down basic tap water that has been boiled.  If you add anything I would say some salt which you should disolve thoroughly while the water is still hot - just a small, leveled off spoon of salt for maybe a pint / 1/2 litre of water.  Use a fresh piece of cotton wool or tissue soaked in the solution to wipe outward over each eye very gently, and use a fresh piece of tissue or whatever to rinse over each eye a little too, then wipe gently to clean.   Do as regularly as he will let you.

If it doesn't look any better, and certainly if it looks worse, he really does need to go to a vet for them to look at his eyes or it could end up as a really serious infection and damage his eyes permenantly.

As it sounds like he has a bacterial infection in his eyes, it is more than possible he has tried to rub and touch his eyes and then licked his paws :  as a result he could end up with an upset system esp if he is run down generally for some reason.   Hopefully he will manage to get over this, but if the loose stools continue a vet trip is going to be needed.

As for bathing or not bathing, I would avoid if you can because it is such a stressful experience for a cat and stress is something to avoid, esp when they are already unwell.  Using a damp cloth to clean any soiled area of skin or fur is much less stressful, and also avoids them getting chilled from wet / damp fur.   I'd keep to wiping and cleaning the eyes regularly and using a separate wet cloth of tissue for other soiling as required.

Hope he gets better soon. 

Thank you for the reply, I appreciate the advice and will follow your instructions accordingly. But it seems that you have slightly misread the part on apple cider vinegar. Haha, I would never put anything in my cats eye that would cause pain. ( trust me, a splash of vinegar directly to the eye stings like hell ) I applied the diluted apple cider vinegar to the back of his neck, so there is no need to worry about anything that acidic going into my cats eyes. 

I am happy to say that Zeus is looking fine, discharge from the eye has decreased, pinkness has decreased as well, but eyes are still sunken in. Attitude is alot like his normal affectionate self, but is still keeping a good distance from headbutts and cuddling. Hopefully this passes soon.

Poor guy, he sounds a bit run down.  Mouse sometimes gets like when he's fighting to keep his herpes down.  I let him snooze and give lots of pampering, but with him he's so funny about what he eats I can't get him to take better food (he's a biscuit / kibble fiend).   Hope you see Zeus back to his usual self very soon.  I'm glad his eyes are looking better.