When a cat has an eye effusion, we generally refer to it having blood in the anterior chamber of the eye, whose medical term is " hyphema". This effusion can be total when it affects the entire anterior chamber of the eye or partial when it occupies only part of it and can be seen as red spots in the cat's eye. In turn, ocular effusions can occur in one eye, generally associated with a disease limited to the eye, or in both, especially in cases of effusion secondary to some systemic disease, with hypertension being the main cause of ocular effusion in the cats.
Continue reading this article on our site to learn more about cat's eye effusion, its causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.
What is an eye spill?
"My cat has blood in its eye" is one of the main queries and can become a cause for great concern, and it is not for less. A effusion in the eye is the presence of blood in the anterior chamber of the eye, totally or partially hiding the color of the cat's eye, observing one or more spots in one or both eyes.
In summary, ocular effusion in cats is a focal or multifocal hemorrhage produced by various ocular and extraocular pathological causes, as well as causes not related to pathological processes such as trauma or fights.
Causes of eye effusion in cats
"Why does my cat have an eye effusion" or "my cat has a red and closed eye" are the questions that cat caregivers ask themselves once they observe an eye effusion in their little ones felines and that can be answered in the following list of causes:
- Systemic hypertension, where increased blood pressure may cause the eye to attempt to self-regulate blood flow to maintain stable perfusion, but this leads to alterations in capillary permeability that cause protein and blood to leak, as well as damage to retinal blood vessels, causing retinal detachment.
- Traumatisms, such as those caused by being run over, scratches on the cornea of the eye in fights, falls with blows to the eyes, etc.
- Uveitis or inflammation of the uvea of the eye and secondary bleeding from fragile blood vessels.
- After eye surgery.
- Tumor of the uvea of the eye (lymphoma, hemangiosarcoma, adenocarcinoma, melanoma).
- Glaucoma due to increased intraocular pressure.
- Vasculitis or inflammation of the blood vessels of the eye Primary or immune-mediated or secondary to infections.
- Bleeding disorders due to changes in platelets or coagulation factors.
Eye effusion symptoms in cats
The only symptom that a cat with an eye effusion may have is ocular hemorrhage, unilateral or bilateral with greater or lesser extent. However, as there are many causes that can cause an eye effusion in cats, the associated symptoms can also be diverse. For example, a hypertensive cat with an eye effusion may also present signs derived from the other three target organs or organs vulnerable to hypertension, such as the brain (ataxia, seizures, nocturnal meowing…), the kidney (advancement of chronic kidney disease, glomerular hypertrophy, renal tubular atrophy, decreased urine density) and the heart (left ventricular hypertrophy with murmurs or gallop rhythm).
If you have been run over, you may have bumps and internal or external bleeding in other locations, you will have pain and even hernias or perforations. In infections, fever and anorexia are also common, and in bleeding disorders, hemorrhages or blood loss in other body locations.
Diagnosis of hyphema in cats
The diagnosis of the cat's ocular effusion, or hyphema, will be made through a series of tests to be chosen according to the clinical signs with which the feline comes to the veterinary center for consultation. Diagnosing the cause of hyphema in cats typically requires a physical examination, a complete history, and a thorough ocular and neurological examination.
The problem with a full eye examination is that in extensive effusions, observation of the inner part of the eye can be prevented, although the other eye can be observed, since it may present a previous form of the disease of some disorders that produce it.
A blood test, biochemistry and urinalysis, as well as measurement of coagulation factors may also be useful. Likewise, it is very important to measure the blood pressure of the cat, since hypertension is the main cause of ocular effusion in these animals, as well asintraocular pressure to rule out glaucoma.
To rule out infections, tests should be performed to look for agents that can cause ocular effusion in cats:
- Feline immunodeficiency virus antibodies.
- Feline leukemia virus antigen.
- Toxoplasma gondii antibodies (IgG and IgM).
- Diagnostic tests for feline infectious peritonitis.
Finally, the ocular ultrasound is useful to rule out tumor masses or retinal detachment.
How to treat a spill in a cat's eye?
The treatment of hyphema will consist of treating the cause or causes that have produced it. In general, feline eye effusion therapy may include the following:
- Cat's rest, since it reduces the probability of bleeding and allows the blood to settle to better observe the fundus of the eye.
- Topical corticosteroids in cases of uveitis without corneal ulcers to control inflammation. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should not be used because they can lengthen clotting times.
- Topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (dorzolamide): indicated if intraocular pressure is increased in glaucoma.
- Tropicamide topical: to dilate the pupil and prevent synechiae (adhesions) of the iris and keep it away from the lens. It is used three times a day until swelling is controlled, usually for a week.
- Repair by surgery in case of perforations or eye injuries.
- Enucleation (excision of the eyeball) in cases with a worse prognosis and where medical or surgical treatment cannot treat the effusion.
Given that it is necessary to know the cause of the effusion in the cat's eye, it is essential to go to the veterinary clinic in case of observing ocular bleeding.
