Flea Dirt?? And Eye Issues

[suzan30]

I have three cats, all of whom love to sleep on the beds in the house. They particular favor the guest room where the bed has a white duvet cover. Today, I went into to tidy up because I have a guest coming, and noticed that the duvet cover was covered with little black particles, very small but definitely visible. None of my cats go outside, ever, and I have seen no sign that they have fleas (just checked carefully). What could this be?

Secondly, one of my cats has almost continual eye discharge. He's been on antibiotic eye drops for weeks at a time, but each time he finishes up, the infection seems to reappear within a couple of weeks. It is getting more and more difficult to put drops in his eyes, since he is well and truly sick of it. None of the other cats I have had over the years have had this problem, nor do my other two now. His eyes are a bit odd, quite small ( I thought he might have microphthalmia, but my vet says no). Does anyone know what could be the root cause?

Thanks so much in advance.

 

[maggiedemi]

If it's eye herpes, then it's viral and it never goes away, antibiotics won't work. I have to give my cat lysine everyday for it. The black particles sound like flea dirt. My cats are indoor and they still get fleas, they come in on our clothes and shoes. Often I don't see the actual fleas, I just see the flea dirt on their chins.

 

[suzan30]

Thanks for the response. Two questions, how do you distinguish between a bacterial infection and herpes? (My vet keeps giving me antibiotics.) Secondly, how do deal with the fleas? collars?

 

[maggiedemi]

You can ask your vet to test him for herpes. I never got mine tested because when he was on antibiotics, it never went away. The lysine is the only thing that works. For fleas, I use Frontline Plus For Cats once a month, which is drops that go on the back of the neck between the shoulder blades.