Red crust in corner of cats eye?

[brittanyan]

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• brittanyan
• Feb 19, 2013

Hi everyone,

I recently got a rescue cat that's been in foster care for six weeks. She's been settling in alright, frequently coming to me for cuddles and seems to be eating well, sleeping alright and the likes.

One thing I have noticed is a red discharge from her eye that seems to be getting a little worse over the past 3 days of her arrival. At first it was a small corner of her eye that I noticed the moment she got in.

However, it seems to have progressed a little. Here is an image link to her face. I had to turn on a pretty bright flash to pick it up properly, she didn't enjoy that.

Would anyone suggest what this could be? If need be, we'll take her for an early veterinarian check. Thank you in advance to any responses!

- Brittany

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

h my goodness!  Isn't she a beauty

As to the red crusties...I'm really surprised they didn't address that before letting you adopt her.  Have you tried just gently washing that off?  My cat used to get "eye boogers" 

  as the Vet called them, and she said they were nothing to worry about (on OUR cat), but they were NOT red like that.  We were told just to wipe them off.  

I would ask rescue group about them, for sure, as they should not adopt out any kitties that haven't been seen by the Vet, so they probably know what it is.

 

[feralvr]

Welcome! She certainly IS beautiful. It is possible that the stress of adoption and the new environment has caused her eye to flare. It is fairly common with rescue kitties and I wouldn't worry too much at this point. Keep her eye cleaned by moistening a warm soft paper towel with water to remove the crust. If it keeps up and her starts watering then the vet will prescribe an ointment or drops. It really is caused by stress and many cats in rescues can develop eye issues. I have seen much, much worse and the rescue might even give you some ointment/drops until your vet appt. You could call them as well. Some cats eyes do get these crusties from an over-production of tears. Could be that her tear duct needs to be checked on that one eye. Good luck with her!!! She looks very sweet.

 

[brittanyan]

Thanks for the advice, guys. She's pretty for the overwhelming abuse she went through. Never seen a softer looking cat.

She's very affectionate but I'm not all too sure it's going to be easy to get anything near her. When I stroke her, it's on her terms (as I've had her for just 3 days now), she will back away immediately if my stroke doesn't follow her direction. Any attempts on her and she'll be off. Any advice?

 

[feralvr]

That is a tough one when one needs to medicate a skittish/scared cat. She will probably take some time to setttle in and medicating her might set her back quite a bit. Talk to your vet about L-Lysine. It will help boost her immune system, is a powder, and easily mixed into canned food. Some of us use this one I don't think the eye looks too bad at all right now. Keep watch on it and maybe start the Lysine as that will help. I give it to my cats, the ones who need it. 1/4 tsp. a.m. and 1/4 tsp. p.m. This is 500 mg. a.m. and 500 mg. p.m. But you could also go with half that amount. 250 mg. a.m. and 250 mg. p.m. Again, talk with your vet on this first. :nod:

 

[suzeeeeeD]

Same problem here. We adopted a kitten so I don't know exact age. Very loving and purrs like crazy. I clean the red discharge from his eyes once or twice a day. He purrs when I finish. Here's a close up of his eye before cleaning.

 

[fionasmom]

Welcome to The Cat Site! This is a very old thread and the OP has not been back in a long time, so you will probably not get a response. Does your kitten have other symptoms that might indicate a URI or just the eye issue?. Are you able to take her to a vet? This may not be any kind of a major medical issue but could be an irritation or infection that could be easily treated.

 

[suzeeeeeD]

Thanks for the reply. No other symptoms. He's a happy, healthy cat. I'll ask the vet when we go in for vaccinations.
Again, thank you