Third Eyelid Showing

[bellel]

Hi everyone, I have a 6 year old neutered male cat who, along with my 2 other cats, is indoor only. He's UTD on his shots. I had bloodwork done a month ago and all is well with that. Problem is that his third eyelid is showing in both eyes. Pupils look normal and no discharge. He eats great and bathroom habits are normal, though his poop seems smaller than it should (not constipated-like poop, but just smaller in how it looks). Every once in awhile, his poop will smell like a skunk. He has not seemed normal for months, however, and all 3 cats have been sick on and off since we moved to Savannah over a year ago. The other 2 are fine right now (stable). Pie just seems not himself, a little depressed is how I would term it. I've had several health issues myself and thought my low energy (I'm in bed a lot) was rubbing off on him, but after reading something online about 3rd eyelids I'm worried. Obviously, I'm going to the vet (making appt tomorrow morning) but can any of you think of a direction to look into? I keep seeing that 3rd eyelids showing is proof of sickness, but other than seeming to be a little "depressed" he's ok. Even the bloodwork didn't show anything. I'm worried about going to the vet and them telling me there's nothing wrong with him when I really feel like something is. Any ideas?

 

[tabbytom]

Hi bellel, sometimes cat's showing third eyelid is not necessarily to be sick. When they are sleeping, the third eyelid may show but that dosen't mean they are sick.

Unless he's not active at all and the third eyelid is showing when he's not sleeping, then I would be of concern and have him checked by the vet. But to better be safe than sorry, a visit to the vet if you are worried

 

[catwoman707]

A cat will show the inner lid upon first waking up but will retract quickly.
That is unless something is going on.
I think noticing his change in behavior definitely warrants further investigation, these are the subtle signs cats are able to show us that they need help, or something is brewing.

He should have a urinalysis and fecal exam as well.
Sometimes the answer is there.

 

[bellel]

I know his third eyelid will show when sleepy, but his is showing when he's not. That's why I'm so concerned. My vet has done a CBC, a complete fecal (including sending it to a Texas veterinary lab for lots of parasite and viral analyses), and bloodwork was also sent to Texas. So far, all negative. Next, we're going to try Revolution and see if that kills anything that might not have been detected in the tests. He is the hardest cat I've ever had to get a urinalysis on, so I'm still trying to get that (no matter what the vets do, they can't express him themselves). The only things slightly high in his bloodwork were his triglycerides and cholesterol, but the vet said that the numbers were low enough not to ne concerned about them. He's had trouble with pancreatitis and I worry that his pancreas may be acting up without actually having pancreatitis. But at least the vet is helping me and we're continuing to research what's going on.

 

[misterwhiskers]

Trust your instincts. My cat had a eyelid showing once and he was very dehydrated. (He also had a serious other issue but i still say dehydration was a huge issue.) Can you check to see if he seems dehydrated? Do you have a needleless syringe you can give him a little water (with canned food too?)

Also, what's going on with you being sick? Any chance it's related? I too was sick right before my cats illness and I hate to say it, but I was so sick I missed my cats illness until he literally collapsed from dehydration, but I also wonder if we had caught the same bug.

Did the vet check your cats teeth? My cat had herpes and I think it made his mouth sore and that's how he got dehydrated.

If your current vet can't seem to find the issue, I'd go to a specialist if you can afford to.