Cat may have been scratched in the eye

Jbrookat

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A little background: We adopted a stray "community cat" who had taken up residence on my deck. He was fully vetted by us and was brought inside in July. We introduced him to our two resident cats over a 3 week period, and for over a month now, he has been fully integrated into our family. The resident cats mostly tolerate him--they can share a couch or a bed without incident, and there have been fewer spats as time has passed--but if he gets too close, especially to Toffee (the tortie and self-proclaimed "top cat"), they hiss and spit and scratch.

Over the last few days, I have noticed Toffee getting spunkier than normal with Tucker. In particular, she swats and hisses at him at feeding time if he is in front of her on the way to the food bowls. He is not food aggressive at all--in fact, he typically eats last. However, he is giant compared to her. She probably weighs 8 pounds, where he is closer to 16.

Today, Toffee was hiding when I fed the cats their breakfast. I have since found her, hidden in the back of my son's closet, and she seems to not be fully opening one of her eyes. I suspect that she and our new boy, Tucker, got into a spat last night and she may have been scratched in the eye. She is pitiful and has been curled up next to me or next to her litter-mate, Mittens, most of the morning. We have a vet appt this afternoon, but I have concerns.

Does this injury mean that she and Tucker cannot get along, ever? Why would Toffee have suddenly grown so much more aggressive with him? And now that he has injured Toffee, is this going to be a constant thing? I can't deal with that kind of stress. Am I going to have to re-home Tucker??
 
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Furballsmom

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Hi!
You don't know for certain how the eye injury occurred. Have her treated by the vet, and see how interactions are with everyone after she heals up. Things could be quite different at that point.
I'd suggest if that if you can, to spread the food bowls further apart, in a couple different rooms or something to help lower the stress during feeding times.
 
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Jbrookat

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Thank you! Yes, I will try spreading out the food bowls. I will also update after hearing what the vet says.
 
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Jbrookat

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The vet is running tests and blood work now. Apparently both eyes have inflammation and the vet says she also has a fever. I am super nervous.
 
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Furballsmom

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Wow, hang in there!!
So, this is something other than from a claw scratch. I'm guessing this is why she was getting extra cranky, she didn't feel good poor baby :vibes::redheartpump:
 
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Jbrookat

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Well, the vet ran a bunch of tests. All the blood work came back normal, and they retested her for FIV and FELV, both of those were also negative (phew). She is strictly indoor but the vet said there was a slight possibility that Tucker could have carried something inside while still testing negative, but no. So at least it's not that.

Her white blood count was fine, her kidney and liver functions are fine, and there are no red flags on her blood work. The vet did a glaucoma test, which was also fine. She found that pressure was lower in one eye than the other, which she said was normal with inflammation, but when she examined the eyes there was no sign of scratches, so I guess my theory about a cat fight was incorrect.

The vet says it could still be a couple of rare things that are potentially very serious, but that it was most likely "idiopathic" (meaning that we'll never know exactly what's wrong) from some kind of infection. The vet prescribed a 14 day course of eye drops, which I had to take to the people pharmacy (Walgreens) because her veterinary supply chain has been disrupted by COVID, and also a 10 day course of antibiotics, which means I will have to pill her. I've not pilled a cat in 10 years, and even then it was my super mellow Libby, so I don't know how this is going to go. My neighbor has a pill popper and a geriatric cat though, so she is going to come over and help me later.
 
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Jbrookat

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Forgot to add, for now the vet recommended we keep her in isolation until she is feeling better, mostly so we can monitor her food and water intake and keep an eye on her litter habits. So she's set up in my daughter's room, and we're hoping for the best.

The vet said if we don't see improvement by Friday that we should call. She didn't say, but my guess is that if this is something rare and horrible, things will go downhill rapidly.
 
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Jbrookat

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I am just so full of despair right now. Toffee is really sick. She is not eating, she is not purring, she is hiding in the back of my daughter's closet with slitted eyes and seems just so, so miserable.

We managed to give her the first pill with help from my neighbor, but I don't know how I can keep this up for 10 days twice a day. She fought us so hard, I doubt I'll get one down her ever again. Even my neighbor, who owns 4 cats and has fostered sick kittens before, remarked that the pills are HUGE. They are Clyndamycin (sp?) and they are seriously the size of something an adult human would take. (These are the pills from the vet, btw, not the eyedrops which I had to get from Walgreens). They don't even really fit in the pill popper, we had to slit open one of the rubber edges. I asked about breaking them open to sprinkle on food, or administering them with a pill pocket, and was told by the vet that would not work because cats think they taste horrible. They told me there was a liquid, but cats hate that too. I don't see how this can possibly work.

We tried to get eye drops in. I have no idea if we were successful. Her eyes are now a rusty color where they used to be yellow. She is puny, I am freaking out, and my kids are worried sick. And my other cats keep trying to break down the door to the room where she is isolated. I feel especially bad for my calico, with whom she is very bonded, but if it's contagious I don't want to spread it to all of them.

What is happening here? Please help.
 
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Jbrookat

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Just another update, in case anyone is following. Toffee's eyes still look rusty and dark, and she still seems uncomfortable. She retreats to the back of a dark closet when we aren't actively petting her or giving her medicine. She has purred a little while being petted, but she is definitely not her normal, motorboat-purring self.

However, she did meet me at the bedroom door this morning, meowing for food, and she did eat all the food I left out last night and about 1/3 of what I put down for her this morning. She used the litter box (pee) at some point last night also.
 

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Hi Jbrookat.

I have a gut feeling that there's nothing wrong with her physically..........and, I think all the examination and tests that were done have proven that.

It boggles my mind that she was prescribed an antibiotic.......when there's absolutely no indication that she is faced with any infection !

Would you post the name of the eye drops?

The Vet told you that her eyes were "inflamed".......have you looked closely at them before using the drops? Were the 'edges' reddish? Was there any tearing or sign of watery eyes beforehand?

I need to caution you about the antibiotic you were given. Two points: one, that med is one comes with a sure-fire guarantee of resulting diarrhea, and normally a recommendation for using a probiotic in between doses to maintain the gut's normal bacteria (and so preventing/reducing that side effect); two, is the potential for it to cause damage to the esophagus and the need to follow each dosing with sufficient water/food to prevent this (if I were using clindamycin, I'd be using some puree-style/soft serve type of food serving with her as a 'chaser'). The need for this is compounded, IMO, by the size of those tablets - that concerns me.

Here's a good coverage of all that: https://catinfo.org/pilling-cats-and-dogs-and-erosive-esophagitis-compounded-flavored-liquid-alternatives-transdermal-medications-pill-pockets/

And, here's a reliable piece on clindamycin (see 'Side Effects"):


Were she here, I wouldn't be using an antibiotic (do understand that I'm not advising you in any way - it's simply how I would deal with this) when/where there's no demonstrated need for one. And, I'd be very upset to learn, after the fact, that I hadn't be cautioned about its side effects. Without knowing more details about her eyes and the medication, I simply don't know if I'd be using them.

Frankly, it sounds like there was a major 'dust-up' between those two - the retreating and the slanty eyes sound to me like a fearful reaction. But, that's only a guess from a thousand+ miles away! It also sounds like she's coming back around, though.

Keep your eyes peeled and us informed!
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Jbrookat

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Thank you, I will be hoping you are right. Her irises are a rusty orange-red, her pupils are very dilated. She is eating and drinking a little today but definitely not herself. I will attempt to get a picture of her eyes when I give her the next round of drops. I've attached pictures of both medicines. The eye drops are the ones I had to get from Walgreens. The vet wrote a prescription for them and said it wiuld be the same as what she would give if she had any in stock, but I swear I think this is the same drops my kids get prescribed for pinkeye.
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Jbrookat

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Here are some pictures of her eyes. She is still very much hiding in the back of the dark closet and not acting herself.
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Furballsmom

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However, she did meet me at the bedroom door this morning, meowing for food, and she did eat all the food I left out last night and about 1/3 of what I put down for her this morning. She used the litter box (pee) at some point last night also.
This is terrific to hear!

She is still very much hiding in the back of the dark closet and not acting herself.
Have you had a chance to update your vet about this and the color of her eyes? Is it possible that the closet, since it's dark, feels more comfortable due to the dilation of her eyes?
 
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Jbrookat

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Furballsmom, I have a call into the vet now, just waiting on a call back. I do think her eyes being so dilated is a huge reason she is hiding in the closet. They also must be pretty sore. My daughter built her a "cave" out of boxes and blankets today, and we put the food inside so she can eat in the dark. IDK if it will help or not. She managed to escape the room at one point today and made a beeline for the bathroom, for "her" leaky faucet. I call it hers because the other cats don't care about it at all, but she is particular and much prefers to drink from the dripping faucet than from a bowl. She's a character. Anyway, she drank for a while under the faucet before darting back into the dark closet.

Jeannem, thank you for letting me know! I just mostly recognized the label as one that I've seen in our medicine cabinet before. I can't really tell if it's working or not yet, because her eyes seem very sensitive to the light and she rarely opens them, but the irises may be marginally less rusty than they were yesterday.

It is my understanding that the vet prescribed the Clindamycin "just in case" she has toxoplasmosis, since that can cause a fever and uveitis in cats. None of the bloodwork was indicative of an infection, though. Her only real diagnosis at this moment is acute uveitis.
 
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Jbrookat

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Furballsmom, I love that cat fountain!

Toffee is back at the vet. Her irises are actually looking a lot better, but her pupils are still very dilated and cloudy/green. While she is eating some, she is not eating the usual amount. She is using her litter box and there has been no stomach upset. I am probably being a paranoid pet parent, and I told the vet that, but I still want them to take another look at her eyes.
 

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It's good to hear that she's improving, even if only somewhat.

Just on the fountain....if you go ahead with it, don't throw away the box and wrapping too quickly! Cats are notoriously selective with these....I speak from direct experience and from reading others' sad experiences :lol: .

In your first post above, your only description of/reference to her eyes was that "she seems to not be fully opening one of her eyes". Before she went to the Vet, were you able to get a look at them (and, how did they appear?)? Were you present while she as examined and did you see them then (what was their appearance)? I'm trying to figure out or better understand how and when her eyes came to look as they do in the pics you've posted. Frankly, I was shocked to see them like that, because your report of what the Vet said was not indicative of that. Your only mention of how they look came after you began using the eye drops, when you mentioned that "her eyes are now a rusty color". The testing by the Vet (for scratch and pressure) should not have caused the eyes to become like that.

If you're continuing with the tablets, have you been giving some wet food or liquid? How has all that been going?

Now, I've not had to deal with toxoplasmosis, so I had to do a little reading. There are apparently a couple of blood indicators that would suggest its presence (and, it would be present in the stool at some point), but yet the labs were normal and stool wasn't mentioned. Today's report from her should be interesting.

From my viewpoint, it's a positive that you're wanting her seen/examined again. More often, it's the 'white coat' thingie that dissuades us from advocating - so, good on you!

It wouldn't hurt to ask if she thinks continuing with the antibiotic is really necessary.....it would be a relief for all concerned, it seems to me, if you could stop it.

Here's hoping for an encouraging report!
.
 
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Jbrookat

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Thank you white shadow! We did stop with the clindamycin pills. I spoke with the vet about it when she called back last night, so she is aware. It just felt so awful forcing them on her when we weren't even sure they were necessary.

As far as the eyes, on Wednesday I initially noticed her not opening one of her eyes, and when she did open it, all I could really tell was that her pupils were enormous and both her eyes were darker than normal. I could see very little iris at all, but what I could see did not look "normal" (yellow and bright). I did not see the true red, rusty color of her irises until later in the day, after her trip to the vet but before we administered the eye drops. I think the rusty color was there all along, but I just didn't realize it because she slept most of that day until I took her to the vet. Our vet has very strict COVID protocols, so I was not allowed inside--all appointments are drop-off/pick-up and consultations are over the phone. She told me she'd done the glaucoma test, which showed no sign of glaucoma, a general exam, which showed fever (they took her temp twice because she was really freaking out, and both times it was in the 103-104 range), and the blood work, which showed nothing alarming at all. They also did the FIV/FELV tests, which were both negative. The vet insists that while her eyes looked inflamed, they did not look injured--and I am definitely not a vet, so I did not question that on Wednesday. But today, as the iris grows more yellow, I can see what look to me like red streaks on the iris. To me (again, not a vet) that seems like it could be claw marks, especially given how much she and Tucker hate each other, but my main concern is the extent of the injury. I want to make sure that we are doing everything we need to do to help her fully recover.

I appreciate this site so much, and all of your hugs, advice, and kind words. I will make sure to post what the vet says after this second visit. They were working her in today and I had to drop her off and leave her, which makes me so anxious, but I do like this clinic a lot. She is actually seeing a different veterinarian in the practice today, and maybe they will have new insights.
 
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