My cat's eye is closed and watering. Can I give her medication?

Hello. It is very common for an upper respiratory tract infection to also cause eye symptoms. This may include a clear watery discharge and inflammation of the eyelids and conjunctiva. If the discharge becomes thick and yellow/ green or your cat squints or is holding the eye closed, she should be rechecked and started in eye medication as well. If the symptoms are mild as they are now, it may resolve on its own when the virus runs its course and goes away. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach

It sounds like Macho may have an eye infection. Unfortunately, by law it is illegal for the experts at Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to give the dose information for any drug, including OTC drugs, without seeing the animal in person first. That's because doing so requires a veterinary client patient relationship which cannot be achieve via an internet forum. In addition, the experts cannot say for certain if a specific drug is safe for your cat. I would recommend taking Macho into the vet today for an exam. The vet can confirm that he has an eye infection, and can prescribe medication to treat it. It's very important to have any eye condition examined and treated promptly, as leaving it untreated can lead to vision loss.

Poor Simba, sorry to hear this! Sometimes cats really do resent eye drops. Be careful that you don't get hurt trying to get them in. You can try using a cool tea bag to soothe the eye and to help get it to open. However I fear he may not let you do this now. The other option would be to get him a long acting Jag of antibiotic, the penetration is not as direct as drops, but it will work. He could also get some antinflammatory medicine to help settle it down.

It's always tough trying to deal with feral cats. The best option would be to take her to the vet (maybe they could spay her at the same time? Not all vets would be able to do that, but might be worth asking). The vet could sedate her, check out her eye, and vaccinate her for rabies at least. There is a risk of her biting, but we usually can take appropriate precautions to avoid this. If you do take her in, ask your vet ahead of time what preferences they have for type of carrier etc so that they have the best chance of successfully looking at her. It will probably end up costing you a decent amount of money to take her in, because of the extra time +/- sedation that will be required (plus costs for testing, vaccines, medications), so just be aware of that ahead of time. That said, to answer your question about care at home - she could have a viral eye infection (very very common in cats), or it could have gotten worse and become a bacterial infection or an ulcer. She could have issues with the pressure in her eye or have a congenital problem. All we really know is that her eye hurts for some reason. All you can really do at home is keep the eye clean with a warm wash cloth and maybe put some lubricating drops in (GenTeal severe is best for this, it's an OTC human eye drop). You can also give her L-lysine treats which will help fight off a viral infection. That won't be enough if she has a bacterial infection, an ulcer, or really any issue other than a mild viral infection. Eye issues can get bad fast she risks losing sight or the eye itself, so definitely consider going the vet route if at all possible. I hope she's feeling better soon! Good luck!

Unfortunately there is nothing specific to do for an injured eye at home. You may want to try calling the vets office to see if they have after hours instructions for emergencies. Otherwise I think you should just keep Xander somewhere warm and quiet, and try to encourage him to drink water. I would not recommend trying to give any over the counter pain medications as there are no safe options for cats. Good luck!

You could use a warm washcloth to get some of the mucous off of Cat's eye and hopefully allow it to open, but I wouldn't try too hard to open it. It is possible that she is holding it shut because it is painful as well. It sounds like she could have an upper respiratory infection, which is usually viral however if there is eye discharge she could have a secondary bacterial infection. I would recommend seeing a veterinarian so they can examine her eye and prescribe antibiotics or topical eye medication if necessary.

I'm glad to hear that Bubu Kitty Mok has already been to her vet to address this eye issue and start a course of terramycin. Do not allow her to rub her eye, as this could cause a corneal ulcer or abrasion in addition to her existing conjunctivitis. Put an e-collar (cone) on her until this eye issue resolves to prevent further damage to the eye. If the redness in her eye continues despite medication, she will need to go back to her vet for further evaluation. Although uncommon, terramycin can be irritating to some cats. I hope that she's feeling better soon!