Eye Boogers - When To Worry?

[Neo_23]

Well I may have spoke too soon this morning.

Today my boy is feeling lethargic again and his eyes are watering worse than before. How can this be if he was getting better? He is still on antibiotics, I don’t understand.

Is it normal for a virus to suddenly get worse again?

 

[Columbine]

I'm so sorry he's getting worse again My best guess is that the antibiotic isn't the right one for his bug (can easily happen, as most places don't test for which bug it is before prescribing ), but that doesn't explain why he improved to start with.

All I can suggest is going back to the vet (either a phone call or visit) and trying to get a more definite diagnosis...which will hopefully lead to the best possible anibiotic/antiviral being prescribed

I guess it's possible that your boy had two infections running together (I had a viral infection that led to a bacterial sinus infection recently), so the meds treated one aspect of his illness, but not the root cause (hope that makes sense).

Sending continued that he feels better very soon

 

[Neo_23]

Thanks Columbine . I just hate taking him to the vet because it stresses him out so much and sometimes I feel like it does more bad than good.

But I guess I should if it seems like he's not feeling well anymore.

 

[Neo_23]

This is what his eye mucous looks like. It looks a bit green? Does that mean it’s likely bacterial?

 

[Columbine]

I'd start with a phone call as he stresses so much. That's what I'd do, especially with a stress-head kitty. They saw him so recently that they might well be able to advise (or even prescibe) over the phone.

 

[Columbine]

I don't think you can always assess whether an infection is bacterial or vial from the excretion colour alone. I know it used to be thought that colour was an indicator of bacterial infection, but I believe that's been proved untrue. Sorry I'm not more help

What meds have you got him on? I've always been given antibiotic eye drops for eye infections, rather than oral. I know your boy has a systemic infection (rather than a straightforward eye infection), but it's possible he'd benefit from eye drops as well as the oral meds, simply because they're ore targeted.

 

[Neo_23]

I'd start with a phone call as he stresses so much. That's what I'd do, especially with a stress-head kitty. They saw him so recently that they might well be able to advise (or even prescibe) over the phone.

Since my regular vet was closed over the holidays I had to take him to a different vet. I called that vet and asked them if his symptoms were normal for the recovery process and the girl on the phone said she can't tell and I'd have to bring him in for a doctor to look at him. So I ended up asking them to forward his file to my regular vet and made an appointment with my regular vet for tomorrow. My regular vet couldn't say anything over the phone either because they haven't seen him yet.

They did say though that if he ends up feeling better tonight or tomorrow I can cancel the appointment with no charge, so that's good I guess.

I don't think you can always assess whether an infection is bacterial or vial from the excretion colour alone. I know it used to be thought that colour was an indicator of bacterial infection, but I believe that's been proved untrue. Sorry I'm not more help

What meds have you got him on? I've always been given antibiotic eye drops for eye infections, rather than oral. I know your boy has a systemic infection (rather than a straightforward eye infection), but it's possible he'd benefit from eye drops as well as the oral meds, simply because they're ore targeted.

The vet gave him Convenia, the antibiotic shot, which I wasn't really happy with afterward because of all of the bad things I've heard about it, but apparently it works in the system for 2 weeks (it's been 9 days). She also gave him anti-inflammatory pills for 3 days, but he finished those a week ago. I think you might be right about treating the eyes directly. I guess my regular vet will check to see if he has a fever too tomorrow. It could be possible that it's just his eyes bothering him and making him want to sleep because they hurt.

Poor little guy has had way too many vet visits in the past few months!

 

[Columbine]

Poor little guy I hope you get to the bottom of it all soon. Interesting that he was on an anti inflammatory initially. I wonder if that's what caused his improvement, and his getting worse was in part due to it leaving his system (bearing in mind that all meds have a half-life in the body ). Just thinking aloud, here.

It sucks that this vet won't do a phone consult I hope the appointment is helpful

 

[Neo_23]

Poor little guy I hope you get to the bottom of it all soon. Interesting that he was on an anti inflammatory initially. I wonder if that's what caused his improvement, and his getting worse was in part due to it leaving his system (bearing in mind that all meds have a half-life in the body ). Just thinking aloud, here.

It sucks that this vet won't do a phone consult I hope the appointment is helpful

I am hopeful because I trust my regular vet, she is very knowledgeable. I don't think the initial vet I took him to over the holidays really knew what she was doing.

Thanks again for all your support! I'll update tomorrow.

 

[Columbine]

How's your boy doing now? that he's doing better

 

[Neo_23]

Hi columbine, sorry I didn’t update. Thanks so much for your continued support.

So the vet is still puzzled about what’s causing these symptoms. We did a bunch of tests and there definitely is an infection of some sort, but not sure what. He has been on clavamox now for 3 days and it seems to be helping. He has more energy and his eyes are watering less, so I’m hopeful that by the end of the 10 day course he will be better. His eyes are still red and inflamed but I think maybe that will take a bit longer to subside.

I have a feeling that the first round of convenia that he received was good enough to make him better for about a week but it either wasn’t the right antibiotic or it didn’t last long enough in his system that the symptoms came back.

 

[Columbine]

No need to apologise! Caring for sick kitties always takes priority over posting about them

I'm sorry you're struggling to get a clear diagnosis, but it's great that the clavamox is helping him. Your theory about why he seemed to improve initially, then relapsed makes perfect sense. that 10 days of clavamox will kill this bug completely. Mega that he's back to his usual self soon

 

[Neo_23]

Well, he's been on the antibiotics for about 5 days now and he is behaving like his old self again. I am quite happy about that. His ears still feel a bit warm, but I have a hard time judging a fever based solely on ear temp. I feel like if he's acting well and eating then it's unlikely he has a fever.

The only issue is that his eyes are still a bit red and watery. I'm wondering if I should ask the doctor to prolong the antibiotics to more than 10 days if his eyes are still red in a couple days? I'm worried about the infection coming back if we stop the antibiotics too soon. Or, maybe we should be treating his eyes directly?

P.S. Columbine thanks for sticking with me on this thread and giving continued support. you've been so helpful!

 

[Columbine]

So great to hear that your boy is almost his old self again That's wonderful news

If it were me, I'd call the vet about his eyes (maybe sending a pic through too), and voice your concerns. Your vet will hopefully advise over the phone, and write up some eye drops for you to collect if necessary (I know mine would do this for me, anyway ). There's a very strong argument for not taking your boy back in unless absolutely necessary right now, as he gets so stressed, which won't help his immune system one bit. He needs all his strength to kick this bug once and for all!

 

[Neo_23]

I took your advice and called in. They suggested I bring him in but I told them about his stress and asked if I could send a pic and they said sure. Haven't heard back yet, but hopefully will soon....

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Columbine]

I hope you hear back from your vet soon. Some are more obliging than others when it comes to phone consults and low level prescribing. I'm lucky that mine are so good about it (we have been with them for 20+ years though, which I'm sure helps).

 

[Neo_23]

I hope you hear back from your vet soon. Some are more obliging than others when it comes to phone consults and low level prescribing. I'm lucky that mine are so good about it (we have been with them for 20+ years though, which I'm sure helps).

I find that my vet is very good but her receptionist can be a bit of a pain to deal with. She is always trying to push me to book an appointment. The vet actually emailed back a few hours ago and said we should wait until he’s closer to finished the dose of antibiotics to see if we should use an eye ointment. She’s hoping the eyes will resolve over the next few days.

 

[Columbine]

That makes sense. that the oral antibiotics are enough on their own

 

[Neo_23]

That makes sense. that the oral antibiotics are enough on their own

I hope so. He started breaking out around his whisker area today. He gets small red bumps that sometimes bleed. I clean it with hibiclens solution that the vet gave me (he’s gotten these since before this infection started). The vet was thinking it was acne but now with the mouth ulcers I’m wondering if he has a food allergy. He has also been itching his ear more than usual. Then again maybe the mouth ulcers were due to the infection. There are just too many issues to deal with at once!

 

[Columbine]

Ugh - I hate having multipe issues going on simultaneously I'm a pro at this with my own health, and it's hard enough to work out as a human what's going on! With a cat it' a million time harder, as it's even more (educated) guesswork

If you can, there's no harm in giving a single (maybe novel) protein diet for a while, just to see if that helps at all. It could be some other bug though, as his immune system is likely more vulnerable right now. Hibicleanse is great stuff - I've used it a lot with my pony in the past (mud fever, a type of skin infection that comes from the soil), and it works wonderfully. I hope all your boy's problems resolve very soon