conjunctivitis in cats is one of the most common eye problems. It is easily detectable, quite annoying for our pets and, if not treated, it can lead to more serious eye problems such as corneal rupture. But why does it occur? How to detect and treat it?
If you think your cat may have conjunctivitis pay attention to this article on our site where we will talk about conjunctivitis in cats, causes, symptoms and treatments, in addition to commenting on some natural and very effective remedies that you can use. Keep reading!
What is feline conjunctivitis?
Conjunctivitis is the inflammation of the mucosa of the eye, that is, the membrane that covers it and the inside of the eyelids. It can occur for various reasons and the symptoms are very clear, so it is easy to detect it in our cats. Conjunctivitis can be a symptom of another more serious disease, so although we can treat conjunctivitis at home with some remedies, we must take our partner to the vet to detect or rule out secondary disease.
Conjunctivitis in baby cats and puppies
In the case of domestic felines, usually occurs a lot in small kittens, under 6 months of age, especially if they are not they have been properly cared for or have been on the streets surviving. Once the vet diagnoses the problem in our pet, the veterinarian will indicate the treatment to follow, which will generally be applied topically to the eyes to be applied every few hours for several days, while applying eye hygiene care. In addition, if it is suspected that feline conjunctivitis may be a symptom of a secondary disease, the veterinarian will carry out the appropriate tests to identify the causative agent and thus be able to treat the affected individual.
Types of conjunctivitis in cats
There are various types of conjunctivitis in cats, or Felis silvestris catus, such as:
- Serous Conjunctivitis in Cats: This problem is not very serious, it is easy to treat and the symptoms are mild. For example, the ocular membrane is pink and slightly swollen, in addition the tearing is liquid and transparent. It can be the first symptom of a respiratory illness, but it is usually caused by cold temperatures, dust, wind and allergies.
- Follicular conjunctivitis in cats: In the case of follicular conjunctivitis, the discharge from the eye is mucous instead of liquid. The back of the nictitating membrane and the eyelids enlarge and a hardened surface forms. It usually occurs due to happiness or an infection.
- Prulent conjunctivitis in cats: This type of conjunctivitis is a complication of serous conjunctivitis, which has been made worse by a secondary infection by a bacterium. The eye secretions are so thick that the discharge from the eye is mucus or pus and crusts form on the eyelids. If conjunctivitis of this type occurs in both eyes at the same time, it is quite possible that the cat has a viral respiratory disease.
On the other hand, we can classify feline conjunctivitis according to its origin into infectious, traumatic, allergic and parasitic:
- Infectious diseases: some infectious diseases that have conjunctivitis in cats among their symptoms are the feline rhinotracheitis virus or feline herpesvirus, chlamydiae and feline calicivirus.
- Systemic hypertension.
- Internal eye inflammation or uveitis caused by feline leukemia virus, feline immunodeficiency virus, toxoplasmosis and feline infectious peritonitis.
- In cases of cancer, some alterations of this can cause conjunctivitis, such as ocular lymphoma and squamous cell carcinoma when it occurs in the eye area.
- Traumatisms: caused by blows, scratches, foreign bodies entering the eyes, burns, etc.
- Genetic inheritance: in some breeds of felines there are hereditary diseases that affect the eyes and these make it easier to believe a conjunctivitis. For example, retinal atrophy occurs in Abyssinians, corneal dystrophy in Manx, and eyelid abnormalities in Burmese.
Causes of conjunctivitis in cats
If you wonder why conjunctivitis occurs in cats, you should know that this condition can be caused by eye infections, allergies and various diseases, but especially those that affect the respiratory system. These diseases that have conjunctivitis among their symptoms are many and highly contagious, and they also have a high probability of leaving ocular sequelae if not treated in time.
Other causes are the dirty environment in which the cat lives, since it will easily cause infections that will lead to a conjunctivitis, not cleaning your cat's eyes, excess cold and drafts that cause colds and other respiratory diseases. Finally, we add that they can also be caused by some genetic problems that facilitate the appearance of conjunctivitis.
Conjunctivitis symptoms in cats
If you wonder how to know if your cat has conjunctivitis, we reveal that this eye condition can be easily detected by its most common symptoms, What:
- Irritation of the ocular conjunctiva, that is, redness of the eyes and their mucous membranes (inner part of the eyelids).
- A lot tearing constant that can cause swelling of the eyes.
- Abundant thick ocular discharge (excess rheum), sometimes yellowish or greenish.
- Appearance of the Protruding third eyelid due to swelling.
- Close eyes or difficulty opening them due to swelling and secretions.
- Itchy eyes, scratching and increased paw washing.
- In advanced cases, it may occur opacity in the cornea.
- Other symptoms in long-lasting cases are changes in the color and shape of the iris.
Treatment of conjunctivitis in cats
From our site we recommend that if you identify any of the aforementioned symptoms in your cat companion, don't hesitate to take him to the vet, since which can be a simple conjunctivitis due to minor problems or one more symptom of a really serious disease.
Once the specialist prescribes an appropriate treatment, surely he will also recommend that, in addition to medication, we do it at home some cures. In this way, we cannot indicate how to definitively cure feline conjunctivitis, since if we do not treat the underlying cause, the eye condition will not stop appearing, but we can recommend how to clean the eyes and what products to use.
It is very important to remember that there are viral diseases that can cause many problems in addition to conjunctivitis, that have a vaccine and, therefore, we must follow the vaccination schedule. Likewise, once we have gone through this, if our pet relapses, we will notice it earlier and we will be able to act at home with remedies to alleviate symptoms and we can even prevent conjunctivitis.
How to cure conjunctivitis in cats?
Apart from the treatment stipulated by the veterinarian to combat the cause of the eye problem, he will probably recommend the use of saline solution and a sterilized gauzeto treat conjunctivitis in cats. In addition, with this product we manage to prevent the accumulation of legañas and dirt that can cause eye infections. To carry out a correct cleaning, we must always use different gauze pads for each eye and clean from the inside out.
It is very important that cotton is not used instead of sterile gauze, since cotton leaves residues of filaments attached very easily and this becomes a foreign body in our cat's eye causing various problems.
On the other hand, depending on the type of conjunctivitis, the vet may prescribe the use of ophthalmological ointments In any case, it must be a specialist who indicates which is the most appropriate and how to administer it. There are also products for sale in specialized pet stores such as artificial tears and eye baths.
With these products we help keep the eyes clean and hydrated, respecting the pH of our feline's eye. It is good to apply the droplets in the eyes, in the doses indicated by each product, then cover the eye with a cloth moistened with warm water for a few minutes and then, repeat it with the other eye with a different cloth.
Conjunctivitis in cats and antibiotic treatment
In some cases the veterinarian will prescribe the use of antibiotic eye drops, when the underlying cause of the conjunctivitis requires it. It is important to point out that, even if we have antibiotics for human use or antibiotics for cats from a previous occasion, we should not use them if they are not expressly prescribed by the veterinarian, since we can aggravate the picture, in the event that the cause was another, permanently damaging the vision or the organism of our feline.
Prognosis of conjunctivitis in cats
The prognosis is good if detect the problem earlyIf, on the other hand, conjunctivitis in cats is not treated, the prognosis will worsen over time. It must be borne in mind that relapses frequently occur in felines when at another time they suffer from some other disease and their immune system weakens. In addition, depending on the disease causing the conjunctivitis, we must think that, even if our cat is cured, it can be a carrier of the pathology and transmit it to other cats
For all of the above, the important thing is to keep in mind that feline conjunctivitis is a condition that can occur in any cat of any age and that can be catastrophic for the eye he alth of the sick cat if not diagnosed and treated promptly and thoroughly, losing sight completely.
Home remedies for conjunctivitis in cats
In addition to following the treatment prescribed by the veterinarian, we can make use of natural remedies to treat conjunctivitis in cats. Below we show the most recommended and indicate some recommendations:
1. Check your diet
With a proper diet we will make the cat have a strong immune system, which translates into a much faster and more successful recovery. Of course, depending on the underlying cause of feline conjunctivitis, it will be necessary to adapt the diet to the animal's condition, so it will be the veterinarian himself who will indicate the guidelines to follow in these cases.
two. Apple or thyme infusion
If we see that our partner scratches his eyes a lot, we should try to prevent him from doing so, since it is most likely that he will end up injuring himself. To calm itching, inflammation, redness and other symptoms while cleaning the eye, we can apply chamomile infusion with a sterile gauze wrapped around the finger or thyme, in the same way that we have explained previously with physiological serum.
3. Hot and cold for feline conjunctivitis
If we combine cold compresses with hot ones or lukewarm, we can considerably reduce the inflammation and eye irritation caused by conjunctivitis. For this reason, this is a home remedy for conjunctivitis in cats that has been used for decades in humans and, due to its effectiveness, has also been transferred to the animal world.
4. Proper hygiene
We must keep our cat's fur he althy and clean. In this case we insist on the hair around the eyes that we can brush away from the eyes and cut it at home if we have the right material, or safer, take it to a specialized hairdresser. This way we will avoid eye irritations and infections.
5. Security before everything
If we have several pets, it is best to separate the affected ones from the he althy ones to avoid contagion and, in addition, clean and disinfect their beds, blankets, etc.
On the other hand, we remember that one of the causes of conjunctivitis in cats is colds caused by air currents, so we must try to have house windows closed or ajar If we go on a car trip with the cat, we have to think the same with the windows and with the air conditioning and try not to give our pet directly.
Always, if we see symptoms, we should take the feline to its veterinary specialist, since if it is conjunctivitis, he will probably recommend some medication in addition to what we can do from home.
