Why is my cat stumbling and not eating after glaucoma eye drops?

One of the medications that we will use for eye pain in cats is called Atropine Sulfate. This medication is notorius for making cats drool profusely since the tear duct system is connected to the nose and mouth (so cats will taste the eye drops). This can potentially occur with other eye drops, but Atropine tends to cause the worst problems. The drooling your noticed this morning is likely related to her anticipating the taste of the eye drops (like a Pavlovian response where dogs drool when they anticipate their dinner). If her drooling response is making it difficult for her to tolerate her eye drops, I would recommend contacting your veterinarian to see how long she needs to take the eye drops and if there is an alternative available for her. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and answered your question. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

This can be a sign of a respiratory infection and nasal congestion. It can also be a sign of a corneal ulcer or other trauma to the eye that can be causing pain. Since he is not eating and has potential to have an ulcer, it is best if he gets seen at an emergency clinic tonight to get medication started before he gets dehydrated.

I don't know what injection your cat received but I don't think vitamins will help make him eat. I recommend going back to your vet because cats cannot go very long without eating. It can make them worse very quickly. I also don't recommend the human eye meds because cats don't have the same pH as we do. Your vet may need to do further testing to help find the cause of his inappetence.

This is concerning - I wonder if Stinky's difficulty walking might be due to a ruptured eardrum. If her eardrum was ruptured the Zymox could cause irritation of the inner ear. There are many other potential causes for lack of balance and I would recommend seeing an emergency veterinarian for a diagnosis. They will hopefully be able to examine Stinky to determine if her eardrum is intact (it is difficult to visualize in some cats and it's possible that sedation might be recommended for a thorough exam). Blood work to rule out metabolic disease causing lack of balance might also be recommended.

I'm sorry to hear that Dr Bigotes seems to have an infection. The yellow discharge from the eyes is very common with conjunctivitis and/or ulcers and does require an eye antibiotic ointment to clear it up. Frequently cats will have a viral infection that can cause this problem as well. I would recommend using a warm compress for 5 minutes a few times a day on her eyes to help remove some of the discharge. You also can gently flush the eyes with sterile saline to remove some of the discharge to see if that makes her more comfortable. I am also very concerned that she is not eating. She may have something else going on that is causing her to loose her appetite, like an upper respiratory infection. You can try heating the food to make it smell more pungent to see if that helps her to smell it better and hopefully eat. Ultimately, I do think you need to take Dr Bigotes into your vet when you are able because she likely needs to have antibiotic ointment for her eyes and to look for an ulceration that may need further treatment. She also may need further treatment for the inappetence.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Loss of appetite and lethargy can be observed with many conditions such as gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, kidney disease, pancreatitis, among many other possibilities. I recommend that you have Gimli evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check for these possibilities and others depending on the findings on exam. Treatment would be based on findings. Good luck and have a great day! Hoping for a speedy recovery!

These signs are quite generic indeed and could be all related to a stress event (as you suggested). Discharge from eye could be related either to a localized conjunctivitis or to a more extended upper respiratory tract infection/inflammation. Usually viral diseases like herpes or calicivirus are involved. Inappetence could be related to an infection or generalised status of stress as well. A check up and physical examination would be needed to understand if all these signs might be related or not and give appropriate treatment. Unfortunately it is difficult to be more specific at this stage. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation (where you can post pictures ) if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.