Conference misery::feline_v1

    One of my Siamese has an allergy which affects one eye.  We have
    had it checked several times to see if it was the result of too
    vigorous play or some type of scratch.  It seems most frequent in
    the Spring.  There is an ointment I can use but Pyewacket hates
    it so - I usually let it alone.  Only lasts about a day.

    Same at our house. One of our cats has a chronic allergy which results
    in a runny eye. Yucky to look at, but it doesn't seem to do the
    guy any harm. Heck, I have allergies, too, so I know how he feels.
    
    
    KBS
    

    If this came on suddenly, it might not be an allergy.  You vet will
    most likely check for an ulcer, infection, and the like.  In the
    meantime, you can keep the eye clean with any sterile eye preparation
    (available at the drug store...ask for an eye wash or irrigating
    solution).  You also can keep it clean by wiping it with saline
    solution, like you'd use for contact lenses.  That's what my little
    Chauncey's opthamologist uses.
    
    Keep us posted on your vet visit tomorrow.  Good luck!!
    Mary (and Chauncey with perpetual eye gunk)
    

    Portia also gets eye gungus.  She has it 95% of the time.  If it
    gets real bad, I'll wipe it off.  Otherwise, I ignore it and let
    her take care of it.  She's had it since the day we got her so I
    don't worry about it.  But you're wise to go to the vet since it
    came on suddenly.  Hopefully it will jsut be a minor irritation
    and nothing to worry about :-)
    
    	-Nancy
    

    Of course, Micki the persian gets all kinds of eye gunk.  From what
    I understand, that's something that all persians get.
    
    Tuesday, I brought Snooks to the Vet because she seemed to be having
    trouble opening her eyes all the way and there was some gook coming
    out of them.  The vet said that she thinks that it is an allergy
    and she gave me an ointment that I have to put in her eyes.  If
    it is not cleared up by next week, I have got to bring her back
    and she is gong to test as see if it is a bacterial infection. 
    If it is, then she is going to have to go on antibiotics.
    
    ONLY ME!
    
    Holly
    

    The vet was not sure what was wrong with Tisha's eye.  He said it
    was inflamed (I could have saved myself $30.00 on that comment),
    he did give me drops and said if it is not cleared up by Monday
    to call him.  He also gave me antibiotics in case it was infected.

    Were the drops called Durafilm (Genoticin??)??  They work great
    for Chauncey.  I always keep some around for those times when he
    gets 'kaka face'.  If they don't work, I'd suggest a call to VONE
    in Lincoln, MA, and a conversation with the kitty opthamologists
    there.  Keep us posted!
    
    Mary

    Barney has goopy eyes too.  They got SO bad that this March he had
    to have surgery on them because the eye membrane had gotten so inflamed
    that it became very bothersome and would also sometimes bleed. 
    It turns out that he has something with a long name, but basically
    it's chronic conjunctivitis (or a real bad case of pink eye).  He's
    had this most of his life (he's now 6) and I'm treating him with
    a cortisone ointment twice (I do once) a day.  It really helps.
    The funny thing is that in humans pink eye is contagious; however,
    neither of my other boys have contacted this.  Since I've never
    asked the vet on this, I really don't know if it's contagious from
    one cat to another or not.  My guess is that it isn't.
    
    Mary,
    Barney, Ben and Gonezo

    Nope, it's not contagious.  Honey has primary responsibility for
    keeping Chauncey's eyes clean (and they both seem to really enjoy
    it), and has never shown any signs of eye problems.  Chauncey really
    fights those eye drops, but, he looks so pretty with a clean face...
    
    Mary

    Tiggers got conjunctivitis in both eyes because of a congestion virus
    that kittens get alot.  The conjunctivis did spread to Snuggles
    my 2 year old cat.  I'm currently trying to get rid of it by using
    the ointment that the vet gave me for Tiggers. 
    
    I did see another note in here about Dejavu losing his voice.  Tiggers
    lost his voice because of this virus.  Our vet just told us to treat
    the conjunctivis and that the virus would go away on its own and
    if it didn't in about a week to bring him back in.  Sure enough,
    the congestion virus went away all by itself. 
    
    I just hope Tiggers doesn't get the conjunctivis back.
    
    Kathy

    Got up this morning and noticed Tisha's eye is looking irrated again.
    I kept her on the oral anti's till gone, and gave her the eye drops
    (not an easy task) till they were gone.  I thought it had cleared
    but it seems to be back.  I hate to sound CHEAP but the last visit
    to the Vet cost me $64.00, and he had could not figure out what
    it was.  Advise please.

    I don't know if you're in Mass, but if you are, then it's probably
    the weather.  Mielikki has a reoccuring eye problem, it was fine
    for a month or two, just yesterday it came back.  I have ointment
    from the doctor for it, the usual treatment is to just start using
    the ointment again until it goes away, no vet visit needed.
    
    I've spent money on 3 vets and though the diagnosis is always
    different, the treatment is the same.
    
    Sharon, Mass, USA
    

    
    Oh, forgot to mention, whenever I run out of ointment, I've always
    been able to go back to the vet and pick some more up, no appointment
    necessary.  This will only cost you the price of the medicine, which
    tends to be a lot cheaper than the vet visit.
    
    

    After spending months and months (not to mention big bucks) taking
    Kalliste to the vet and medicating on the trial and error basis,
    I finally decided to break down and find a kitty opthamologist.
    
    It took 5 minutes and $40.00 to find out what the problem was (as
    opposed to 12 vet visits, 7 different kinds of medication and over
    $250.00 in vet bills).  Kalliste had Chlamydia.  It is also known
    as Pneumonitis.  He was treated topically with Terramycin ointment
    three times a day for 3 weeks and the problem was gone.
    
    It is the opinion of the opthamologist that Chlamydia is the culprit
    behind most feline eye problems, but that most vets aren't
    trained in the latest methods of detection.  It is one of the most
    under-diagnosed of cat illnesses (in his opinion).
    
    Chlamydia is extremely contagious and affected cats should be isolated
    until 7 days after last visible symptoms disappear.  Also, treatment
    requires religious application of the medication for a minimum of
    3 weeks.
    
    There are vaccines to help prevent Chlamydia.  Eclipse IV by Solvay
    is one and Norden Labs also makes one.  Although the vaccine is
    not guaranteed to prevent Chlamydia, it will lessen the severity
    of each recurrence.
    
    The symptoms of Chlamydia include watery eyes, red or swollen
    conjunctival tissue, elevated third eyelids and the most indicative
    symptom, visible white follicles on the underside of the third eyelid
    (the vet will have to check this for you).  
    
    As a side note, if your cat has a pus-like discharge, it probably
    doesn't have Chlamydia unless it also has a secondary infection.
    Pus indicates a bacterial problem and Chlamydia is not a bacterial
    infection, it is viral.
    
    Sorry to have gone on and on, but after the diagnosis of Chlamydia
    in my future stud cat, I made a point to find out as much as I could
    about "the enemy". ;^)
    
    Jo

    Thank you for your input, Jo.  Please don't apologize for sharing
    important information!  I found it very helpful - I have a little
    girl with one watery eye.  It just waters a little once in a while.
    She is not sick nor does she display any other symptoms of anything.
    It seems to occur when I change the litter or when it is windy outside.
    My guess & the vet's is that it's dust (inside & outside). None
    of the other 14 have it (whatever IT is) - just the one. 
    
    I agree - when in doubt, take them in!  Usually it's worth the $$$
    in the end - both for your piece mind and the cat's health.
    
    E.T.

    Monroe also suffers from chronic allergic conjunctivitis.  It is
    much worse in the spring and summer (kitty hay fever).  I have started
    using a 99% dust free litter and it seems that it helps.
    
    Jo