Possible eye injury

[Sam]

We noticed tonight Layla woke up after sleeping all day and kept rubbing her right eye and when light was directly pointed at her eye she would close it... She is still rubbing it and she is favoring to protect it. We noticed some liquid build up and it was hell trying to catch her to get a close look at it. She has eaten plenty today... I have never had a cat with an eye infection before so is it possible? We will get her to the vet tomorrow if it doesn't get better, any suggestions? I do have to mention that she sleeps quite a lot during the day but I am sure that is normal.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

It does sound at least like the eye is irritated, maybe it got scratched?... so did you manage to catch her to have a closer look? Is there anything visible on the eye surface? Any cloudiness?

 

[WitchyWoman]

Please don't hesitate to take her to the vet if you suspect a scratch -- scratches can turn ugly in a very short amount of time. You might see her third eyelid come up and/or the tissues around the inner eye and in the tear duct area will become red and swollen if the eye is scratched or otherwise injured/infected.

 

[Sam]

It does sound at least like the eye is irritated, maybe it got scratched?... so did you manage to catch her to have a closer look? Is there anything visible on the eye surface? Any cloudiness?

Didn't notice any cloudiness but runny eyes and a bit of build up of dirt... She is now playing but she is putting strain on her eyes. Not sure how she may have scratched her eye but I will monitor her closely. She had been sneezing a lot when she just wakes up but it goes away after a few minutes.

 

[Patti]

It's possible that she has an infection, I would definitely have it checked out by the vet. Typically the first step to treating an eye infection is with eye drops or eye ointment antibiotics. If that doesn't work you may have to move on to systemic (e.g., oral) antibiotics.

 

[Sam]

I called the vet this morning and they said its most likely a cold and possibly the drastic weather change in dc (35 degrees two days ago and now it's 70, is it winter or the Mayans were on to something) . They said there is not much can be done for a cold except to let it run it's course. Layla has been playing since 5 am and I am going to sleep in the guest room tonight to finally get a full night sleep her both eyes are a little watery and she sneezed a few times and she just ate, I have not seen any discharge since last night.

 

[Wyldthingz]

How do they diagnose an eye issue without looking at the eye? WTheck? My border collier almost lost her eye due to a slight spot which turned out to be a BIG problem. If I had waited, so I was told, she could have ruptured her whole eye.
If your cat is sensitive to light in that eye tomorrow go to an animal eye doctor. You can not mess around with eye issues. I am surprised at your vet's reaction?

 

[Sam]

She is going in today, i spoke with the breeder and she is also stating its a cold due to her kill shots a few weeks ago (or reaction to the shot) but I won't take any chances.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

It is possible, but I agree with Kelly that it is better to be safe than sorry. My doctorate is actually in ocular infections and I know of bacteria that can lose that eye in a matter of hours. So I tend to be paranoid about eye issues.

If she was recently vaccinated with a modified live virus maybe that is it... but if she went to the vet for that vaccine (or health certificate) then she could have caught something there too ...just like when we sit in the waiting room of the doctor's office and catch a cold! Vaccination for Rhinotracheitis (Herpes) and Calicivirus does not PREVENT infection, it helps reduce the severity of symptoms when they are exposed to it after vaccination, that is all.

 

[Wyldthingz]

It is also misunderstanding that kittens get colds from vaccines. Basically, the kittens were exposed to something viral, the vaccine causes an immune response that suppresses the immune system and the kittens break with something else. This is WHY i don't use killed vaccines. They contain an adjuvent that creates an artificial immune response. Even the vac companies say that killed is better for strong adults. Kittens don't get upper respiratory disease from shipping or vaccines- likely they had been exposed already and the stress caused them to break. Shots given weeks earlier don't cause them to get sick otherwise all our kittens would be sick. It is amazing how many breeders are uneducated in how vaccines work. If your kitten came to you sick then the breeder should be responsible for paying for their vet care?