Question:
I discovered when I got up this morning that Bruce's eye is in a state again. I've never known a cat have so many eye boo-boos He's off to the vet in an hour to have it looked at. Last time it looked horrid but wasn't serious, so here's hoping it's the same this time


Answer:
It's been awhile since the last eye problem, hasn't it? Good luck at the vet.


Answer:
Originally Posted by Banshee
I discovered when I got up this morning that Bruce's eye is in a state again. I've never known a cat have so many eye boo-boos He's off to the vet in an hour to have it looked at. Last time it looked horrid but wasn't serious, so here's hoping it's the same this time
Is it red and leaky? If so, it could be FRC, it's a really popular cat virus that once contracted is a life long affliction. It last's about 10 days per flare up but isn't dangerous. Flare ups can be caused by stress, change of weather or environment. You don't even really need medications unless it's really bad.


Answer:
Candice, it was in December he had the last big one (he has minor ones from time to time that I treat myself with ointment I get from the vet, but this is the second one that needed immediate vet attention). Wow, it seems like only yesterday I came home from work to find his eye like that - strange it was actually six months ago.

Meezers-R-Way, thank you for that info. I'll look up FRC for more information. What does FRC stand for? The membrane of his eye was quite red and swollen but not leaky, thank goodness (in December it was a bit wet).

I got more ointment to put in his eye twice a day for seven days - it did the trick the last time so here's hoping. Meanwhile, the vet says that the eye flareups could be 'kitty herpes', since both he and Isobel showed symptoms of it when they were babies. We already know he has a lower immune system, so it's possible that stress is triggering flareups, affecting his eye. She told me we can test for that, which I'm going to do once he and Hamish have had their teeth cleaned (which means muuuuucho moolah!) and in the meantime I'm thinking about putting him on lysine to boost his immune system up.


Answer:
Aww, poor guy! I hope it clears up quickly!


Answer:
It's feline respiratory complex. It's actually a mix of 3 viruses, Herpes (caughing and respiratory issues), Clamydia (red, swollen leeky eyes and nose) and Rhino (sneezing and purrulant nasal discharge AKA snot).....each virus has it's own symptoms. The red and swolen conjunctiva (mebrane in the eye) is usually due to Clamydia or Herpes....mind you the herpes usually follows up with a cough....The Virus mix is not dangerous and will pass without medication in 10-15 days. The only thing that you would need to watch out for is secondairy infections ie: pnemonia or dehydration. Your cat will probably stop eating altogether for a couple of days, this is normal but assure that the cat is still drinking.
The vet probably prescribed a tetracycline ointment, but with my experience polysporan works just as well, it may save you the vet fees on the next flare up.
Karine


Answer:
Wow, that's great to know - thanks for that! It's odd cos Brucie had alot of nose boogers when he was a baby, and Isobel had frequent stuffed-up sneezes (she also had a slightly unpleasant smell about her, even after being bathed). She also had a nasty eye infection when we found her outside and was put on meds straightaway for it. Upon being spayed/neutered, those symptoms all went away. Thank goodness Isobel doesn't have flareups *phew*. Yes, the ointments I've gotten for his eyes have been tetracycline (I've had the same drops with steroids for one of my rats when she had a facial gash). Luckily, nothing puts Brucie off his food. Even when he was in the midst of his granuloma with lesions along his gums he still ate like a little piggie I recently switched them to the Innova Lite and he tucked into it last night as usual.

I worry about the flareups not only because his eye looks so uncomfortable, but also I worry about him being contagious to the other kitties (although nobody else has been affected in the past), so I think I'm going to see if I can prevent them from happening at all in future. And I'm all for avoiding vet fees if possible. A $50 exam fee for each flareup is hitting me hard in the wallet

Thanks again for that info - I'm going to do some more reading up on that.


Answer:
No problem...I've dealt with hundreds of cats with the same affliction! lol Some cats can be infected with out displaying any symptoms though. The latent cats can also pass on the virus. It's a tricky virus that can be hard to catch.
I wish you both the best!
Karine


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Just got home -- his eye is very nearly back to normal. Still a bit of redness but otherwise looking great It's Hamish's turn to visit the vet tonight for his annual checkup and vaccination.


Answer:
Originally Posted by Banshee
Meanwhile, the vet says that the eye flareups could be 'kitty herpes', since both he and Isobel showed symptoms of it when they were babies. We already know he has a lower immune system, so it's possible that stress is triggering flareups, affecting his eye. She told me we can test for that, which I'm going to do once he and Hamish have had their teeth cleaned (which means muuuuucho moolah!) and in the meantime I'm thinking about putting him on lysine to boost his immune system up.
Yes, definitely give him lysine! My cat has the Feline Herpes Virus and since I started giving him 500 mg of lysine per day he hasn't had any flare ups. His eyes are clear and beautiful. I buy the lysine in capsule form and mix it in with his wet food.