Cat Eye Problems - Signs to Be Aware Of
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Cat Eye Problems should be extremely important to the cat owner. Cat's eyes have special characteristics that set them apart from other animals. Most dogs use a combination of sight, hearing and smell to become familiar with their surroundings, whereas cats depend mostly on their eyesight for hunting and stalking their prey.
Cat Eye Problems can be spotted if their eye waters, if they blink, squint, paw at their eye or give any evidence that their eye is painful. A special characteristic of the cat's eye is their exta eyelid, which is called the nictitating membrane. If this extra eyelid is visible then your cat most likely has an eye problem.
The first thing that you need to do is to examine the eye to see if you can recognize the cause. The best way to examine the eye is by using a single light source such as a flashlight, preferably in a dark room. You can prevent the cat from panicking by using a pillow case that is pinned around his neck, in order to restrain him.Remember, If the cat is frightened his eyes will dilate preventing you from making an accurate observation.
Frequently you can get a clue to the cat's eye problem by comparing one eye to the other. Look to see if the eyes are of the same shape, color and size. See if they bulge forward or are recessed backwards. A discharge might be present or the eye may be cloudy, hazy or smoky. To test for vision, cover one eye and touch the other several times with your finger. If the cat has vision he will blink when your finger approaches.
Problems with the eye are accompanied by several signs and symptoms. The most serious is pain. If your cat has a painful eye, you should seek immediate veterinary attention.
Some of the signs and symptoms of Cat Eye Problems are:
Eye Discharge - A clear discharge without redness and pain indicates a problem in the tear drainage system.
Any discharge in addition to a painful eye should alert you to the possibility of Cornea or Inner eye involvment.
A thick, sticky mucus discharge along with a red (inflamed) eye indicates Pink Eye or conjunctivitis.
Painful Eye - Signs of pain include squinting, tearing, tenderness to touch and avoidance of light. The nictitating membrane may protrude in response to pain. The common causes of painful eye are injuries to the Cornea and disorders affecting the inner eye.
Film over the Eye - A whitish or opaque film which moves out over the surface of the eyeball is a protruded nictitating membrane.
Cloudy Eye - Loss of clarity or transparency in the eye indicates an inner eye disorder. Disorders that can cause a cloudy eye are Keratitis, Glaucoma and Cataract.
Hard or Soft Eye - Changes in eye pressure are caused by disorders of the inner eye. The pupil might become fixed and fail to respond to light. A hard eye with a dilated pupil indicates Glaucoma. A soft eye with a small pupil indicates inflammation of the inner structure of the eye.
Irritation of the Lids - These are conditions which cause swelling, crusting, itching, or hair loss of the eyelids.
Bulging or Sunken Eye - These are abnormal contours and positions of the eye
Abnormal Eye Movements - These are eyes that focus in different directions or jerk back and forth
Cross-Eyed Gaze - This is common among Siamese cats, and is accepted as normal, however other forms are caused by muscle paralysis.
The source and diagnosis of Cat Eye Problems can usually be determined by one of the above symptoms. Pay very close attention to your cat to see if he/she exhibits one of them, and see your vet if necessary.
References: The Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook by Delbert G. Carlson, D.V.M and James M. Giffin, M.D. - First Edition
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Comments
there is NO WAY my cat would ever let me rap him up in a towel robe and he fights the peice out with me when I try to put drops in..
Thats one well behaved cats... but mine would never allow me to do that.
And I agree with the teeth cleaning... there is no way under the sun my cat would allow me to clean his teeth...Hes a good cat really .. just doent like me working around him.
Well Paula, One of my cats is like that too. Sometimes I need to get a person to help me hold him, while I put the drops in his eye.
does anyone have any idea about why a ragdoll would have what looks like blood around the edge of her eye
If you are talking about the edge outside of the eye itself, she could have scratched herself. Place a tiny amount of bacitracin or antibiotic ointment on your fingertip and touch the bloody scratch with it, and it will soon heal. If you are referring to the eye itself Contact your vet. There can be a number of reasons. Sometimes, seeing blood or blood vessels is an indication of healing from a problem, but not always. It is not something you really want to guess about. A problem with the eyes is often very easy to treat if caught right away. It is often viral in nature, and cats are very stoic so they won't show problems.
My 2 cats have sores in the corners of their eyes. My vet gave me some wash to apply every day--it happens every around the beginning of winter and the beginning of spring. I was told it is allergies.
my cat gives birth to 4 cats ... one of theme has one eye that delayed opening. So that, I applied a cotton with warm water on it it opened but it seems to be cloudy " hard to see the pupil " ... I went to the vet and he just told me to wait for about one week then he will decide what to do .... I really worried about this cat ... please help me if u can.
nabil - disorders that can cause a cloudy eye are keratitis,Glaucoma and Cataract. My educated guess is that your kitten has conjunctivitis and with time and proper care, this ailment can be controlled. This ezine article goes into more detail: http://ezinearticles.com/?Cat-Eye-Infections---How
I have a question actually, my cat just yesterday her eye got cloudy, this was literally overnight, so I do not think it is cataracts or glaucoma or anthing because I would imagine it takes longer to contract than just one day.
She just recently a couple weeks ago had some teeth & ear surgeries, and was tested for everything prior, she has no diseases, she is perfectly healthy, and is an indoor (only) cat. So that rules out leukemia, herpes, etc.
her eye (the right one only) she keeps squinted most of the time, but when she opens it, it looks a little.. cloudy sort of, a bit lighter than the other, and a little watery. I can't see the inner eyelid (as best as I can tell) and has no discharge, although it does seem a little more watery than the other.
She sleeps mos tof the day normally, and I don't think her activity level has decreased at all, and she eats & grooms herself normally.
I assume she has probably just scratched it?
We are already paying out of our savings for her previous surgeries, and she is still on the antibiotics, so provided it is not too serious, I would prefer avoiding another expensive vet trip. (although should her condition change for the worse, the vet is down the street & we will not hesitate to take her in).
I was just mostly concerned that perhaps she has scratched it, or maybe it is an infection, in which case she is still on the antibiotics from before, so that should help clear it up, or if it's a scratch, is there maybe anything i can do to help the healing process?
ok thanks a bunch.
-jen (& "furchild" Tuffy) <3
Jen,
Based on your comments, it sounds as If you can rule out most causes of a cloudy eye in your cat. However, I would keep a close watch on her activity and feeding level, as well as the discomfort she has with the eye. If she did scratch her eye, this could become complicated with an infection, if bacteria enters into the picture. If you notice any of these behavioral or physical changes, you should minimally get her to a vet and have the eye looked at
Thanks hglick for responding, as it turns out, it looked cloudier to me today than it did yesterday, so we went ahead & took her in to the vet.
I have forgotten the name of what it is, "Grand Uviola" or something like that, it is a Spontaneous Hemmorrage of the Eye.
She was given a shot, and 2 types of medicine, one to help heal the blood vessels, and one which is basically an antibiotic eye drop, she was also given some additional antibiotics to give orally.
Apparently this can happen at any time for no reason, suddenly, and can cause blindness among other problems.
Tuffy personally is doing fine, her eyesight has not been affected, and it is apparently relatively painless.
So yes, i hope this helps someone else maybe who might have a sudden cloudy eye, and it doesn't fall under one of these categories. ;)
thanks again
-Jen & Tuffy
Jen,
It sounds as though this might be uveitis, which absolutely needs to be monitored by your vet. You made the correct choice by taking her to the vet. I hope everything works out ok
2patricias says:
11 months ago
Thanks for this useful information.