Eye Problems

[Luna10]

Hey guys! My cat, Luna is 4 years old with feline leukemia. Other than a cold here and there she's a very healthy little girl.
I took her to the vet last week and she had an upper respiratory infection. (She got an antibiotic.) Also terramycin for her eye infection.

She's feeling great. Plays all the time. Eats, drinks normal.
Yesterday was her 3rd day on terramycin. Not sure if its working or if it needs more time?

Also, it really makes her eyes, worse. Before I started giving it to her, she didn't have any redness. Just a lot of watery eyes. Now, the outer edges of the eye seem slightly red and the white corners are kind of showing. Her third eyelid? Could the terramycin cause her eyes to look worse even hours and hours after she was given the medicine? Any advice would be so appreciated!

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

If I were you, what I would do is to take some good current photos of Luna's eyes, then call the vet, bring up your concerns and ask if they would permit you to send some photos via email for the vet to look at. I would have the vet then get back to you about what to do next.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I'm going to second PushPurrCatPaws ' suggestion. You may be able to email good photos to the vet and avoid another office visit.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

If I were you, what I would do is to take some good current photos of Luna's eyes, then call the vet, bring up your concerns and ask if they would permit you to send some photos via email for the vet to look at. I would have the vet then get back to you about what to do next.

I'm going to second PushPurrCatPaws ' suggestion. You may be able to email good photos to the vet and avoid another office visit.

... In the interest of clarifying, I just want to add that I wasn't suggesting an avoidance of a vet visit... just that a good step would be to send photos and then have the vet determine the next step.


L Luna10 , how is Luna doing today?

 

[maggiedemi]

The Terramycin never irritated Demi's eyes at all. He wouldn't let me drop it directly in his eyes though. I had to put it on a Q-tip and swipe it on the corners of his eyes. It worked really well, it cleared up his runny eye that used to dry to black/brown gunk. He wasn't on an oral antibiotic at the same time though. Before I put the Terramycin on I would clean the corners of his eyes with an eye wash from Walgreens that was 99% purified water on a Q-tip, then put on Terramycin ointment. It takes about 10 to 14 days.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I just want to add that I wasn't suggesting an avoidance of a vet visit... just that a good step would be to send photos and then have the vet determine the next step.

Nor would I suggest avoiding a necessary trip, but they are stressful to most cats, and if NOT necessary, then that's a lovely thing.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

 

[Shar371]

Midnight, my kitty with feline leukemia, had raised third eyelids. It started while she was undiagnosed, and I was bouncing vets trying to find out why they were raised (intermittent, lasting about six months before I got an answer). We did different eyedrops for her (Not terramycin, but I don't have her records with me right now to check), but they had no effect on her third eyelids.

Ultimately, that symptom, plus uneven pupils, were how one vet diagnosed her. She indicated that Midnight had FeLV, and it was active, and that this was the "new normal" for her. It didn't seem to impair her vision at all, and she would have good days and bad. Some days they were raised more than others. Some days they were pink, but most often they were white.

Fingers crossed that the raised third eyelid is secondary to the upper respiratory for you and Luna. I'd say the turnaround takes 4-5 days, most of the time. It should be a 10-14 day course, right? If there isn't a marked improvement by the end of day 4, I'd talk to your vet, for sure. Pictures are always a plus! In case the third eyelid issue isn't related to the upper respiratory infection, there have been a few threads on here about supplements to help FeLV kitties with eye health (L-Lysine has been mentioned quite a bit, I think?) As one FeLV+ parent to another, best wishes