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My cat has one eye that is watering and seems to be red around the rim. The eye itself looks fine. I can't afford to take him to a vet is there anything over the counter?
Symptoms:
Eyes
Two Response(s) to “Red around the eye - conjunctivitis?”:
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Experienced Advisor Selena Carnell says:
December 07th, 2007 at 06:13 PM
Hi, Sorry to hear about your cat. Is he rubbing the eye at all or seeming bothered by it? Does he go out fighting at all? It could be a number of things and it depends on how it all progresses, anything from a mild infection that may go away or something that could turn in to an on going problem. He May have just scratched it whilst out and about. The best thing to do at the moment would be to bathe the eye in a mild salt water solution, Make it up with cool boiled water about 500ml and mixed about 1/2 a teaspoon of salt in to this. i would bathe it at least twice daily. If he is up to date with him vaccinations then there will hopefully be no cat flu involved. See how he progresses over the next couple of days if the discharge increases or he seems more uncomfortable then i would recommend taking him to your vet, if left too long it may cause further problems. Hope this has helped, Selena
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Nina says:
March 09th, 2009 at 03:55 AM
This may be a symptom of feline herpes virus. Though this sounds bad, it is fairly common as over 95% of all cats are infected with some form of the feline herpes virus. I work in veterinary ophthalmology and we see cats come in everyday with similiar symptoms.
The main treatment we use for this condition is anti-viral topical eye medication (Idoxuridine or Trifluridine), which must be prescribed by a doctor. In addition we suggest giving your cat at least 500mg of oral Lysine daily. The Lysine competes with the virus for certain factors, and supplementing with this amino acid may reduce symptoms of the virus. The good thing about Lysine is that it can be purchased "over the counter". For example Viralys gel contains Lysine in a palatable manner.
Watch for any squinting, pain, increased discharge, or changes on the eye itself as your cat may develop a corneal ulcer.
Also, make sure your cat does not rub at that eye and avoid using any eye medications that contain steroids, as this may make the condition worsen.
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