Help! Cat with eye problem

Our new kitten was fine this morning, but I noticed about 30 minutes ago that her eye is red, swollen and watery. She could only open it about halfway and in the corner of her eye a small piece of her third eyelid is showing. I wiped her eye with a washrag, dropped a few drops of water in it and then Starla gave her a bath and cleaned her face. She can now open her eye almost all the way but it's still red and swollen. Any ideas? Does she just have something in her eye or could she have been injured playing with one of the other kittens? My vet is closed and the emergency clinic charges $80 just for the vet to look at her plus whatever else is done. Is this something that I could wait until Monday and see if it improves and if not take her to my vet? If it's something serious where she could lose her sight or something I don't want to risk it. Any information would help.

Heather

I would probably at least call the emergency vet to see what they advise. Then I would watch it and if it gets worse you should probably take her in. She could have gotten something in it or got in a scuffle with the other cats like you said, or she could even have pink eye.. which is contagious so I dont know if I would let her interact with your other cats until you can get it checked out.

I did call the clinic and talked to a vet tech but she said since they had no way of knowing what happened that all they could say was to bring her in. I guess I'll just wait it out and see if it improves some more.

Heather

If she can open her eye now and couldn't earlier, then that sounds like an improvement. It is quite possible she was scratched during some play, and you noticed it shortly after it happened. She may have a small scratch somewhere across the eye or possibly a bit of dirt or grit. Watch and see if she keeps trying to rub and wash it herself and if it continues to improve or to get worse. If it is a scratch, it should begin to heal fairly quickly. In the meantime, you can also take a clean soft cloth and soak it is luke-warm water, then just hold it lightly over the eye area every now and again, and wiping away anything in the corners of the eye. The moist warmth will feel good and won't worsen any injury that she has. If it hasn't improved by the time the vets open up, then take her in; If it begins to get worse before then, or if she begins to show other symptoms, then take her in to the emergency vets. I suspect she will be fine by the time the vet opens but I know how worrisome it is for you in the meantime.

Kathryn

I'm just going to keep an eye on it and see what happens. I had another question though. We went to Petsmart today and they had eye drops for cats. I was in a hurry and didn't have a chance to really read the label. Has anyone used them on their cats? Would that be a good thing to get and put in her eye to wet it or flush it out if something's in it?

Heather

I would wait and see how the eye does on its own actually. If the eye looks the same, you might want to go back, read the label and see what it says. While it probably wouldn't be a problem, until you have a better idea of what is going on in her eye I think the less you do the better. If there are definite worsening or no improvement you need to talk to the vet again, and you can ask him about the eye drops. If you knew for sure she had dust or a hair or grit in the eye then the eyedrops might be an idea. They probably wouldn't hurt a scratch either, but if the eyeball stays moist and she isn't teary and getting thick crud in the sides of her eye, it will most likely heal on its own. Perhaps one of the vet tech advisors may be able to give you a bit better information, though.

Kathryn

Kathryn

There is some information in Anitra Frazier's book, The New Natural Cat, that might help.

If you have someone to help you, you can flush the kitten's eye with saline solution in case there is some debris in it. You make the solution by dissolving 1/8 teaspoon salt (sea salt is ok too) in 1/2 cup boiling water. Let it cool to warm bath temperature. Take a cotton ball and soak it in the solution. Hold the cotton between your thumb and second joint of the index finger. Squeeze it out a bit so it doesn't drip. Have someone gently tilt the kitten's head back while holding him. It's best to come around from behind his head for giving the drops. Point your index finger straight down and have it about 1/2 inch away, no higher than that, from the inner eye corner. Slowly squeeze the cotton til three drops roll one at a time down your index finger and drop into the inner corner of the eye. Keep his head tilted back another moment or two to let the drops wash over the eye, and to clean any excess solution off his face.

You might want to practice the technique a bit before you try it with your kitten.
Another solution to wash out eyes is to use 1/4 teaspoon boric acid instead of the salt.

Anitra Frazier sells eye drops in some pet supply stores too. I've used them and also done the homemade version with good results.

Honestly it could be a virus in the eye, and no amount of flushing out is going to do much. The cat could have scratched herself when she was itching her face, or she might have debris in her eye. I would just leave her eye alone and watch it a few days, instead of putting water/eye drops or anything else in it. If it doesn't resolve by monday take the cat to the vet.