Can I use oral antibiotic instead of eye drops for cat conjunctivitis ?

Hi 

My feral cat had an upper respiratory tract infection last week, she is getting better and she is active and eating again. However today, I felt that her eyes are swollen, and a bit crossed. She also half opens one eye and rarely fully opens it. I took her to the vet(Catching her was really painful !). The vet prescribed Gentamicin  eye drops. However, I tried to use the eye drops and it was an impossible task ! She will run immediately and get aggressive.(Again she is feral). I don't know what to do. 

Can I use oral Gentamicin instead of the eye drops ?I guess It is easier to mix the medicine with her food when she is hungry !

I asked the vet, but I don't think he was sure ( I don't live in USA, vets here are not experienced and don't have good knowledge)

Does anybody have any experience with using oral medicine for conjunctivitis ?

What will most likely happen if I am not able to give her the ointments ? will she go blind ? ( I was really scared and worried when I read that cats can go blind from untreated conjunctivitis, I am not sure how common is this)

Thanks

Hi hun,

So I don't know much about conjunctivitis except I had it once and all I had to do was stay home until it went away. It's contagious so I'd be worried about kitty spreading it to other animals. I'm also concerned that she's very vulnerable to predators, cars, bad people, etc because she can't open her eyes and see. Or that she'll just stay put somewhere and not eat and then starve.

According to CDC,

 Bacterial Conjunctivitis
Antibiotics, usually given topically as eye drops or ointment, can help shorten the length of bacterial conjunctivitis, reduce complications, and reduce the spread of infection to others. If your doctor prescribes antibiotic eye drops or ointment, the infection should clear within several days.

However, mild bacterial conjunctivitis may get better without antibiotic treatment and without any complications. It often improves in 2 to 5 days without treatment but can last up to 2 or 3 weeks. ...

Click to expand...

That's from https://www.cdc.gov/conjunctivitis/about/treatment.html  . Geared towards homo sapiens sapiens, but I think it's relevant to our feline

So maybe, without the eye drops it'll clear on it's own. However, I'm not sure that oral antibiotics that circulate the body via blood will make it's way thru the eyeball to the bacteria hanging out on the eyelids, ducts, etc   

Do you think you can catch her and have her boarded for a few days or a week?

nevroth said:

 
Hi hun,

So I don't know much about conjunctivitis except I had it once and all I had to do was stay home until it went away. It's contagious so I'd be worried about kitty spreading it to other animals. I'm also concerned that she's very vulnerable to predators, cars, bad people, etc because she can't open her eyes and see. Or that she'll just stay put somewhere and not eat and then starve.

According to CDC,

That's from https://www.cdc.gov/conjunctivitis/about/treatment.html  . Geared towards homo sapiens sapiens, but I think it's relevant to our feline

So maybe, without the eye drops it'll clear on it's own. However, I'm not sure that oral antibiotics that circulate the body via blood will make it's way thru the eyeball to the bacteria hanging out on the eyelids, ducts, etc 

 

Do you think you can catch her and have her boarded for a few days or a week?

Click to expand...

Thank you for your response. 

Thankfully her eyes are normal again without using any medicine. However, I advice everyone to seek medical advice for conjunctivitis  because it is a serious condition and can lead to blindness. 

Rob19 said:

 
Hi 

My feral cat had an upper respiratory tract infection last week, she is getting better and she is active and eating again. However today, I felt that her eyes are swollen, and a bit crossed. She also half opens one eye and rarely fully opens it. I took her to the vet(Catching her was really painful !). The vet prescribed Gentamicin  eye drops. However, I tried to use the eye drops and it was an impossible task ! She will run immediately and get aggressive.(Again she is feral). I don't know what to do. 

Can I use oral Gentamicin instead of the eye drops ?I guess It is easier to mix the medicine with her food when she is hungry !

I asked the vet, but I don't think he was sure ( I don't live in USA, vets here are not experienced and don't have good knowledge)

Does anybody have any experience with using oral medicine for conjunctivitis ?

What will most likely happen if I am not able to give her the ointments ? will she go blind ? ( I was really scared and worried when I read that cats can go blind from untreated conjunctivitis, I am not sure how common is this)

Thanks

Click to expand...

I am a human doctor, not a vet, Gentamycin, in humans, is nephrotoxic and ototoxic (toxic to kidneys and toxic to the inner ear, causing loss of balance).   That is why it is given locally as eye drops or as an ointment and only given by mouth when the bacteria are only sensitive to Gentamycin and no other antibiotic.

I would never give Gentamycin to a cat by mouth.  Gentamycin may affect feline kidneys as the side effects are likely to be the same in cats as in humans. This statement should be checked by a vet who knows the side effects of the drugs that he is using. 

Most cases of human conjunctivitis are viral and recover spontaneously; virus diseases do not respond to the usual antibiotics.  Bacterial conjunctivitis is much more severe and should be treated by antibiotics and humans could go blind unless treated.  The same may well be the same in cats. 

Incidentally, the traditional way to treat an uncooperative cat with eye ointment is have two people, then wrap the cat up in a towel, have one person to hold the cat and the other to apply the ointment.

With all best wishes,

Geoffrey

What Geoffrey said.

Gentamycin is not to be given orally to cats unless specifically directed by a veterinarian.  There are other antibiotics that can be given orally to a cat with a bacterial infection, but they are more effective when applied to the affected eye(s).

Oral antibiotics are good for a systemic infection but not so good for a localized one.  The same way most vets will give you ear drops or goop for an ear infection rather than an oral treatment, they will give you eye drops for an eye infection.

If the cat does not want to hold still--and the drops can sting a bit--try having one person restrain the cat by the scruff while the other person puts the drops in.  Or wrap kitty in a towel, burrito style.

Eye infections in cats are usually either 1. secondary to a viral infection like herpesvirus or 2, caused by trauma to the eye or foreign body presence.  Either way, they do not readily resolve on their own.  In the first case, I recommend supplementing a cat with herpesvirus with l-lysine daily as it is proven to help the immune system fight the herpes and slow the replication of the virus.  I use the Tomlyn powder.  It is chicken/turkey flavored and I give it on a bit of canned food in the morning. They love it and will actually lick it off first before eating the canned food.

Either type of eye infection can result in loss of vision.  If the eyes are stuck shut from the pus, gently washing with a clean, warm washcloth can also be helpful, but not a substitute for treating with antibiotic drops.  I prefer tobramycin drops to gentamycin but I am not sure if it is a matter of efficacy or one of availability.

I see upon re-reading that kitty is feral--strongly recommend the burrito method, then.