Cat may have been scratched in the eye

white shadow

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Considering that you have now - today - noticed those 'red streaks' on the yellow, I think it would be best to call and speak to at least one of the technicians (not the receptionists), relate your observations and insist that they are passed along to the Vet.

Well, from what you just described, it seems they did not do a 'stain test' which would confirm/dismiss an actual scratch to/on the eye surface - you can read about that here: Fluorescein Stain in Cats - PetPlace.com. It seems that she relied only on her visual exam ('they did not look injured') - which is fair, but now, considering what you've noticed, she might want to positively rule out any scratch - Uveitis can also be caused by trauma.

All eyesears remain peeled !
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Jbrookat

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Thank you so much! I just got off the phone with the vet.

The good news is that Toffee's temperature is down to 102.7, which to me sounds pretty normal for a cat in distress. The vet was not concerned about fever today. She said that upon examining her eyes, she can tell that the inflammation is resolving and that some of the inflammation is "settling" near the bottom of her eyes. IDK exactly what that means, but it fits with what I saw--there is definitely more redness near the lower parts of her iris. The vet does not feel that the uveitis was caused by an injury (claws) because it is in both eyes (and I'm not a vet, but I don't see why a cat could not claw another cat in both eyes, but I guess she would know more than me about that). She said that the only way to know that for certain would be to have her examined by the university veterinary ophthamologist, which we may end up doing eventually if her eyes do not improve. Toffee has also, somehow, gained a little weight since Wednesday, so that is a positive sign too. Her conclusion is the same as the first vet's--basicially, this is idiopathic uveitis, and it will resolve with treatment, but she understands why we are alarmed.

For now, the vet is recommending a second round of blood work with an additional toxoplasmosis test so we can hopefully rule that out, so we're opting for that. The results won't be in until next week, so until then she is recommending that we continue with the eye drops, and she is also prescribing an anti-inflammatory that will hopefully help Toffee feel a little better. She assured me it is a liquid that tastes good to cats, so that's wonderful. She said hold off on the Clindamycin until the toxoplasmosis test results come back, but she is also giving us an appetite stimulant that we can use if she needs to go back on the Clindamycin and stops eating. (The vet thinks that perhaps she was not eating because the Clindamycin and the pain were making her feel too ill to eat.)

I will try to get some new pictures of Toffee's eyes today, and I will continue to update. Thank you all so much for your help through all of this! Hopefully I will have a happy ending soon.
 
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Jbrookat

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This morning Toffee's eyes look so much better! I think the pain meds and eye drops are helping. She is still not 100% because she keeps "missing" when she leaps, so I think she is maybe not seeing clearly or sge is still feeling yucky. Blood work should be back next week the vet said, just to rule out some things, but I am feeling hopeful.
 

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white shadow

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So, how does Sunday evening find Mademoiselle Toffee ?

I'm dying to know just what that magic anti-inflammatory that tastes good to cats is - there's only one I know of matching that description, but it isn't available in the US. Hmmmmmmmm.......

Has she left her retreat yet? Has she re-integrated? I was thinking of mentioning there being potential for a hiss or two (or worse!) if the others were to catch a whiff of the eau de clinique she would undoubtedly exude on her return......but, perhaps that's nothing new to you.

Her eyes looked just great in those last pics - perhaps there'll be no need to pursue an ophthalmology referral. (FWIW, I'm really surprised that she didn't mention/offer the stain test - this is standard ops for GP Vets...very strange) Meantime, you'll need to keep eagle eyes on hers, and any sign of squinting or redness will be a call to action.

Once she's ready to make a debut, perhaps some coaching for you could help smoothen her sharper edges LOL. You could start a thread in the Behavior forum - there are folks in there who have actually done successful re-integration (vs those offering reading lists!). I know how important that will be for you.
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waddle

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Please note that I am a human eye doctor, not a cat eye doctor, and I don’t know how much their eye diseases differ from ours.

It‘s difficult to tell in the pictures—does the redness and inflammation look like it’s on the front surface of the eye or inside the eye? Uveitis is inside the eye and in humans, often requires strong steroids to resolve, often needed for several weeks. Hyphema, bleeding inside the eye might be a possibility but in the pictures it looks like it’s on the surface and looks like it might be pannus, which is blood vessel growth and scarring from periods of inflammation. Also it would be extremely unusual to have hyphema in both eyes.

She looks so much better in the new pictures! Good to hear she is improving.
 
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Jbrookat

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White Shadow, the pain med the vet gave us is called Meloxicam, and it seems to have helped a lot! We haven't given it to her since Friday and her eyes look even better today (Monday), no trace of redness at all. They look completely normal. It's amazing to me how quickly that turned around. Her appetite is back too, and she's not hiding in the back of closets anymore! Also she's having no more issues leaping, so I think whatever vision problems she was having have resolved. She made it to her favorite perch on the top of the bookshelf this morning, so that makes me very happy. Her litter-sister Mittens definitely smelled the vet/meds on her and wanted nothing to do with her for most of yesterday (there was a lot of hissing), but they seem to be on better terms this morning. Toffee and Tucker are mostly avoiding each other, which is a positive change, given how much they were scrapping before this ordeal began.

Waddle, thank you so much for your insights! I'm still curious to hear the outcome of the blood work, which we should get next week sometime, so I'll update then. At its worst, which was Wednesday/Thursday, the irises of her eyes were completely rusty red and her pupils were very dilated. She was avoiding light and squinting. It was hard for me to tell, but it seemed to me like the inflammation was inside her eyes. I must have Googled 100 images of uveitis in cats on Thursday and Friday, and that seemed the closest to what it looked like (it was definitely not goopy, her third eyelid wasn't swollen, etc). It was strange though. I don't know much about her young cat-hood, other than that she and her sister were surrendered and spent time in a shelter, and then later spent time in a rescue foster home. I got them when they were around 1-2 years old. In my extensive Googling, I learned that sometime kitten diseases can flare up again during times of stress (like getting a new cat), so I wondered if that might be what was happening.

I'll try to post some new pictures of her eyes today. And thank you all so much for your support and kind words.
 

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If you ever have to give antibiotics again, get them in liquid form and put them in Hartz Lickable Treats, in stew, not the bisque. I have never had a cat refuse it, and put all my cat's meds in it. Pilling a cat is sometimes impossible! My Casper had the vet, my husband, and the assistant all holding on and trying, they came away bleeding and the pill was on the floor. my vet said that was the first cat he had been unable to pill!
 
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Jbrookat

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I got the call back from the vet! No Toxoplasmosis, no other infections, the only thing off was a slight increase in monocytes, which the vet said could indicate a recurrent infection or a fungal infection, but could also just indicate stress. Her eyes still look fabulous and she's up to all her old tricks! The vet wants to see her again in a week to recheck her eyes, but I think we're going to be ok. :)
 
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