Tetracycline For Runny Eyes

[travellingbelle]

Hi there,
I just adopted a 4 month old kitten last week and I noticed he had some wetness around his eyes at the foster parent's house. When I asked she said it was probably because he was getting over a respiratory virus and it was probably nothing.

When I brought him home I noticed both eyes were getting very wet; the fur around his eyes was constantly wet so I brought him to my vet.

She said he may have a bacterial infection like Chlamydia and that's causing the eyes. She said it's very expensive to test swabs from his eyes and blood work so let's try a common antibiotic that is used for Chlamydia and bacteria and see if it helps; tetracycline.

When I apply the ointment my kitten's eyes really start to tear up and are extremely wet for several hours afterwards, much worst than when I don't apply the ointment. The skin around his eyes also becomes very pink and inflamed. I called the vet twice and they weren't concerned but said if he doesn't appear better by tomorrow he may be having a reaction to tetracycline.

Has anyone else had their cats react to this antibiotic this way? He doesn't paw at his face or show any kind of discomfort but the ointment seems to make his eyes much worst...any experiences you may have would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! I did a site wide search and there aren't many posts discussing tetracycline, but I did find this post that has to do with eyes;
Inflamed eye, ulcer???

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Well, if you stuck ointment in your eyes, they would water too! I think further testing should be done to actually confirm what your cat really has. And, there are treatments - other antibiotics - that can be given orally. Further, the pinkness and inflammation would suggest the treatment may not be working - although that is hard to tell because I am sure the ointment is also a sort of irritant.

I have included an article about chlamydia in cats, just in case it helps clarify anything for you or you see something in it that you might want to ask your vet about in terms of testing. I also included an article about tetracycline

Chlamydia in Cats - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment - Cat World
What Does the Medicine Tetracycline Treat in Cats?

It is admirable of your vet to worry about expense for you, but ideally s/he should have told you about possible testing options and the costs, and then let you decide how you wanted to proceed.

 

[travellingbelle]

Hi there, I did look up all the illnesses that may be causing the watery eyes that the vet mentioned as well and none of the sites mention excessive watering of eyes after application.

A vet tech called today and she said to stop the ointment for 24 hours to see if the redness in the whites of his eyes goes away. If so, they want to try something else for his watery eyes.

She said that if the tetracycline doesn’t work, her second option would be lysine if it’s herpes.

The vet said that sending a swab in for testing for anything else would be for informational purposes only as anything other than chlamydia or herpes can’t be cured or controlled anyways. His watery eyes may just be a permanent condition for him unfortunately.

The reaction to the tetracycline was so severe that I couldn’t help but think this can’t be a normal reaction. I couldn’t find anyone else’s experience with it though so I thought I’d ask on this forum.

 

[travellingbelle]

Thanks!