# Ahh my cat's eye :(



## catlady2010 (Feb 4, 2010)

I took my cat to the vet today to clean and flush his ears. Apparently he doesn't have ear mites, just waxy ears. So as the vet tech was aggressively holding him down and scruffing him as if my cat was about to kill them, the vet was flushing his ears repeatedly. Some of the substance went into my cat's eyes I think and a few seconds later he looks like this 









The vet said that it's normal and it should get back to normal within 20 or 30 mins, well it's been an hour and it's still the same  He said "I promise you, that's completely normal." Should I take my cat back to the vet? They close at 7 pm so I still have some more time. I am just so worried. The whole family was frightened when they saw him.


----------



## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Whatever the stuff was your vet used to flush the ears certainly did irritate the eye. I would give it 12 hrs., and if the same take the cat back and ask for some eye ointment, and yes you shouldn't have to pay for it since it's the vet's fault.


----------



## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

I would call the vet back now (if it's not yet 7 in your time zone) and tell them your cat's eye is still irritated and needs some treatment - free of charge, of course.

Laurie


----------



## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I really don't muck-about with eyes. IF the cat isn't bothering it, like rubbing or scratching it, it should go down when the irritant dissipates. If the cat IS showing signs of discomfort then I think it would require some sort of medical attention to relieve the inflamation and discomfort to prevent the cat scratching and harming or damaging its' corneal surface.
Judgement call and/or call the vet.


----------



## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Actually, that looks like Horner's syndrome. Your vet probably ruptured your cats eardrum and fluid is now in his inner ear. Note how his pupils are uneven sizes and his third eyelid is showing. My Kobie had this, here is a picture of it. 










and










It happened the same way you described. An aggressive ear cleaning. I thought he had gotten fluid in his eye and we rinsed it. He also held is squinted sometimes as seen in the second picture. It always looked worse early in the day. 

Unfortunately my cat also developed vestibular syndrome with the horners where he was unsteady on his feet, dizzy, vomiting. Horners itself isn't dangerous, but, my cat never got over the vestibular side of things and sadly is no longer with me. 

Here is an article on horners syndrome

Horner's Syndrome in Cats

and another

Horner's Syndrome - VeterinaryPartner.com - a VIN company!

Hope this helps. And I wish your cat a speedy recovery.


----------



## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Oh, no, Rachel! 0_o Wow, I never knew something like that could happen. I hope that isn't what has happened to OP's black kitty. Can Horner's ever heal back to normal?


----------



## catlady2010 (Feb 4, 2010)

Kobster, I am really sorry  That is so scary. I did go back to the vet and he said that some of the ear fluid went into his eye which caused irritation. Which is why the third eyelid is out in order to protect the eye. He gave me some ointment which was free of charge and said it would be back to normal by tomorrow morning. My cat is not dizzy at all and walking around normally.

Was your cat dizzy and sick right after the third eyelid appeared? Or did he show those symptoms later on? I guess what I'm trying to ask is did the dizziness, vomiting, etc. show up immediately after the third eyelid appeared?

The vet was smiling the whole time. He said it was nothing to worry about and he told me "don't worry, your cat will be just fine." I mean he was very confident and said that even though it's unusual for the third eyelid to appear, it's just a way of protecting the eye from the irritation.


----------



## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Irritation is not going to cause your cats pupils to be of unequal size. That is NOT normal. I would get a second opinion if it was me. 

Horners can resolve usually in 6-8 weeks.

Kobie's vestibular symptoms appeared within 30-45 minutes and went away in 48 hours. But he never started eating again.


----------



## catlady2010 (Feb 4, 2010)

Is it true that horner syndrome isn't necessary to treat? My cat is obviously not sick, he is acting normal, eating fine and everything and it's not like he has any disease. So shouldn't I wait so that it resolves itself? He did give me some antibiotics.


----------



## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Its true that there IS no treatment for horners. Eye ointment and antibiotics are not going to help. I would be more worried about the roughness of the ear cleaning and potentially ruptured ear drum that would allow for the pressure on the facial nerves that cause Horners. 

I'd can your vet if I was you.


----------



## catlady2010 (Feb 4, 2010)

Yeah I'll *definitely* visit another vet if the eye doesn't get back to normal within a week (the vet seemed like a pretty smart guy and he said there's no way it won't recover within one or two days). He also mentioned the antibiotics and ointment isn't going to help the eye really, it just helps prevent infection and soothes pain. Right now he is eating fine, he is running around the entire house with his brother and nothing has changed. If his eardrum was ruptured, I am pretty sure he would have felt the pain by now (and would have started to become lethargic, weak, lose appetite, etc.), it's been 6 hours since then and he seems quite active.


----------



## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

I certainly hope it's not Horner's and that the irritation will clear up in a day or two. I experienced Horner's Syndrome after surgery of a lymph node on my neck; the surgeon nicked the nerve. I didn't experience any dizziness or anything else, but eyelid was pretty bad post-op and _for a year_ with a droopy eyelid, but eyelid did recover to a normal position and now only droops if I'm really tired or sick. However I still have diminished sight in dark conditions because the pupil does not dilate.


----------



## catlady2010 (Feb 4, 2010)

Well it definitely looks like horner's and I am sure it is. Horner's itself isn't dangerous, it's the symptoms that result from whatever caused the horner's. I DID end up going back to the vet today and another vet exmamined my cat's ears and there is no ear rupture or ear infection. The cat is not in paralysis or anything and everything else seems fine. He is walking great, he even walked for the vet. He's not shaking his head or itching. Eating normally and playing too.

Only thing I *do* have to worry about is how terrible he looks with the eye  Vet told me that horner's syndrome is not painful for the cat and doesn't impair vision. Vet said to bring him back if he starts acting abnormally at all.


----------



## catlady2010 (Feb 4, 2010)

What a relief! Woke up after a nap, went to go check on him and the third eyelid isn't exposed anymore! 










EDIT: By the way, the vet said come back in 10 days for another ear cleaning. There's no way I'm going! Not in a million years. My cat doesn't have ear mites, according to him. Just a little wax, so shouldn't one ear cleaning be able to fix that?


----------

