eye discharge

[curegal421]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if someone can help me with this question. One of my cats has some weird stuff coming out of his eyes, it doesn't happen often just once in a while, I clean it with a q-tip and it goes away and then like a week later it comes back and i do the cleaning again. Its been happening for the past like month or so, should i be worried or is this a normal thing. Should I take him to the vet?

[ferJenna]

It's not continuous? Have you recently changed his litter, or started using a new air freshener? Do you smoke?

[curegal421]

No, No and No...I have no idea what it is....

[lindsayanng]

its probably an upper respiratory infection or an allergy. Eye discharge is usually the FIRST sign that there is something going on in the respiratory system.

Honestly, a trip to the vet to have him listed to your cat's lungs and POSSIBLY an xray is in order here.

I took my cat in to the vet for a red bump on her butt, and the vet listened to her chest and she had a LOT of noise coming from there. I had NO IDEA there was anything wrong, but it was obviously pretty bad. She was put on some antibiotics and it was all cleared after 10 days.

So yea, i really suggest a visit to the vet. it could save you A LOT of money in the long run.

[curegal421]

I was at the vet with him last week and the doctor said he was fine. I forgot to tell her about the eye discharge because it doesn't happen so often that i forgot. so wouldn't the vet notice something was wrong if there was something wrong I think she listened to his breathing....im just wondering if there is anything else that could cause the eye discharge to happen once in a while....

[lindsayanng]

well, there are A LOT of things that can cause eye discharge.. pollen and grass allergies are one of them, but the thing is - with allergies, an allergic reaction (like watery eyes or runny nose) can quickly turn into an all out infection> it happens in people too, thats how people with allergies end up with sinus infections.. its all connected up there.. nose, eyes, throat, lungs..

your vet MIGHT haven listened to him, but it depends on what you brough him in for.

If your cat is still, you CAN listen to him by yourself to ease your mind a little. Just do this:
While he is laying down (preferable sleeping if you have aplayful cat) lay your head directly on his rib cage with your pressed against it. You should ONLY be able to hear his lungs and nothing outside, so you have to press against him with enough force to block out outside noises. Basically, you should not be able to hear water running in the same room.

Then just listen. If you hear ANY crackling or wheezing, he should definitely go to the vet for antibiotics.

The other thing is if this thing in persistant, i would suggest getting some bloodwork done. If this has happened through out the winter when there are no allergens in the air, then you DO NOT have allergies.

I can tell you what happened with my cat which is VERY similar to what you are dealing with/

Chili cat was a healthy cat aside from the fact that she would have random bouts of "allergies," colds, eye infections, ect. ALL of it would clear up after some time, something with antibiotics and sometimes it would clear up on its own. Either way, we were back and forth to the vet ALL the time because it was always something even though it was usually minor.

So after about a year and a half of dealing with this little issues, chili cat got conjunctivitis that just would NOT go away. We had a combination of eye drops and antibiotics that did not help at all. At this point we did a SECOND test for FIV and other major illnesses and everything was negative.

Then we tested for BARTONELLA. She was postive and so were her kittens who were starting to have similar issues with watery eyes and stuff. They all were postive so we treated ALL of them and ever since then we have had NO problems with those kind of illnesses and chili all of a sudden was acting like a kitten again playing and chasing everything..

So basically, if this is something that happens often and comes and goes, a bartonella test would be a good thing. Its a blood test that takes about 5days to get the results back.. and DONT let your vet tell you that all cats have it and they can live with it.. that is only partly true. MANY cats have it, mostly cats who lived in shelters or outside for part of their lives. and SOME cats can live with it without ever showing a symptom and live healthy lives, but then there are those that just have symptoms on and off forever.. those are the ones who need the treatment.

[special]

I was at the vet with him last week and the doctor said he was fine. I forgot to tell her about the eye discharge because it doesn't happen so often that i forgot. so wouldn't the vet notice something was wrong if there was something wrong I think she listened to his breathing....im just wondering if there is anything else that could cause the eye discharge to happen once in a while....

What kind of weird stuff? dry crusties, white blobs of goop, (or yellow or green?) , little specks, water, little "strings"?

Has he had any stress lately? If so it could be the start of a herpes eye problem as many cats have the herpes virus latent (there, but not active) in their systems, and unusual stress can cause an outbreak.

I have a cat with herpes eyes, if he's starting an outbreak he starts to "shed" little brown square specks out of his eye, then he gets some white goop. Also the affected eye will get very red and sore looking, once the blobs of goop start.

Herpes eyes manifest usually with goop.

Is there ever any watering of the eye in question? He could have a blocked tear duct. That is not a serious problem, though sometimes an infection can flare up.

I have a cat with blocked tear duct problems, she'll first start getting some crusties in her right eye, then the eye will flow water freely for a few days, then it goes away. If you see any discharge, yellow or green especially, but white too, bring him to the vet right away.

It also could just be "crud". Does he like to poke around in corners, behind doors, under the bed, in cupbards? maybe some litter dust is getting in his eyes, or he's just prone to forming a crustie now and then (if he's poking around in cupbards make sure there are no cleaning supplies etc, in there. )

does he go outside?

My other two cats get a crustie now and then but no pattern to it, and not very often. I wipe them out gently with a bit of paper towel dampened with warm water.

I have come across a lot of people lately having unusual cat eye trouble in the forums I frequent, and many of the cases turn out to be seasonal allergies. Apparently it is worse than ever for cats this year in many parts of the country.

In my opinion, if it's a discharge (blobs of goop regardless of color), or redness of the eye, he needs to see the vet. If its just a bit of crud and/or free flowing water that only lasts a day or two, then clears up on it's own, it might be a wait and see situation.

However for your own peace of mind you could give your vet a call and tell her about the situation. Ask if she has voice mail, since it's difficult to get a vet on the phone during working hours.

[special]

PS

I do not recommend using a q-tip to clean it though, because you could poke him in the eye. use a bit of paper towel dampened with warm water (not hot! just skin temperature) to wipe his eye out, that will be much nicer for him.

Also it would be helpful for both you and your vet if you keep a little log of when the symptoms start, what they look like, and how long it lasts.

It's very difficutl to think back and remember. Instead of syaing "I think it started two weeks ago and lasted maybe two or three days" you'll know exactly when it started, how long it lasted, and what it looked like, and how often it's happening..

That can be very important for a diagnosis.

[tiffers]

I was at the vet with him last week and the doctor said he was fine. I forgot to tell her about the eye discharge...

Doctors are merely humans. They don't have a Dr. DoLittle gene. So, if the patient is showing no symptoms...the doctor dubs them healthy. Call your vet back, perhaps they can prescribe you some antibiotics without doing another office visit.

Is your kitty FIV and FeLeuk tested?