Expert: Ali - 6/18/2009

Question
QUESTION: We have 2 cats, male and female, both fixed. They are usually very active with each other and have their daily routines. The last couple of days the boy has been hanging out in some odd places. He will lay for hours in front of the litter pan, or on the kitchen floor. I noticed this morning that one of his eyes had some crusty discharge in the corner. Throughout the day we have had to clean his eye several times, sometimes it's dry, sometimes it's not and it looks like the white of his eye is bloodshot. I don't know if his choice of napping spots has anything to do with his eye - close to the food and litter pan - or not. Do you know if cats can get pink eye like we can? And then he did get out last week and was under the back porch for a while before we were able to get him out, so I thought maybe he could have gotten something in his eye. I really can't afford to take him to the vet, but I don't want this to turn into something serious.

ANSWER: Jennifer,

Is your kitty sneezing, coughing or having any other symptoms besides the discharge from his eye? If he isn't I suspect that he has a mild eye infection, you can treat this using over the counter Polysporin eye/ear drops - you'll need to give him 2 drops 2-3 times per day until your little guy's eye is cleared up. It's important to make sure that anyone cleaning discharge from this kitty's eyes or administering the antibiotic eye drops washes their hands thoroughly in hot, soapy water beforehand to minimize the risk of getting any other bacteria into the cat's eyes and making the infection worse. Washing your hands thoroughly in hot, soapy water after cleaning this kitty's eyes and administering his eye drops because many eye infections can be passed on to humans.

If your cat's eye doesn't appear to be clearing up after a couple of days or it gets any worse the cat should see a veterinarian ASAP. I understand that finances are an issue in this case and I may be able to help. I keep an ever growing list of charitable organizations and other resources that may cover some or all of the cost associated with your kitty's vet visit and treatment. I can send you along a list of resources that might help with vet care costs. Since I have quite an extensive list of resources that may help pet parents by covering some or all of the cost of veterinary care it's just not practical or efficient for me to list every single resource every single time a pet parent needs that information. In an effort to avoid wasting your time by making you read through the entire list of resources throughout North America I ask that you provide me with a general idea where you're writing from - in Canada the province is fine, in the US the state is fine. By only providing you with a list of resources available in your area that saves me a significant amount of time that I can use to help other pet parents with their questions and concerns. If you have any concerns you'd like addressed or any other questions, please feel free to contact me again, I'd be more than happy to help you out.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your input. I checked at the pharmacy today and it turns out that Polysporin drops are only available with a prescription. His eye looks better tonight, just a small amount of dried discharge in the corner of his eye. If this doesn't clear up on its own I will have to take him to the vet. Please send me the list of organizations that would be able to help with the cost of the vet bill. We are in Jacksonville, FL.
Thank you!

Answer
Jennifer,

I`m so sorry about the Polysporin Eye/Ear drops, they`re actually an over the counter product in my area and this is the first time that I`ve heard anyone say that they are only available by prescription. I have taken the liberty of doing some research for you and coming up with some fairly inexpensive home remedies that are safe and effective just in case the resources I send your way won`t pay for a vet exam for a kitty with an eye infection.

- You can purchase an over the counter product in any pet store that sells high quality pet foods and this product is from a company that I trust, in fact I actually feed some of their foods to my cats in addition to homemade meals. The product is called Halo herbal eye wash, it contains a couple of well known herbal remedies that have been in use to treat eye infections for hundreds of years. This product is designed to clear up discharge, redness and swelling in the cat's eye and eyebright and goldenseal have antibacterial qualities which will help to clear the infection. This product sells for about $20 US and you're likely to find it in the pet supply stores that specifically carry high quality, holistic foods and other natural products for pets. You can check this product out on Halo's web site: http://shop.halopets.com/Grooming-Supplies.

- An alternative to the product recommended above would be to take a trip to the local health food store or naturopathic pharmacy and ask for an eye drop or eye wash containing eyebright or goldenseal that's designed to treat eye infections.

- Another inexpensive home remedy to treat eye infections and irritations is a boric acid solution. You'll need to boil 1 quart of water then add 1 tablespoon of boric acid, stir until it dissolves and allow the mixture to cool. Once your solution is cool you'll want to place the majority of it into a clean or sterile glass bottle. Eye infections are extremely contagious and it's possible to pass the bacteria or virus from one cat to another, one person to another and you can also inadvertantly contaminate the whole batch of boric acid solution which wouldn't be helpful. I'd suggest washing your hands thoroughly with hot, soapy water before getting anything ready to deal with your kitty's eye infection. Once you've got clean, dry hands you can pour some of the boric acid solution into a small container, moistening a couple of cotton balls with it, wiping any discharge from your cat's eyes away using a separate cotton ball for each. Once you've finished wiping the cat's eyes you can gently flush them with a small amount of the boric acid solution, a couple of drops will do nicely. I'd recommend cleaning and treating your cat's eyes 2-3 times daily for 7-10 days, obviously if you don't see any improvement over the course of 2-3 days then you'll have to get this kitty to the vet for a course of antibiotics, but based on your description it sounds like this kitty's eye infection has already started to improve on its own without treatment. Boric acid has been used for longer than  I've been around to treat eye infections, this old home remedy should be available at most drug stores over the counter.

- A strong cup of cooled chamomile tea has natural antibacterial properties and you can soak gauze or cotton balls with the tea and wipe your cat's infected eye to prevent hardened discharge from building up. I would recommend following the storage and handling recommendations above.

- If you like you can make an effective eyewash at home to fight any bacteria and soothe your cat's eyes. For the eye wash you'll want to boil 1 cup of water and add 1 teaspoon of boric acid, allow the mixture to cool then add 10 drops of goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) tincture. You can flush the cat's eyes with this mixture twice daily for 7-10 days. Eyebright is an effective and safe remedy that's been traditionally used to clear up eye infections for hundreds of years. As a treatment for an eye infection it's perfectly safe, and the tiny amount your cat may ingest shouldn't be harmful.

- To help soothe your cat's eye discomfort you can also administer natural tears, I usually do this when any of my cats have eye infections about a half hour after administering the antibiotic eye drops that I originally suggested - you can also reduce the likelihood that your cat will rub his infected eye after he receives eye drops or other treatments recommended here by administering a single drop of natural tears in the eye that`s not infected.
Herbal remedies

- Honey has antibacterial properties, in fact it's used by some vets to treat badly infected wounds. You can make gentle, effective eye wash by putting three tablespoons of honey in two cups of boiling water, stirring well until the honey has completely dissolved and allow to cool. You can actually put this mixture directly into your cat's eye without worrying about causing damage.

- Regular tea also has antibacterial properties, you can either apply a warm tea bag to the cat's eye as a compress for as long as he'll allow 2-4 times daily or make a cup of really strong tea using boiling water, then wait until it's cool, soak a cotton ball and gently apply onto the cat's infected eye.

It's important to keep in mind that eye infections are extremely contagious and can be passed from pet to person and pet to pet which is why it's very important to wash your hands and anything else that comes into contact with your face or eyes before and after treating this kitty's eye infection.

At many different home remedy sites I've researched I've consistently seen a few other remedies recommended to treat eye infections, I've included them for you if you're interested in learning more about these treatments.

- Steeping a handful of dried coriander in 60 ml of water makes an effective eye wash for conjunctivitis and it will apparently relieve any burning, pain or swelling that your cat might have as a result of his infected eye.

- You can help soothe any discomfort your cat may be feeling in his eye by gently applying a warm compress made from chamomile, lavender or rose oil for as long as your cat will tolerate it 2+ daily.

- Rose water acts a safe, effective remedy to treat any pain or infection in your cat's eyes. Ideally you'll want to use 1 cup of distilled or boiled water at room temperature and add a few drops of rose water. Soak your cotton balls in this water for awhile, place it onto your cat's eye for as long as he'll tolerate it as often as needed.

The following is a list of charities and other organizations that may be willing to cover part or all veterinary costs if needed. All of these organizations have their own criteria so I can't guarantee that they'll accept your request for help.

- Care Credit is an organization that will finance veterinary care, their web address is www.carecredit.com

- Help-A-Pet, www.help-a-pet.org

- The Pet Fund, www.thepetfund.com

- Angels for Animals, www.angels4animals.org

- Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Program, www.fveap.org

- Feline Outreach, www.felineoutreach.org

- Cats in Crisis, www.catsincrisis.org

Hopefully the information I've provided is useful. If you have any questions or you'd like me to clarify anything in this answer, please don't hesitate to contact me again, I'll do my best to help you out.