Please help, my cat has a bad eye problem

[Jana Banana]

I’m desperate. Last Thursday (9 days ago)….my indoor make kitty (13 years old) in the middle of the night —my cat went through (Wile E. Coyote style) the screen door to chase after a feral kitty. I woke up right away and ran out to the yard to try and call him in. He came back a few hours later and looked like he had some sort of issue over the left eye. But being I was so exhausted I took it up the next morning. Well that eye was swollen shut. Didn’t know if there was a cat fight or the force of him going through and breaking the screen gave him a black eye or had an abscess. Well went to emergency vet and they were so busy and my cat is terribly awful at the vet they couldn’t exam him. They sent me home with drugs to give him. Meanwhile he had stopped eating and drinking but gave me an appetite medicine to help him want to eat or drink. Fast forward to the following Monday my regular vet sees him, knocks him out to drain the abscess and I go off on my merry way except….the swelling isn’t going down after numerous hot compresses. He doesn’t want to eat or drink. That eye is shut still and super thick everywhere around the eyelid. My cat is getting depressed and feel like the will to live is getting less and less. I’m string food and water down him to keep him going. The vet saw him Friday night and thought eye looked ‘ok’ and that this may take awhile. He said he could know him out again and drain it but give it another few days. It’s Saturday and nothings changing. I’m doing everything humanly possible but why won’t this thing go down??? I feel like I’m going to lose my kitty. Any thoughts or anyone go through something like this?? Thanks….

Hi author here—sorry for so many typos…I did this from my phone

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ I don't think kitty will die. Probably in pain and psychologically shocked. I hope they gave antibiotics and perhaps a sedative to help his nerves. An infection of the eye or eyelid will take time to recover.
When one of my cats was very young cat she suffered an eye injury. Same symptoms as your kitty. She recovered but eventually had her eye removed. She is now happy and healthy.
I would get a second opinion if possible. Keep in touch with your veterinarian.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi.
Just a couple of questions.
What did the vet initially say was wrong with the eye after they examined it? Is it a corneal ulcer? Is the eye itself scratched? Was there a foreign body in the eye like a fox tail? Did you get any kind of diagnosis?

What medication was prescribed? Are you able to use it?

What did they give you to give him for pain?

Is he wearing an e-collar or a cone? If so is it long enough to prevent him from getting to the eye?

Have you adjusted his food dishes so he can eat and drink ok?

 

[silent meowlook]

Are they sure the kitty didn't suffer any other type of trauma during his time out? Could he have been hit by a car?
Check his nails and see if they are shredded.

Some information on eyes. With anything other than a basic easily resolved eye infection, you need a veterinary ophthalmitis. A veterinarian that has done years of study after all the vet school to learn about eyes. Eyes are complicated and I see many veterinarians not properly treat them. It isn't their fault. Too much for a vet to know everything about multiple species.

I know you mentioned an abscess. Where was it located? Above the eye?

Honestly, I would get him to a specialist ASAP. Something isn't right here. If it was an abscess, then it did pop up quick. Was the area swollen like that when he came home.?

Also, he needs to be on pain medication because I know from personal experience that eye issues hurt allot. Cats don't show their pain like people and dogs do so you may think he isn't painful, but he is.

I don't know why he wouldn't be eating other than pain or something completely unrelated. But he can run into other problems if he isn't eating.

If he doesn't have a cone on, he really needs one on. Cats will cause allot of damage to themselves with eye problems. Sometimes you don't see them doing it but it hurts and they will mutilate themselves unless there is a collar.

 

[Jana Banana]

Thank you everyone. So the vet did the exam on Monday (not the emergency vet) and had to be knocked out to do it. He said the eye itself was fine. All in all I was sent home with gabapentim, an appetite stimulant, antibiotic eye ointment. There was another drug that I was sent that didn’t work for pain really which was buprenorphine. Unfortunately I gave that last one more than the gabapentin and realized it wasn’t doing much so it seems the fabapentin works pretty well and he responds to that. I think I will contact an eye soevialist if there is one where I live…Palm Springs area. The cone was traumatic but I’ll try it again—I’ve kept it really clean as I can.
And yes when he got home it was still pretty swollen —the abscess is above the eye. I can apply pressure with warm compresses and he seems ok with that. I just tried to rinse out with light saline water in the eye…but good grief the lids seem bad. Hard to find eye itself. He let me squirt water in there trying to clean it myself. I’ll respond more in a bit. Thanks everyone— I’ll get that collar on.

 

[silent meowlook]

Ok. For now, don’t mess with the eye. Can you post a picture? So you are most likely dealing with a ton of inflammation around the eye.So every time it gets touched it creates more inflammation, if that makes sense.
The cone is a must because he will run at it etc and can actually traumatize his own eye.
Did they put a drain in? Warm compressing with a warm washcloth is fine.
If the eye isn’t involved, there is no need for an eye specialist.

 

[fionasmom]

veterinary ophthalmologist palm springs ca - Google Search
I used a veterinary ophthalmologist for my dog, but they are in Pasadena, which is a ways for you to drive. I do recommend that you check out the ones in your area.