Hello pet fans

My cat has something wrong with her eye. Last night it started weeping a greenish-yellow snot-like substance which has accumulated in a gooey blob just under her eye. It looks wet, so I assume it's still weeping. Her eye is a little bit closed also

Has this happened to anyone else?

What was the cause?

How did you treat it?

Thank you

If she will let you then try and have a look to see if there is anything in it i.e. hair or any other foreign object. If there's something there and you can get it out it might be ok. This has happened to one of mine and once I got the hair out she was fine.

If there's nothing there then its probably an infection so she'll need to get to the vets asap for antbiotics/drops.

Oh crumbs. I was hoping to avoid going to the vets - still, if it needs to be done...

I'll try having a look in her eye, but she's extremely uncooperative - could be exciting

Thanks deebster

Eye infections are pretty common with cats, and infectious if you have more than one. Vets, I think, for cream...

On saying that, sometimes they just get a bit of gunk and it's nothing. Use a tissue damped with a bit of warm slightly salty water to clean it off, and see what it's like in the morning...

My cat had this once. Vets said it was conjunctivitis and give me some cream to put in his eye. Putting it in was the hard part!

He still has a bit of weeping now and then from the same eye, but nothing drastic enough to warrant medical attention. If I were you, I'd see the vet simply for re-assurance.

Thanks Joe, I'll try giving it a wipe

She's our only cat, but we do have a dog as well

Aw geez, she is NOT going to be happy about having cream put in her eye

I'm going to try and follow everyone's advice: first I'll clean it with a salt solution. Then I'll have a look for foreign objects. Then, if it's still bad tomorrow, I'll book her in at the vets


(She's gonna hate me)

This can also be a symptom of cat flu. Keep an eye out for any other symptoms, as cat flu can be very serious.

Oo-er. What are the other symptoms?

I doubt she has flu though, as she never leaves the house or mixes with other cats

(Fingers crossed, anyway)

We´ve always had Persians who are prone to gunky eyes that can sometimes turn into conjunctivitus. Try bathing first, you can buy little eye wash vials of Distilled water from the chemist and put them on cotton wool or a tissue. If it is still yellowy gunk after a day then you do need the vets for some treatment. They can give you eye drops, it´s not always cream.

When putting in the drops or cream, the element of surprise is best and don´t start waving the tissue around before going to the eye as they will run a mile, come in from behind, or best when they are half asleep. Just be quick and it will be over before they even realise. Good Luck

Thanks flossy Thanks everyone

I've bathed her eye with a salt solution and couldn't see any foreign objects

It's looking quite a lot better now than it did this afternoon, so hopefully, if it's ok tomorrow, she won't need to go to the vets

(I really want to avoid the vets if possible - she hates it, I hate it and it's dead expensive)

it's a difficult call, and I'm not advising that you shouldn't visit the Vets when your animal is ill, but...

I think the tendency to get treatment for animal ailments should be resisted. Quite often, they get better by themselves - it's not as if they don't have an immune system of their own. I wouldn't subscribe to the 'better safe than sorry' theory. I think too much reliance on antibiotics etc. does more harm than good...

I hope your cat stays well.

Hey Joe I totally agree with what you've said there. Plus I don't like to cause added stress to an animal who is already ill.

But equally, I don't want to be neglecting a pet who needs medical attention. I think that's part of why I get a bit stressed if I think (but don't know if) I need to go to the vets

And that's why it's so good to have the DS pets forum as a resource. Everyone's so helpful and caring and most people seem to offer sensible, down to earth advice

So I'd like to thank everyone who's advised me on this thread (again) and update you on how my cat's doing

The good news is, she looks a lot better

Her eye is still a little leaky, but only a bit, and her eye is fully open again

So Im going to give her another salt bath in a bit, and not trouble the vet unless it persists or gets worse

Yay! Thanks everybody

You can buy gunky eye pads (look like a tub of eye makeup remover pads) especially for this. Try these for a couple of days but if still there then it's a sign of infection and should really be treated at the vets. You can get them at petsathome.

My kittens had that. It was an eye infection, and their eyes were crusted shut sometimes. The vet gave us a week's worth of antibiotics and eye cream.

Temporarily, I think you can use three-parts Hydrogen Peroxide and One-Part water (but you might want to look that up to be sure) and dip cotton balls in it, then wipe the eyes with the cotton balls. That'll help temporarily. Still, if they have an eye infection, they eventually need to see a vet.