Keeping A One Eyed Cat Clean

[Diana Faye]

I recently adopted a young cat with only one eye. He lost his eye as a young kitten, due to illness. Before you read on, please know if you are squeamish you may want to skip the second paragraph. My hope is that someone might have some experience or advice to best keep his face clean and prevent any irritation or infection.

The socket is open, and while he mostly squints and is too squirmy for me to get a good look, there is flesh and maybe remnants of an eye in there. After I brought him home, his "eye" did get a little weepy and he got some blackish gunk in the inner corner and on his eyelashes. I assume he must've gotten some dirt or something in there playing with my other kitten, but it was difficult to clean despite my wiping his face with a damp cloth daily. The flesh looks pink and I think healthy, but I'm not exactly used to looking at eye sockets. I don't know if the pinkness is irritation or just skin pigment (he's orange).

I did manage to mostly get a clean face after a few days, and I haven't noticed any weepiness lately. This is my first time with a one eyed cat, and I'd like to know if there is anything I should be doing or can be doing to keep his eye socket clean? Should I have anything on hand to flush away any debris if he gets irritated?

 

[Margret]

I have no experience with this; my best advice is to ask your vet.

Margret

 

[Wile]

Hi there! I got curious about your situation. I don't have any experience with one-eyed cats, but did find these previous threads that might interest you:
Sowing cat's eyes shut? (Blind cats)
Warning Contains Pictures! How To Treat Severe Enophthalmos In Cats?

A few people share their experiences with having a cat(s) whose eye was sewn shut. One person mentions flushing the socket with a saline solution if any debris get caught. Another mentions that they have another cat who keeps their cat's eye clean - hopefully your other kitten can take up this task

I imagine your vet can sell or tell you how to make a saline solution.

 

[jen]

Perhaps you current vet might want to sew up the socket so you don't have any future worries?

 

[Willowy]

I have 2 one-eyed cats. My vet doesn't like to sew their eyes shut because he says then it doesn't drain right and if it gets infected it's harder to clean out. But a lot of vets do sew them up so I don't really know what's best. Maybe sewing them up is mostly for asthetics.

Anyway, they mostly keep their eyes clean themselves but sometimes I have to wipe the male's eye because he doesn't clean himself as diligently as the female does. I use "boogie wipes" or "as gentle as water" baby wipes, or just a damp washcloth, whatever is most convenient at the time. But mostly they don't need anything done.

 

[Diana Faye]

I have 2 one-eyed cats. My vet doesn't like to sew their eyes shut because he says then it doesn't drain right and if it gets infected it's harder to clean out. But a lot of vets do sew them up so I don't really know what's best. Maybe sewing them up is mostly for asthetics.

Anyway, they mostly keep their eyes clean themselves but sometimes I have to wipe the male's eye because he doesn't clean himself as diligently as the female does. I use "boogie wipes" or "as gentle as water" baby wipes, or just a damp washcloth, whatever is most convenient at the time. But mostly they don't need anything done.

I was wondering why a vet would leave it open, so that perspective is food for thought. It seems to be manageable if I wipe his eye at least once a day, although sometimes he just gets dirtier it seems. He doesn't seem to be grooming that part of his face much, and the other kitten (who is a little obsessed with grooming), licks everywhere but that side of his face lol.

Would it be possible that he would have discomfort or pain? It doesn't seem to hurt but he seems to prefer presenting the other side of his face.

 

[Wile]

Would it be possible that he would have discomfort or pain? It doesn't seem to hurt but he seems to prefer presenting the other side of his face.

I'm not too sure about pain, your own observations about how he reacts when you touch him would be your best guide. Does he pull away or act like he is in pain when you wipe him?

I would think that he is "presenting" the other side of his face to centre what he is looking at in his field of vision. (By presenting I'm guessing you mean that he slightly turns his face so that the side with his eye is favoured when he looks at you?)

 

[Diana Faye]

I'm not too sure about pain, your own observations about how he reacts when you touch him would be your best guide. Does he pull away or act like he is in pain when you wipe him?

I would think that he is "presenting" the other side of his face to centre what he is looking at in his field of vision. (By presenting I'm guessing you mean that he slightly turns his face so that the side with his eye is favoured when he looks at you?)

Yes, he seems to mostly turn the "good side" of his face, so it's hard to get a good close look at him. He's pretty mellow for a kitten (who also likes to get into EVERYTHING and has no fear), but he does pull away when I wipe his face. I'm not sure how much of the aversion is just not wanting to be fussed with or discomfort. When he rubs, he tends to use his "good side" more.

 

[loveskitty]

I didn't have the guts to look at the photo. But a feral cat living in the yard next to me was the size of a baby squirrel for a month. The eyes were on opposite sides of its head it was so small. There was no kitten face development.
I fed this cat with another o e for two and a half no this and she filled out. Her face pushed out and her front kegs stopped looking like pipe cleaners. Sweet little personality. She was light when she walked it was like ballerina balancing on air.
The point is that when she did grow the left eye socket did not fit over the left eyeball. Everything is functional ubut the ooze creeps out on the left eye. I worry about her because now she seems to twist her head around to get a full view of me instead of normal as before. Also I worry she is easy to predate upon because other cats like males identify her as vulnerable. She became pregnant when hardly the size of a five month old cat.
Your a brave soul to shelter your one eye. Bravo!

 

[loveskitty]

is socket closure really necessary?

below is little baby with a similar socket issue

 

[Diana Faye]

is socket closure really necessary?

below is little baby with a similar socket issue
View attachment 255702

Thank you. This is kinda my first time with kittens (limited past experience), let alone one with special needs. Prior to getting them (Simon and Garfunkel), I lost my old man (pictured in profile, named Irving) rather suddenly so my anxiety about cat health is a little higher than usual these days. I feel like I spent a lot of time staring at them obsessively for anything awry, and willing them to stay alive (for no other reason than my own anxiety; they're fine). Now that some time has passed and I have not found them dead like my old man, I'm starting to relax a little.

I'm going to take Garfunkel to the vet just for a glance over, mostly for my peace of mind. His eye socket still gets watery and some reddish brown residue builds up, but seems manageable wiping his face at least once a day. Nothing else has changed, so I'm thinking maybe he is ok. I will ask the vet about closing the eye, but I feel like at this point as long as he's healthy I might leave him alone.

As for the 2 cats you posted, if there are eye issues I would try to have them checked out. The female may have pressure building up behind her eye, and may be at risk of loosing it or going blind. Her behavior sounds similar to my guy, who is obviously blind on the one side. The shelter had told me that he and his 3 siblings had been near death and contracted the herpes virus (which is super common), but being so ill the virus caused their eyes to ulcerate. 3 lost an eye and the fourth lost both. I would ask a vet about socket closure- someone above suggested that closing could prevent drainage and cause infection, but I've also heard that not closing could cause infection if anything gets in there. If they are ferals, I would go with whatever is going to be the easiest upkeep, as I can't imagine regular maintenance would be possible.

 

[loveskitty]

yeah it always boils down to vet options not available. These people next door I think they are breeding kittens for pet shops or private sales. They feed like ten cats and let them live on their back yard and go under their house and in their front yard...
Little baby was 'runt' so small she not even the size of a baby squirrel.
I am afraid if I take her to s shelter or calk l.a. animal control she be shuffled along the mortal coil...
the feral cats here are marked for euthanasia.
But for now I'll keep watch. If you have a more permanent commitment then maybe... oh too hard to say. The closed socket is so drastic.
Best Luck..

 

[Diana Faye]

yeah it always boils down to vet options not available. These people next door I think they are breeding kittens for pet shops or private sales. They feed like ten cats and let them live on their back yard and go under their house and in their front yard...
Little baby was 'runt' so small she not even the size of a baby squirrel.
I am afraid if I take her to s shelter or calk l.a. animal control she be shuffled along the mortal coil...
the feral cats here are marked for euthanasia.
But for now I'll keep watch. If you have a more permanent commitment then maybe... oh too hard to say. The closed socket is so drastic.
Best Luck..

Ahhh man, that's really tough. The logical side of me wants to say to call animal control, because even if you can't help those cats, perhaps you would be helping future cats if they could be stopped. But then I put myself in your shoes and think with my heart, and I'm not sure I could do it either. I take it you do not have a TNR program in your area either???