Cats depend heavily on their sharp vision to explore, play, and keep themselves safe, which makes maintaining healthy eyes essential. Just like humans, though, they can develop eye infections. These infections can cause extreme discomfort for your cats, all while potentially leading to more serious issues if not treated early on.

Symptoms of Cat Eye Infections

Since cats can't tell us when their eyes are bothering them, it’s up to us to spot the subtle signs that something may be wrong. When a cat has an eye infection, here are some of the signs to look out for:

Watery Eyes

Excessive tearing or watery eyes can be one of the first signs that something isn’t right. While some cats may naturally have slightly watery eyes, especially certain breeds, a noticeable increase in tearing could indicate an infection.

Discharge

You may notice a discharge from your cat’s eye, which can vary in color and consistency. Clear discharge might be less serious and linked to mild irritation, but thick yellow or green discharge is often a sign of infection and should be checked by a vet.

Redness and Swelling

If the white areas of your cat’s eyes or the surrounding tissues appear red, swollen, or irritated, this could indicate inflammation caused by an infection. Swelling can also appear in the areas around the eye itself, making this issue very concerning.

Squinting or Excessive Blinking

Cats with eye infections often squint or blink more than usual as a response to discomfort. If you notice your cat keeping one of its eyes closed or blinks them frequently, it may be a sign that an eye infection or irritation is bothering them.

Pawing at the Eye

Cats will often paw or rub their face when something is irritating their eyes. While an occasional paw swipe isn’t unusual, excessive and repetitive scratching could worsen the eye infection and lead to more injuries.

Sensitivity to Light

A cat’s eyes can be sensitive to light when it has an eye infection. You’ll start to notice this when you see your cat shying away from sources of bright light and avoiding the sun during the daytime.

Causes of Cat Eye Infections

Knowing what causes cat eye infections is crucial to make sure your cat stays safe. When we understand what causes the issue, we can get straight to treatment. Here are some of the common causes of cat eye infections:

Bacteria

Cat eye infections and issues such as conjunctivitis can be caused by bacteria, with Chlamydia felis being a frequent culprit. This bacterium primarily affects both the eyes and the respiratory system. Cats with bacterial eye infections often show symptoms like redness, swelling, and thick discharge from their eyes. These infections can spread quickly, especially in environments like shelters, multi-cat households, and cat boarding facilities.

Fungi

Fungal infections are less common than other cases but are still a possible cause of eye infections in cats. Some of the major fungi causing eye problems are Aspergillus or Candida. As a result of a fungal infection, you could expect your cat’s eyes to have corneal ulcers and slight discharge. Redness and swelling around the eyes can also be expected.

Virus

Viruses can also play a huge role in causing cat eye infections, with feline herpesvirus (FHV-1) being one of the main antagonists. What’s more concerning is that this virus can usually lead to more diseases, such as feline viral rhinotracheitis, which can cause problems such as the eyes, nose, and throat of your cats.

Cats infected with viruses often develop conjunctivitis, a painful inflammation of the eye’s mucous membranes. As a result, your cat may also show symptoms like sneezing, nasal discharge, and eye ulcers.

Injuries

In some cases, a cat eye infection can start from a simple injury. Cats are natural explorers, so you can expect them to jump from one area to another, sometimes escaping their own indoor homes. When this happens, they’ll be vulnerable to the dangers of the outdoors, such as debris, fights with other animals, and accidents. With injured eyes, bacteria, and other pathogens can easily worsen the situation.

Allergies

While allergies do not cause infections in a cat’s eyes, they can trigger eye irritation and issues that can lead to eye infections. Pollen, dust, and mold are some of the allergens that might make a cat’s eyes more sensitive and irritate them. Once your cat paws or scratches its eyes, injuries and infections could follow.

Diagnosing Cat Eye Infections

When our vets try to figure out what’s causing your cat’s eye infections, we use a series of tests to get an accurate reading. Here are some of the things we do to diagnose your cat’s eye problem:

Physical Examination

The first step we do is to physically examine your cat’s eyes. During the examination, we’ll check on its condition, both of its eyes, and look for any signs of trouble such as infection, irritation, or injuries. We’ll also look for other signs such as redness, swelling, discharge, and abnormalities around the eye if any appear.

Fluorescein Dye Test

One of the tests we commonly do is the fluorescein dye test. By using and applying a special dye to the surface of your cat’s eyes, any damage to the cornea will be highlighted. Injuries such as ulcers and scratches can absorb the dye and appear green under a special blue light. Through this test, we can now see where to proceed.

Microscopic Testing

If your cat’s eye infection might be speculated to come from a bacterial, viral, or fungal infection, we’ll take a sample from the discharge and bring it to our in-house laboratory for testing. This sample is sent to a lab, where it's cultured to identify the specific bacteria or virus responsible for the infection. This process helps us choose the best treatment for your cat’s eye problems.

Allergy Testing

When allergies are involved in helping infections trouble your cat’s eyes, we’ll identify the specific allergen involved whether its an environmental or food allergen. This usually involves a change in their living situation plus an elimination diet if a food allergy is involved.

Treatment for Cat Eye Infections

Once we’ve identified the cause of your cat’s eye infections, we can get straight to treatment. The options for treatment can vary as medicines come in many forms. Here are the treatment options we recommend depending on your cat’s eye infections:

Topical Treatments

Some medications consist of topical medicines that could be used on your cat’s eye to combat the infection. These could be in the form of eye drops or ointments that work to directly address the eye infection. You may need to administer these drops several times a day, depending on what our vets recommend for your cat.

Oral Medications

Oral medications help address the root cause of the issue, whether it’s bacteria, fungi, or viruses. While not all medications work to kill the pathogen, these treatments help reduce the symptoms and give relief to your cat’s eyes. They can also be used in conjunction with other forms of treatment to help your cat recover.

Supportive Treatments

If allergies are suspected to be the main antagonist of your cat’s eye infection, we’ll help your cat recover from these allergies through supportive treatments. These can include changing your cat’s diet and living situation, as well as making use of air purifiers. E-collars are also useful in preventing your cats from scratching their eyes.

Preventing Cat Eye Infections

Preventing eye infections in your cats keeps their eyes healthy for playtimes and cuddles. Here are a few tips to prevent cat eye infections:

Regular Vet Check-Ups

Routine veterinary checkups are one of the best ways to monitor your cat’s overall health, including their eyes. During these visits, our vets can identify potential issues early, such as minor eye irritation or underlying health conditions that may lead to infections.

Maintain a Clean Home

Keeping a clean living area helps remove the dust, bacteria, mold, and other factors that could threaten your cat’s with an eye infection. Use air purifiers and make sure to keep your cat’s living areas clean. Wash its bedding regularly and make sure to keep its litter box clean.

Proper Grooming and Eye Care

Regular cat grooming is super helpful when warding of eye infections. Professional grooming services are always worth the effort, as these pros can help clean your cat thoroughly and remove debris and allergens. If you want to groom your cats at home, using cat-safe shampoos is the way to go. When it comes to their eyes, wipe them gently with a soft and damp cloth.

Keep Your Cat Indoors

Keeping your cat outdoors increases their risk of developing eye infections due to increased exposure to bacteria, viruses, allergens, and injuries. By providing a clean and safe area inside your home, you can keep your cat’s eyes protected from potential infections and injuries.

Boost Your Cat’s Nutrition

Feeding your cat healthy and nutritious food can help protect them from infections, especially those involving their eyes. Making sure your cats eat a well-balanced diet with healthy supplements goes a long way. If you need easy-to-prepare food, specially formulated-foods are always super helpful.

Conclusion

Caring for your cats’ eyes is an essential part of ensuring their overall well-being. Eye infections can bring a lot of trouble for your cats, and can even lead to more serious issues if left untreated. But don’t worry, we’re here to help. Our clinic is ready to help provide the right treatment and care to manage your cats’ eye infections and helping them return to their healthy selves.