Cat's third eyelid showing.. please help

I am in sort of a panic, my siamese simon has never had any problems health related yet (he's almost 2). A few days ago I noticed Simon was acting very lethargic, but I figured he was just getting used to our new kitten. Today.. I noticed that his third eye lid in both eyes are 1/3 of the way up :S His eyes look a little runny, but not too bad. I am just worried, I looked up information on the internet and I found a few leads.

Should I take him to the vet tomorrow morning, or is this something that happens to other cats? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Here is a pic.. I know it's blurry, but I had to take the flash off otherwise he closes his eyes..

I would take him to the vet if I was you.
It could just be something minor but then it could also be something more serious. It is best to be safe than sorry. Whatever it is catching it early is always a good idea.
Let us know what it is and how he is doing.
My thoughts and prayers will be with you and your beautiful meezer.

Originally Posted by JaneMary

I am in sort of a panic, my siamese simon has never had any problems health related yet (he's almost 2). A few days ago I noticed Simon was acting very lethargic, but I figured he was just getting used to our new kitten. Today.. I noticed that his third eye lid in both eyes are 1/3 of the way up :S His eyes look a little runny, but not too bad. I am just worried, I looked up information on the internet and I found a few leads.

Should I take him to the vet tomorrow morning, or is this something that happens to other cats? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Here is a pic.. I know it's blurry, but I had to take the flash off otherwise he closes his eyes..

Click to expand...

Don't panic! First I've got to say that picture of Simon in your siggy is one of the cutest cat pics on the whole cat site.

OK, my cats have had this and it's been because of an upper respiratory infection. Usually curable with a round of antibiotics. Get him to a vet as soon as you can, because the longer it goes untreated the harder it is to cure.

If it's chlymida-related, my alternative-therapy vet recommended crushing up an L-Lysine tablet and adding it to their food. It must be tasteless because they eat it right up. My little Graycie has this.

Both of these illnesses are infectious, so check your new kitten, too.

There are several things this can be and each one really needs a vet to see it. The fact that your cat is lethargic should also spur you to call the vet and make an appointment. Hopefully the kitty is just dehydrated, but it could be herpes, conjunctivitis, worms, taxo, felv, fip----see why you need a vet?

Yes, if it doesn't look better tomorrow I'd take him to a vet. I did see a cat that permanently had half of his third eyelids showing, but usually it is a sign of some things where you need the vet to diagnose the situation.

I don't mean to scare you but Tiggers third eyelid shows b/c he has herpes

Like all the others said.....plus....

Sounds like the kitten is a carrier, possibly could be calici virus as well, especially since lethargy is an early symptom. Watch for white sores in the mouth, or a split on the lip. The sores would be definituve for calici.

definitely a vet, but make sure to take both cats... theh kitten may have passed something to your siamese. when did you get teh kitten?

my Marsh has herpes, and though his third eyelid is not showing, they can only be treated by medication, it does not go away by itself.

A big thanks to everyone for the replies. Sorry It has taken me so long to respond. I just finished exams and started working full time!

As for Simon and Elle, I took them to the vet the very next morning and the vet recommended a liquid worm treatment. Almost a week passed with no change in Simon's eyelids so I took them both back to the vet. They were tested for FLV and FLP, which came back negative (thankfully!).

Then I decided to get a total blood count done to be sure there was no infection and the test came back perfect. The vet says he is perfectly healthy aside from his eyelids showing. Since they are not red or inflamed she thinks he might be depressed. She mentioed that sometimes when a new cat/kitten is introduced to the household they may feel neglected or jealous. I have tried really hard to ensure that didn't happen, but I notice that simon isn't playing with his dangler (string toys) because Elle is always jumping around in his way.

My vet is going to contact an eye specialist and see if he has any advice for us, or can think of other possibilities for the eyelid showing. For now we're taking things day by day. I am praying that he starts to feel better soon.

They are looking a bit better over the past few days,

Good for you. You are taking good care of Simon by being sure that you & your vet are doing every you can for him. Your are a great cat Mama.

We got a free kitten from a really bad living environment for my daughter's birthday in late November.  We kept her separated from my adult male cat Sweetie Pie for a week, but then introduced them.  I did take the kitten to the vet right away, where she got shots and dewormed and had a flea treatment.  But at her second appointment, she could not get vaccinated because a different vet in the same practice diagnosed her with an upper respiratory infection.  She took blood samples which came back negative for the really bad kitty diseases.  But we then had to bring Sweetie Pie to the vet because he had become very sick from the kitten.  He needed fluids, IV antibiotics, anti-viral meds, and deworming.  His third-eyelids were constantly up as well.  Now, two weeks later, he is feeling better, but still has the haw's syndrome of the eyelids up when he is indoors.  When he goes outside into the cold, they go down.  I saw the vet today for a recheck of the kitten, and she said Sweetie Pie's eyelids could take up to 6 weeks to resolve, but she's convinced it was just a stress response to getting so sick with the infection.  I feel so guilty for bringing in this kitten and getting my sweet boy so sick.

So here's my question, since I see your post is old:  Did the eyelids ever go down and how long did it take?  Thanks.

I saw your post here and don't think the original poster posts here anymore.  She hasn't posted anything on this site for over a year.  However, maybe someone else will see this and be able to tell you if they've had any similar experiences.

BTW, I'm sorry your Sweetie Pie got so sick from the new kitty, but thank you so much for rescuing that baby from the bad environment!  Are they settling in together yet, or still separated?

 yes the same thing is going on with me, We took Deezer to the vet today, did blood work, checked him out, Healthy, and did not find anything wrong. This is a puzzle? The only thing that's changed in our lives is We just moved back in with my boy friend, but he knows the place and been here before, now Deezer has went down in the basement, thought it could of been caused  by some then from down there?, and he also hangs in the bathroom and sleeps in front of the shower doors sometimes?,We were thinking maybe could be something there?, I'm at my wits end with this  Deezer is part Siamese too maybe some then in the breed and almost two years old in a mos or so? Your story is so much like mine , with the breed, age, healthy????DON'T KNOW, OR UNDERSTAND !!!!!!. Spent $150.00 and found out nothing. I don't know what to do, he seems fine other then that, I don't get it???????, but I would like to keep in touch with you, and also, anyone that could help figure this puzzle out, it would be greatly appreciate. it. What is it????? Besides death, which I don't want to even go there is him going blind. I hope the best for my son, my baby and yours as well. HELP US!!!! PLEASE!!!!!

I woke up this morning and the same thing happened to my cat Jitsu! He has already been through hell and back this poor cat. We took him in from outside and his eye discharged occoasionally so we took him to the vet and she said he had an infected tooth and probably was painful for him. Of course I would never want him to feel pain, made an appt for the next day to be removed. I don't know what happened or went wrong but my cat winded up having a stroke, couldn't walk, and was blind. He made almost a full recovery after many weeks and now this third eyelid thing. The vet was baffled and tested for an ulcer but didn't give me any advice. I am very upset with my vet for not fixing his eye in the first place but was wondering if you have any answers or advice???

Try putting l-lysine from the pharmacy in the soft food . I put 1 capsule a day. My siamese has had this problem for years and this manages it somewhat. When it gets bad we put polysporin drops for eyes (again human meds) and try to insert it under the 3D LID

my cat is @ 2.75 years old. he has always been healthy. His baby sister showed a third eye for about 2 days then it went away. a few weeks later

Darwin, my @ 3 year old displayed same. only, his hasn't gone away and its two weeks now. my vet did a blood sample and it showed the Bun and

Creatinine levels were way out of range--- kidney failure!!!! i'm freaked. changed diet and giving pills. just had another blood test today. waiting for results.

if still high levels he has to be caged, put on IV liquids to flush our kidneys and continue the science diet wet and dry food KD. his behavior is fine,

except of course, he squints a lot and i think feels more comfortable with his eyes closed. is there anyway to know if when the third eyelid is protruding

if it's uncomfortable for a cat????

Hi JaneMary

my cat is having that exact problem too! but i suspect it may be just Horner's Syndrome (do not worry).

i bring my cat to the vet too and the vet prescribe some eye ointments and antibiotics. if your cat does not scratch his eyes. that should be fine.

Hi all,

I know I am responding to older posts but this is a fresh issue for me. I have had cats all my life and currently my husband and I have 10 (I know.....but we have a big house and we are retired). All of our cats are rescued and several have sever health issues. Recently, one of our cats got quite sick and went down hill quickly and I saw for the first time this thing with the third eyelid showing. Now this cat is FIV positive who also has allergic stomatitis (sp?). He has been quite sick before. In fact when we took him in, he was in bad shape. I have had cats in kidney failure before and I have never seen this.

My vet was convinced that this was a something related either to his FIV or  leukemia. I knew that leukemia was not a very likely scenario as we rescued him some 8 to 9 years earlier and he had never been out of the house since. Her thinking was we had a false negative on the leukemia test years ago.  He was quite dehydrated, so the other responders who suggested dehydration were dead on. It turns out he is in advanced kidney failure. I was shocked when I was told the news and irritated that this had not been caught before. I spend a small fortune at the vets. But, the truth is kidney failure often does not show up on lab work until the kidney's are 3/4 destroyed. I had his allergic stomatitis in remission and I had cut back on his steroids. His appetite was reasonable until 3 days ago. He had lost weight but I had chalked this up to the fact I had cut back on the steroids. We were not monitoring him as closely as some of the other cats.

My point to all of this is that there are serious health problems, like kidney issues, that often do not show up on the lab work until the problem is  a crisis. I have the utmost respect for vets, but it is important that we trust our instincts with our pets and learn to push to get the answers. If you are seeing behavior changes in your pet, trust what you know about your animal and find a vet you can work well as a team with.