Does a cats eye have some natural redness?

darkxfire

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I have two cats. One was a stray we adopted, the other given to me and a house cat. My house cat has had stubborn pink eye for weeks, and im still treating her. My other one started to show mild signs a week ago from her, but we started segregating them more.

I give my outdoor cat honey drops daily, and I gave him saline solution for a few days. Under his eye lids he has some redness. Nothing really swollen, but it looks like its a tiny bit. Sometimes its white, other times I see it red. I dont notice any discharge aside from the normal discharge cats get in there eye, but still give him drops as a precaution. My other one is stubbornly pink it seems to keep coming back and im at a loss as to what to do. Three antibiotics later she still has it, and it will keep coming back, even with lysine.
 
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darkxfire

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She still keeps squinting her eyes a lot and seems like the eyelid is inflamed a bit
 
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JMJimmy

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It actually looks fairly healthy to me, I'm no expert by any means.  If I had to guess I'd say it's minor conjunctivitis caused by an allergy or environmental irritation of some sort.
 

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It actually looks fairly healthy to me, I'm no expert by any means.  If I had to guess I'd say it's minor conjunctivitis caused by an allergy or environmental irritation of some sort.
I'd agree. Gizmo-sama gets like this sometimes, I think something in the environment irritates his eyes. I keep them clean with a washcloth and if it gets really bad I'll rinse his eyes out with a sterile saline solution. (He had several antibiotic prescriptions that didn't really help and the issue always seems to pop up when the pollen count outside is high.)
 
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darkxfire

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I really dont know what my options are. I was told to use erythromycin for another few days. But I'm worried it will keep flaring up again. I might just give her honey drops. Maybe having the doctor prescribe bnp and an antiviral will help. I've spent like $350 since last month, mostly on medication for her, and I still feel bad. I might need a referral to an eye specialist, which will be like $300  for an appointment here in canada.
 

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I would skip the antibiotics since you've already tried multiple rounds of it without success.  Try some Benadryl - http://www.benadryl.ca/children-allergy-medicine/benadryl-liquid - 1ml in the mouth every 4-6 hours.  You'll know quickly if it's working or not within 24-48 hours.  If it's working a little but not clearing it up entirely, you can do 2ml every 4-6 hours (or 1ml of the 12.5/5ml liquid Benadryl http://www.benadryl.ca/adult-allergy-medicine/benadryl-liquid-elixir )

Do not get the 12.5/1ml formula as that's too strong or cats.

Doing this is a cheap way to figure out if it's allergies causing the problem and if it is you'll have to continue giving it during the seasons that affect her.  If it persists you can stop the Benadryl and look at other possibilities like fragrance in the litter or a cleaning product in the house etc.  Signs point to it being something environmental.  If it was an infection of some sort you'd very likely see discharge from the eyes.

Instead of the honey drops (glucose is not good for eyes, can lead to a yeast infection) I would switch to green tea.  Brew up, let it cool to room temperature and dip cotton pads in (whatever these are called - http://i.ebayimg.com/images/a/(KGrHqNHJCEE92!KG8IqBPmEvvWd7Q~~/s-l300.jpg ) - wipe the eyes gently and/or hold it on the eye briefly.  They sell specialty products like this (http://earthbath.com/product/shed-control-grooming-wipes/ ) but it's cheaper to do it yourself.
 
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darkxfire

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I do see some watery discharge along the eye but its not thick. But yes, I can try benedryl
 

mackiemac

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Actually, I think it looks a little inflamed and irritated, but it doesn't LOOK infected. It's certainly not horrible, but it does look just a bit irritated. A picture like these is helpful, but of course it's best to see it in person.

It looks like "allergy eyes" to me, or simply an irritation of some sort. The Benadryl "test" that the others described might tell you something-- but I would recommend working out the right dose with your vet. It's my policy not to give medicine doses on a message forum like this, and to give the disclaimer that "I am not a vet, and even if I were, I'm not your cat's vet. I haven't examined or seen your pet and even if I did, it don't count cuz I ain't no vet... everything I say is intended as information and education only, and as a means to encourage open dialogue with your cat's vet. It is not intended to replace anything advised by your veterinarian... standard disclaimer as I AM a vet assistant with 20+ years of experience. Just have to cover my tail"

That said... an antihistamine may be something to consider as the next step They tend to carry far fewer side effects and risks of creating resistant bugs than antibiotics and steroids. There may even be an ophthalmic antihistamine that could be effective if this is an ocular allergy. There are also many newer oral antihistamines that are quite helpful for cats. Benadryl is a classic one, but can be somewhat sedating. This is good if the itchiness of skin allergies is ruining the cat's sleep, or for use as a gentle calming agent for clinic procedures where you want a pet calmer, but not totally out and there is a condition that precludes other drugs for the purpose. It works well for that. We have even suggested it for pets who have environmental fears like storm fear. It's a good drug-- but the newer ones are less sedating and may work longer (fewer times that you have to cram something down your puddy tat's twoat. Your vet can help you work out a dose, and you can probably find the right drug over the counter.

~Mackie
 
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darkxfire

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I'm giving her childrens benedryl a generic one, with only the one active ingredient. She hates it. I gave her 2mg the first time, and her mouth was foaming bad for a minute or two. I guess cats dont like bubble gum flavour lol
 

JMJimmy

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lol - the active ingredient is very bitter - maybe give a tuna treat right after to "wash it down" and make the experience more pleasant for her lol
 

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becareful of childrens meds-often times they add artificial sweetners- aspartame which is deadly for pets. My vet told me about this two weeks ago when my cat got treated for kidney/urinary infection and I wanted to use probiotics-she said watch out for inactive ingredients-make sure there is really no sugar-if its bubble gum flavor then  more than likely its got something sugar in it.

if you must use over the counter meds don't use childrens version and just get plain pill form and put it in a capsule.
 

JMJimmy

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That's good advice.  The product I suggested does have a sweetener, Sorbitol, which is a naturally occurring sugar in some fruits & berries.
 

foxxycat

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I personally would not want my cat ingesting this ingredient. I would stick to plain ol straight medicine with nothing added. They are getting sneaky now with wording of "natural flavor" for aspartame. so I always research before I buy-and don't click on the first link you find on google-go to the 2nd or 3rd page and hopefully those sites are less ads and more information.
 
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darkxfire

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I ended up buying her 12.5mg quick disolving grape flavored (Most likely artificial) tablets from the pharmacy, it has sucralose. I havent heard anything about it, but xyitol mainly being bad for them. I got her the quick dissolve formula so she doesnt spit it out
 
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mackiemac

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I use a vitamin liquid from the vet, but sold there without a prescription. It's called Pet-Tinic. Basically, it's a syrup with mostly B vitamins and some iron. I grind up the pill really, really fine and mix it with about 1 cc of the Pet-Tinic and a few drops of water if needed-- particularly if I'm giving 2 pill-form medications at the same time or if the pill is a bit big. Just enough to make it where I can draw the mixture up into a small oral syringe (usually a 3 cc that will have some room to spare). Then I give the liquid mixture. Most pets like the Pet-Tinic pretty well, or at least tolerate it enough to swallow it without too much fuss.

You can use pretty much any tasty broth (onion/garlic free, of course), tuna juice, etc.

Do be sure that the type of pill that you are grinding up is safe to grind. Time release pills and caps or "enteric coated" pills probably shouldn't be ground up. Check with your vet to be sure that it's safe to use this technique with your cat's medicines.

~Mackie
 
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darkxfire

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What about my other cat? He is outdoor most of the time. I first started noticing mild discharge about two weeks ago. Only one or two times ive seen his eye squint a little. He has redness sometimes under his eye which comes and goes. Sometimes its white, and light pinkish, other times more red. I dont notice any discharge from him when he has it
 
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darkxfire

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Ok thank you. I just wanted to know, because it seemed odd to me that the redness would keep coming and going. I monitor it daily and give him drops. He seems to hate coming back home where I do that lol. It sad to see how bad some other animals have of eye problems. Where I live, so many cats were thrown out. My previous neighbors had a tabby that had 3 kittens, and a calico that had 5-6 kittens and they moved, and left them behind with almost no food, and very badly flea infested kittens and yard. One of them even died, one was about to, until we made sure they got enough food. I bathed a cat that was covered in fleas so much that the bucket I used turned orange and red after. Its sad to see what some animals have to go through
 
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