Taking care of your cat’s eyesight is very important because their eyes serve as windows to the world and it can be hard to notice when a cat has an eye infection however knowing the signs that are sometimes hard to tell can prevent any further irritation during the illness.
It can lead to serious problems if left untreated leading to severe vision loss or even worse due to chronic pain in cats so keep overseeing your feline friend and pay attention to anything that may be an indication of a disease. Here are 18 symptoms of your cat's eye infection.
1. Red or Inflamed Eyes
It may suggest that a cat has contracted an infection in its eyes and most of the redness is due to irritation from bacteria in some instances, it can be a virus and this would have caused a response inside your cat's eye in terms of blood vessels, where tiny blood vessels swell.
This might manifest in excessive blinking or even squinting as a way of seeking some relief from the irritation and you may find redness or inflammation of the eyelids or whites of the eye.
In some cases, it could be an indication that the infection has slowly but picked up the pace and needs to be treated before escalating into some other big serious problems.
2. Excessive Tearing
An infection will raise this self-cleaning, making the eyes water even more and this could manifest itself in the shape of constantly having watery eyes, which translates to staining the fur under their eyes with tears, excessive tearing of the eyes is their way of self-cleansing if there is an irritant or some foreign particle.
This is very irritating to your cat, who often attempts to groom or wipe the discharge from the eyes with their paws or rub their face on inanimate objects in an attempt to relieve the irritation.
The degree of tearing may be completely clear or slightly colored, depending on the degree of infection that might be involved, sometimes also with other symptoms such as redness or swelling.
3. Discolored Eye Discharge
It is an indication that there is probably some kind of infection at work in a cat's eyes, it can be yellow, green, or even brownish, it indicates the cat's eyes are trying to rid themselves of pus or mucus and the eye discharge of this nature goes with bacterial or viral infections that are working within the eye.
This can dry around the eyes and sometimes prevents the cat from fully opening her eyes naturally or also irritates the skin around it and if it becomes too excessive, then this discharge can lead toward the presence of some of the more severe infections or even damage the surface of the eye itself, in such a case, gentle cleaning of the area is required.
4. Swollen Eyelids
It will look puffy or half-closing of the eyes and this of the eyelids will always go with several other signs of infection or inflammation like redness and discharge causing discomfort to open and move the eyes in cats.
Swelling of the eyelids is followed by scratching or pawing of the eyes in a bid to obtain some relief from such swelling and the condition can be very bad if not checked.
The area becomes tender and cats do seem to always be more sensitive when touching around their eyes or face, therefore such areas should be handled gently.
5. Squinting or Blinking Frequently
If your cat has been blinking one of their eyes more than usual, then it is quite likely that they have some infection, your cat would be feeling some amount of pain or irritation in the eye area because squinting is one of the common ways to keep away from excess light or foreign particles falling into the eye.
A characteristic of infection is the frequent blinking or squinting, moreover redness, tearing, or pus-like discharge has to be attended and you may see an increased tendency to hold one eye partially closed by your cat, mostly in bright light while trying to minimize stress on the infected eye.
6. Sensitivity to Light
You will find your cat trying to avoid brightly lit areas or keeping the eyes partially closed to shut out light, it's pretty simple and the infection can inflame or irritate the eye so it is uncomfortable to be under bright light.
They can even start hiding or look for dark areas in the house because the light might be hurting their eyes, which serves as a very clear indication that there is something wrong with their eyes.
It can be combined with other symptoms of eye infection such as squinting, tearing or redness of the eyes, which further overstresses the fact that their eyes are overstressed.
7. Watery Eyes
It is also called Epiphora, it is a disease found in cats that is characterized by excessive water flow from the eyes of the cat and most of the time is an indication that infection is going to emanate. Your suspicions can arise from noting that the feline bears moistened eyes all the time or that it appears to tear all the time.
This chronic tearing would then lead to a watery discharge that may wet or stain the fur around your cat's eyes and promote more irritation if not kept clear. Your cat may squint or blink more than usual as it tries to cope with the irritation caused by the infection.
Monitoring unusual tear production is important because it may mean that your cat's eyes are attempting to flush out some kind of irritant or fighting an infection if you find out that a cat's eyes have been watering excessively for some time.
8. Crusting Around the Eyes
You are likely to see some dried discharge or mucus when it forms a crusty layer over the fur surrounding your cat's eyes your cat may not be able to open them because of the crusting and he may find it quite irritable or painful if this crust doesn't get washed out.
It could be a self-ejection of excess fluid or mucus due to infection, which might further lead, if not treated problems it may spread and lead to infection.
The crusting you will be able to help your cat get rid of by gently cleaning off the crust with a dampened cloth and you are required not to hurt the delicate skin around the eyes of your pet.
9. Pawing or scratching at the eyes
It's pretty obvious that your cat paws or scratches its eyes when it feels uncomfortable or frustrated, your cat will keep pawing or scratching at his eyes to try and scratch out the itch and discomfort of the infection.
You will notice your cat constantly batting at the eyes or face with its paws, the more this goes on, the worse you are going to see the redness or swelling becoming, and in addition, it's going to be spreading bacteria or dirt to the eyes and can further exaggerating the infection.
Observe your cat so that you will know if it is already pawing or scratching its eyes, which could be an early symptom of an eye infection. If you see your cat show this symptom, take it to a vet so that it won't further develop into something worse, and also for your cat to stop further irritation or more damage in the eyes.
10. Cloudy or Hazy Eyes
Your cat can develop cloudy or hazy eyes and features common to some or other infection that most likely will underlie the eyes, and would suggest there is some kind of inflammation or fluid collection within your pet's eye, causing loss of clarity and that clear look will become milky or blurry, affecting vision or sometimes even causing pain.
This might be accompanied by redness, discharge, or swelling in one or both of your cat's eyes; almost always indicative of an infection that will require hospitalization for your cat. If left untreated, it worsens with severe aftereffects of eye problems, even loss of vision.
Note every change in its appearance regarding its eyes, and seek consultation from your veterinarian at the very first sign of cloudiness so that treatment may be given in time and the infection may be healed.
11. Third Eyelid Protrusion
This is the membrane and it may be visible or protrude if your cat has an infection in the eye, this would be related to irritated or inflamed eyes and the nictitating membrane normally is not visible but its exposure is a sign that the infection or injury to the eye is enough to make the immune system respond.
You may notice a third eyelid covering part of the eye so it looks somewhat like your cat has some type of excess tissue over their eyes, that protuberance is going to be very irritating for your cat and it might be accompanied by several other symptoms like redness, tearing, or squinting.
This is a symptom that requires visiting a veterinary clinic because if an infection can be caught at the beginning, it can be treated to bring down discomfort and avoid further problems with your cat's eye health.
12. Bloodshot Eyes
When an eye gets infected the blood vessels enlarge and fill up with blood and this hampers its normal function creating bloodshot whites that take on a reddish or pinkish hue, which turns a cat's eyes bloodshot.
The result will be blinking and squinting, trying to keep away from brightly lighted areas to comfort the eyes from the brightness of light as much as possible.
If you happen to note this, seek vet consultation to establish the cause and get the necessary treatment, an early treatment plan may minimize the level of discomfort from the cat due to an infection that gets worse with time.
13. Ulcer of the Eye
In most cases, these painful conditions could lead to great discomfort for your feline pet and this will then form continuous closing of the eye, tearing, or even shying away from light with increased sensitivity that might come with this ulceration in your cat.
This can further lead to the eye turning cloudy with a white or greyish patch over the cornea, which serves to alert one that the ulcer is developing and urgent action needs to be taken to ensure treatment.
An untreated eye ulcer will develop to form a corneal scar or even blindness. Seek veterinary care to the same extent in priority and urgency as possible.
14. Twitching or spasms of the eye
Any uncontrolled movement within the lids or any muscles located around them indicates that these organs have experienced some form of inflammation resulting in pain.
You may observe that it is also trying to shake off the ailment by moving its eye back and forth or even blinking rapidly as if attempting to forcefully shake something out and this makes an infection very uncomfortable, as foreign particles in or around the eye rest on the eye.
This squinting may be very faint at first but becomes quite apparent with time because the infection gets worse, this makes your cat quite uneasy, manifesting in other symptoms such as squinting, tearing, or pawing at the eyes.
15. Dry and Irritated Eyes
The signs to look out for in this case include a dull appearance and dryness of the eyes as there is no moisture around the eye's surface, it could then be followed by excessive blinking or even rubbing of the eyes by your cat as a way of trying to get rid of the dryness, quite possibly.
If the condition had stayed untreated, it would have gone on to further deteriorate quite thoroughly and this is also the case with dry eyes, providing an ideal culture medium for infection to strike your cat because the moistness that would have flushed out any bacteria or viruses is absent and they are now able to reside on the surface of the eye, where they multiply in the deadliest consequence.
16. Thick Mucous Discharge
Your cat has watery eyes accompanied by this thick mucous-like discharge from its eyes and that might mean some infection or even a serious one, it would be prudent to consult the veterinary practice.
These result in a sticky yellow, sometimes greenish, discharge with a consistency that signals the result of pus or mucus which the animal's body mainly secretes while trying to fight an infection, trouble opening the eyes, and matting or crusting of fur around the eyes occur side by side.
Early detection of thick mucous discharge will prevent further infection or serious complications, it is important to monitor any abnormal eye discharges for your cat and seek immediate help from your veterinarian when you note such signs.
17. Visible Pain or Discomfort
Pain or discomfort in your cat will manifest through obvious squinting, rubbing of the eyes, or retracting from your touch near the face, the best indicator will always turn out to be behavioral, for the simple fact that this kind of action by a cat most likely means it feels bothered or bugged about the irritation or pain in its eyes.
You may also feel that she is pulling away or lethargic because at times this is very painful and makes her incapable of participating in most of the things she enjoys doing.
This apparent discomfort may further be characterized by redness, swelling, or even discharges that are indicative of the fact that something is wrong with your cat's health.
18. Change in Clarity or Color of Eye
This altered appearance can be a result of inflammation, infection, or collection of fluid inside the eye and you may even notice such characteristics as dullness, haziness, or even a slight color change or anything that screams that your cat's eye health has gone haywire.
These changes in color or clarity might be very subtle at the beginning but turn out to be very profound later in the infection, the change in the vision of your cat which makes them very uncomfortable, can be followed by redness, discharging, or enlarging and most of which are symptoms that hint at problems that ought to be addressed.
