# Something is wrong with my cats eye



## Junsai (Mar 5, 2010)

I am staying with some relatives and they have a playful 5 month old kitten who hasn't learned to play without his claws out. My cat got scratched on his ear and I believe his eye. There is whiteish discharge that is dark when it collects and his inner eyelid is a little swollen and red. 

I wont be able to go to a vet for at least a week. I am kind of in the middle of nowhere here, but there is a walmart. What can i possible do to help my cats eye. I think something antibacterial would help but what exactly?


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

Please don't treat this with any human over-the-counter meds. You could really hurt your cat. 
I wouldn't worry about the ear at all, but the eye could indeed be serious. It depends where the scratch is. 
It would be OK to flush the eye with saline solution. That will give your cat some relief if the eye is irritating him. 
If it is superficial it will clear up in two or three days. If not, take him to the vet when you get home. 

My cat scratched my neighbor's dog in the eye when it got too close (the dog is friendly, just didn't know about boundaries.) It was noticeable for just a couple of days - a visible scratch and teary. It healed quickly.


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## Junsai (Mar 5, 2010)

His eye lid is red and swollen. He hasn't been bothering it, but he is squinting. I'm just really worried because I can't do anything for a week.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Saline eye drops 2 or 3 times a day are fine for now. It eye worsens in a day or so, do see a vet tho.


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## swimkris (Jul 17, 2010)

I would not wait to go to the vet. If there is a discharge & the eye is swollen, it could become very serious very quick. Pumpkin once got a scratch on her eye and it went from squinty/light rubbing to extreme discharge/swelling in the matter of a couple hours. You are running the risk of losing your cat's eye.


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## Junsai (Mar 5, 2010)

swimkris said:


> I would not wait to go to the vet. If there is a discharge & the eye is swollen, it could become very serious very quick. Pumpkin once got a scratch on her eye and it went from squinty/light rubbing to extreme discharge/swelling in the matter of a couple hours. You are running the risk of losing your cat's eye.


I'm not waiting on purpose, i'm in the middle of nowhere.


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## Auntie Crazy (Dec 10, 2006)

Junsai said:


> I'm not waiting on purpose, i'm in the middle of nowhere.


I second what SwimKris said. If it was just a squint, you could maybe get away with waiting a day or two to see which way it goes, but a discharge is usually serious business. 

Could you do a road trip, Junsai?


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## Junsai (Mar 5, 2010)

Auntie Crazy said:


> I second what SwimKris said. If it was just a squint, you could maybe get away with waiting a day or two to see which way it goes, but a discharge is usually serious business.
> 
> Could you do a road trip, Junsai?


Not until thursday. 

I just rinsed his eye out and discharge is grey to light green.


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## swimkris (Jul 17, 2010)

Junsai said:


> I'm not waiting on purpose, i'm in the middle of nowhere.


I'm not saying it to be mean, just that waiting an eye injury out is risky business. Besides the scratch itself, you have to worry about bacterial infections from whatever may have been under the kittens nails. It is better to be safe than sorry; if you have any possible way, I would take your cat to a vet asap. An emergency trip for drops/ointment is also a lot less expensive than a potential surgery.


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## swimkris (Jul 17, 2010)

Junsai said:


> Not until thursday.
> 
> I just rinsed his eye out and discharge is grey to light green.


That is not normal; it sounds like a bacterial infection.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Your relatives have a cat, do they not have a vet that they use? There may even be a large animal vet in that area that would be willing to visit if you're talking about a rural farming community.


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## Junsai (Mar 5, 2010)

The vet they took him too was pretty far. I called them but they are closed until Monday. There is another vet that is very very far, I called them too. I also called an emergency hospital that is about 100 miles away, they want 400 dollars to just see him, and if he does have an eye infection 80 dollars for the medicine. I wrote them off so I have to wait until Monday to see about the other two.


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

It does sound like an infection. 
In the meantime, I would flush the area with saline solution. You can buy it in the contact lens area. 
You could possibly see a positive change in the next 24 hours. 
That would make the vet appt. easier to decide.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

I just went through this with my kitten a week ago. She scratched her eyelid a tiny bit one night and it bled a little, although it was not swollen at all and was fine by morning (so I ended up not taking her in). I called my vet office that night (they thankfully have a 24-hour emergency hotline) and they gave me the advice that everyone here is giving. 

The only safe thing you can rinse her eye with is pure saline solution. Make sure if you're picking it up in the contact lens aisle that it's just saline, as a lot of contact eye drops have other stuff in them too.

The swelling and the color of the discharge means there could be infection. My vet told me that eye problems can turn ugly fast (been dealing with another unrelated one with my other cat this week) so definitely get him to the vet as soon as you possibly can.


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## Junsai (Mar 5, 2010)

I wish I could just buy the eye drops. After seeing the way the cats play (kicking each other in the face with their hind legs) I'm pretty sure he got scratched. Mittens rear claws were clipped a month ago and haven't grown sharp yet, the kitten though hasn't had his rear claws clipped.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

If you have a regular vet at home, call him/her and explain the situation. Then ask if your vet would be willing to call in a prescription to the Walmart pharmacy where you are now so that you can pick it up right away and start treating your cat's eye.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I had a cat get her cornea scratched, the vet was very concerned about it getting worse even after starting treatment. If the cornea is scratched you run the risk of ulceration which could lead to loss of the eye. If this gets any worse, you really need to reconsider that e-vet.


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## Junsai (Mar 5, 2010)

doodlebug said:


> I had a cat get her cornea scratched, the vet was very concerned about it getting worse even after starting treatment. If the cornea is scratched you run the risk of ulceration which could lead to loss of the eye. If this gets any worse, you really need to reconsider that e-vet.


I know he got scratched in his eye area, but there is no scratch on his cornea luckily. Since i cleaned his eye and did saline drops there has been less discharge and I haven't seen anymore green discharge.

The eye looks the same it did this morning, it appears normal until you open it widely and the inner eyelid is red, the only difference is less discharge.


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

That sounds encouraging. 
Now I would handle the injured area as little as possible - just when you give the drops. The cat's inner eyelid may have been scratched. It will probably heal on its own, but keep observing.


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## Junsai (Mar 5, 2010)

So this morning I went and checked on his eye and I'm glad. The inner eyelid is less red and it's about half the size it was yesterday, it's still swollen but nowhere near as much as it was yesterday, he's also not squinting constantly and there is very little discharge, it's not green anymore. If his eye gets back to normal I will just have to keep him and the kitten separated or under playtime watch.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Glad to hear kitty's eye is improving, keep on with the saline drops. 

To avoid another incident like this, you should clip all of the kitty's nails (front & back feet), just be careful not to cut too short or you might nick the "quick" (vein). After clipping, file them smooth with an emery board or nail file. That should help a lot to take off any roughness. Claws should be clipped every 3 weeks. Always reward _immediately_ afterward with a treat, and kittties will come to look forward to having their nails clipped.


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## swimkris (Jul 17, 2010)

I'm glad your kitty's eye is improving!


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## Junsai (Mar 5, 2010)

Today the vets open at 12, his eye though has very little discharge his inner eyelid is no longer red and if his eye is swollen, I can't tell anymore. He also seems to want to play more than before.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Am sure your vet will have good news, but it's good that you're taking kitty to make sure.


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