Corneal Ulcer...now needs veterinary ophthalmologist

I noticed less than two weeks ago that my little Winnie kitty had some white goo on her eye. I could tell it wasn't just normal discharge as it seemed firmly affixed to the outermost corner of her left eye. I got her a visit with the vet, and they confirmed what my research had had suggested, a Corneal ulcer. She was sent home with a tube of antibiotic cream which was to be applied twice a day. The vet also asked that we make a return visit this week so they could check the progress of the healing.

I dropped her off this morning before work and within a couple of hours the vet's office called and agreed that her eye looks worse. The white substance has been creeping from the outer corner more towards the center. Since I'm living in a small town, my vets admitted they don't feel comfortable, nor have all of the right equipment, to continue treating Winnie. When I pick her up this afternoon they'll be providing me with the contact info for two local veterinary ophthalmologists along with an estimate for the consultation fee.

I'm OK with taking her in for specialized treatment but I'd really like to know what to expect. Since today is Friday I imagine I won't be able to get an appointment until (hopefully) early next week. Until then my vet has recommend lysine, continuation of the ointment and the addition of eye drops.

Has anyone visited a veterinary ophthalmologist? Can you give me any idea what sort of tests or treatments I may potentially expect?

I'm glad I caught this early but I'm really concerned. I want to get it fixed as quickly as possible so Winnie doesn't have to endure any lasting complications. Honestly it's a bit scary when your vet says she's trying not to frighten you but that she's never seen a case like this before in which it almost looks like the cat's cornea is "melting".

I could use any reassurance you have to offer.

Thanks,
Heidi

My Rocky has one, well actually two of these. He has never seen an eye doctor, but we have tried creams and antiviral drops, which haven't helped. I got him real young and he has had it since I've owned him, as well as a chronic URI caused by herpes, which quite frankly has been a WAY bigger issue than his eye. One eye is completely covered and the other is white around the edges.
His eyes have not changed over the two years I've owned him which is different than your cat. He has some vision in both eyes, but is not as nimble as an everage kitty. My vet has told me that a opth consult may not make a difference, and since his eyes are not causing him any pain we have opted to leave him alone. He also has some tearing from his eyes.
If she seems to be getting worse and it can be fixed NOW I say a the consultation may help. I have heard of surgeries where they can scrape it, or they may be able to treat her with the antiviral drops.

So sorry to hear about your baby. I am going through similar problems with my Jingle. Unfortunately we did not catch his glaucoma early enough to save his eye. It never had the discharge or typical early signs. We were set to go to the vet opthomologist but after the tests came back they determined it wasn't worth it. He was already completely blind and the pressure was increasing in the eye. He had his eye removed on Tuesday.
I hope your little one gets better! I'll be thinking about her. At least your vet was honest and told you it was beyond of their expertise. Keep us posted about her progress!

It's too bad to hear I'm not the only one having these problems.

Mollie...I had actually come across a couple of your posts when I was searching the forum for this. Winnie's eye has the same white coating but far less of it than poor Rocky. I'm glad to hear he's still got a good quality of life regardless of his eye issues.

Bella's mama...So sorry to hear Jingle's eye had to be removed I hope he's able to make a quick recovery. The very first stray I took in only had one good eye and it made me love him even more. I'm sure this recent drama will give Jingles an even more special place in your heart

Winnie's eye looks pretty gross, but she's as perky as ever and only seems irritated by it when I'm poking around putting the ointment in it. She's always had a bit of a lower immune system: a URI when she was just a few days old, on again/off again conjunctivitis when she was still very small, rodent ulcers every now and again so this feels like the latest, but most serious issue in our saga.

According to the paperwork from the vet, I should continue the ointment 2x a day, adding in eye drops (gentocin) every 4-8 hours and an oral dose of ensiyl-f twice a day as well. To keep her as relaxed as possible and to make it easier for me to find her/treat her, she's been given an all expenses paid stay in private suite for the weekend (in our roomy guest bathroom) where she'll enjoy all the serenity and solitude a recovering kitty could ask for. I've also tainted some yummy canned food with some GSE since her immune system can use all of the help it can get.

This afternoon the white goo seems a bit more raised than it has in the past and I'm really hoping that diligent medicating makes a difference. The vets also suggested that I try these 3 treatments for 2-3 days and if things aren't getting any better, that I should then take her to the vet. opth.

Here's to hoping her little body gets it's act together and starts healing itself ASAP!

Interesting, Nya was just diagnosed with a corneal ulcer on Tuesday, and I was prescribed eye drops (collyrium) to give every 1-2 hours!

Her eye was glued shut with goo on Tuesday morning and I brought her into the vet. They said if we treat aggressivley this way, she should heal up just fine. I can see the spot on her eye myself, and it seems to be doing much better already. She's even keeping her eye open most of the time! (she squints after I've given her a drop).

I hope bringing her to work with me and geting up several times in the night is aggressive enough treatment, I really hope this fixes it!

Well it was a busy weekend between the ointment twice a day, the ensiyl-f twice a day and the eye drops as often as possible but the ulcer does seem to be changing. I'm not sure if that's necessarily good or bad.

Winnie has never really been squinting much at all over the past two weeks, so I can't really use that as a determinate of her discomfort. She's been in perfect health and practically unaware of the white goo spreading from the outside corner of her eye, inward.

Starting yesterday I noticed that the white "goo" on her eye actually seems to be loosening it's grip and detaching from the eye. It is stringy and as some gathered around the inside corner of her eye, I was able to gently wipe that bit away with a tissue similiar to regular cat/dog eye boogers.

Do any experts know if this is part of the natural healing process? I plan on calling my vet to chat about this once they've opened because they had suggested I wait 2-3 days to determine if the eye would heal on it's own before contacting the vet. opth. It still looks pretty angry but I'm really hoping that the infection is finally being expelled.

Friday was the first time we started the eye drops and ensiyl-f and her eye has certainly been busy since then. From what I read on the tube of ensiyl-f it's used to treat viral conjunctivitis. Perhaps that's what she needed to finally start healing?

That sounds good.! Hopefully all will work out. Sometimes I wonder about Rocky. Today he jumped in the fridge, but I swear it was on purpose.

When I took Winnie to the vet opth. her eye looked like this:


Long story short, her eye ulcer is/was actually due to the rodent ulcer (Eosinophilic ulcer) she's shown symptoms of occassionally the past few years. Generally she'll get a few ulcers on her lip/inside her mouth but they clear up quickly and without any real intervention. This time, however, the rodent ulcer skipped her mouth and went right for her eye. The vet opth noticed the very obvious ulcer in her left eye and the faint beginnings of another ulcer on the very edge of her right eye.

We were sent home with some steriod eye drops and some more of her favorite Ensiyl-F paste. The vet opth recommended treating it agressively and easing off on the drops as the eye begins to heal. Winnie seems to experience some discomfort/stinging when the drops are administered, but the lesion practically evaporated within a matter of days. All in all, it was well worth the trip to see the vet opth