Emergency Vet or can wait for regular vet?

[Sunnyryuji]

Hello all. So yesterday after I came home from work I noticed my cat had an extremely watery and swollen eye. Unfortunately I came home after my regular vet was closed and most vet offices and clinics are closed over the weekend. There is a 24 hour animal hospital I can take her to, however I don't have positive past experiences with them and would definitely prefer her regular vet. However, I know even if I call them first thing tomorrow morning, they'll be unlikely to get her in that day and she'd likely have to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday to be seen.

As for her eye, it is definitely swollen and very watery, but the eyeball is not red and I haven't seen any discharge. I have seen her rub it a few times but not excessively, and she has been keeping it open for the most part. She doesn't appear to be in any pain and is acting normally. I also attached a photo of how she looks this morning.

Anyway, my question is do you all think she needs to be seen right away, or can she wait to be seen by our regular vet? Thank you all so much for always being so helpful and friendly.

 

[mittens23]

Hello all. So yesterday after I came home from work I noticed my cat had an extremely watery and swollen eye. Unfortunately I came home after my regular vet was closed and most vet offices and clinics are closed over the weekend. There is a 24 hour animal hospital I can take her to, however I don't have positive past experiences with them and would definitely prefer her regular vet. However, I know even if I call them first thing tomorrow morning, they'll be unlikely to get her in that day and she'd likely have to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday to be seen.

As for her eye, it is definitely swollen and very watery, but the eyeball is not red and I haven't seen any discharge. I have seen her rub it a few times but not excessively, and she has been keeping it open for the most part. She doesn't appear to be in any pain and is acting normally. I also attached a photo of how she looks this morning.

Anyway, my question is do you all think she needs to be seen right away, or can she wait to be seen by our regular vet? Thank you all so much for always being so helpful and friendly.

It doesn't look to bad. If it was me I would wait. Just take cotton ball moistened with warm water and clean it

 

[neely]

Is there a colored discharge coming from the eye? It does require veterinary medical treatment since there is most likely some type of infection or inflammation, possibly conjunctivitis. Please note this TCS Article that discusses eye problems in cats:
Eye Problems In Cats: What Every Owner Needs To Know – TheCatSite Articles

I would call your vet first thing tomorrow morning and if you cannot get an appointment right away ask their advice as to whether you should take her to the ER hospital. Best of luck, please keep us posted.

 

[denice]

I too would wait and call your vet's office. I usually reserve the emergency vet for life threatening type of things.

 

[Sunnyryuji]

It doesn't look to bad. If it was me I would wait. Just take cotton ball moistened with warm water and clean it

Thank you for your advice, I'll clean it and call the regular vet tomorrow.

 

[Sunnyryuji]

Is there a colored discharge coming from the eye? It does require veterinary medical treatment since there is most likely some type of infection or inflammation, possibly conjunctivitis. Please note this TCS Article that discusses eye problems in cats:
Eye Problems In Cats: What Every Owner Needs To Know – TheCatSite Articles

I would call your vet first thing tomorrow morning and if you cannot get an appointment right away ask their advice as to whether you should take her to the ER hospital. Best of luck, please keep us posted.

Luckily there is no discharge thus far. Thank you for your advice and the link, I'll definitely get their opinion if they can't get me in right away.

 

[neely]

I'll clean it and call the regular vet tomorrow.

Be very careful about cleaning it since you don't want to take the chance of infecting the other eye. Maybe wait until you speak with your vet tomorrow to be on the safe side.

 

[Oliver'sMama]

Are you able to see if any hairs along the eye lid are touching her eye? Is she blinking or squinting a lot? From what I am told, it is rare in cats, but my cat's eye looked similar and it turned out he had entropion in both eyes, where the eyelids start to turn inward and the hairs rub against the eyeball causing irritation. Again, its rare, so it often goes undiagnosed by vets because they are not looking for it. I brought my cat to the vet 2x and they said it was an infection, then allergies. It wasn't until I noticed it and brought it to the vets attention on the THIRD visit, that he said "Oh yea... look at that!" Anyway, end of story, i brought him to an ophthalmologist vet and he had surgery 2 days ago to correct it. If not caught in time and treated they will develop ulcers, so after everything I went through with my Oliver, I would recommend to rule that out. Hope its nothing serious and your fur baby feels better real soon

 

[Oliver'sMama]

This is what his eyes looked like... if that helps as a comparison

 

[Oliver'sMama]