Cat with eye problem

Abigail Lloyd

Hi Cat the Vet, my older girl cat Babs has had really gungy eyes for over a year. My vet tested her for clamidia and herpes and something else (sorry cant remember name) but she doesnt have any of those. Its both eyes but the left looks worst. She never scratches them and the eyes do look ok aside sometimes from a little gunge in the corner. but all around the eye is brown crusty stuff which is quite hard to wash off. The vet says just to keep bathing them with cooled down boiled water but I feel bad that most of the time she looks like I dont care about her. What should I do and are there more tests she shoudl have? Thanks, doc.

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15 May 2009 20:12

Cat the Vet

Hi Abigail,

Constantly weepy eyes are a problem in some cats and often stems from an active, or previous, infection with cat flu. Your vet has swabbed your cat for these, which are Feline Herpes and Feline Calivirus and she has obviously come up negative. However, herpesvirus isn´t active all the time and you can only diagnose the problem when the cat is showing significant symptoms. So, one options would be to repeat the testing when she is suffering a flare up of her eyes (if she has them) . However, if she was positive for the virus it may not make any difference to how she is treated as there are currently no particularly effective anti-viral treatments for eye infections in the UK.

If she has had weepy eyes for most of her life, then she may have been infected with cat flu as a kitten. Not all infected cats go on to carry the illness for life, but in some the virus causes permenant damage to the eye and they can be continually runny.

If you are concerned then the best thing would be to have a chat to your vet. However, if the eyes are open, bright and not sore, then it is unlikely to be causing her a problem. Bathing the eyes regularly is the best home treatment as the discharge from them is not infected in itself but can easily become so as it is a great place for bacteria to grow. Ask the nurses in your practice how best to do it. It might also be worth asking your vet to examine the skin around the eyes to check that it isn´t sore. It could well be if it is continually wet and that won´t be helping as it may be weeping itself and therefore making her look worse.

I hope this helps.

Cat

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15 May 2009 18:13

neil bettison

hi what breed is your cat please?