Eye drops

[emmab]

We adopted a cat at the weekend and he has very very mild symptoms of a cold. In fact the only symptoms he has is a fever and a runny eye. The vet ahs given me some antibiotics, antiinflammatories and eye drops. He is eating very well and very content but have a question over the eye drops.
His eyes look fine in the mornings but as soon as I give him the eye drops they obviously make his eyes look runny. Then during the day they are runny, just a clear liquid, nothing gunky. Do eye drops bring out the infection or discharge hence why they look worse? How do they work? He has another 2 days of them and then gos back to the vets on Tues. The vet did say if by this evening they were no better, to go back tomorrow but I think the eye drops make his eye worse maybe? I don't want to stop them as he needs to shift this cold.

[Ruth B]

I am no expert on eye drops but unless they seem to irritate him I would continue. If he seems to be rubbing his face more or shaking his head then ring the vets and check with them whether to continue. It is possible that there is some infection in the eyes that isn't visible or that that specific infection has a tendency to move into the eyes and could damage them so best treated before it gets in. All speculation on my part, but if they aren't hurting him I would continue anyway.

I hate to be the one to say this, but contrary to most people believe, antibiotics won't cure a viral infection and a lot of the time it seem that ones that give cold symptoms are viral. The infection will clear up on its own most of the time, only vary rarely are antivirals used, there are very few available and they are fairly specific to the disease. The antibiotics are to help prevent other infections occurring while the immune system is busy fighting the original infection and the body is run down anyway. At least that is the way I understand things.

If in doubt, consult you vet, and far better to ring today or make an appointment for today, than leave it and have to be seen as an emergency at the weekend.

[Kay]

I'm with you, Ruth - I think vets and doctors dish out antibiotics far too readily because it's easier than telling patients their condition will clear up in its own good time without medication, and cats with fevers rarely have much of an appetite, so I suspect that has gone now

at least the NHS isn't funding the pointless abs given to pets

as for his eye, some cats naturally have slightly weepy eyes without there being any infection present, but I too would continue to put the drops in until your vet visit, but take a couple of photos of before and after to show the vet, who will not have had the opportunity to see what the drops are doing

[Crewella]

I agree with Ruth and Kay, and I hope he's on the mend soon.

[emmab]

Thankyou for your responses. Before I guve him his drops in the morning his eye looks near normal but since we have had him his right eye looks a little bit more watery than the left. The bottom lid of the eye seems to have some clear liquid which rests there and occasionally runs down his face. It is strange. It is not gunky, just clear. So not sure if the drops have made any difference.

[Janey]

Probably it’s just the drops doing their job clearing any possible infection. Hopefully he’s feeling much better soon.

[emmab]

He is now thank you Janey. He goes back to the vet tomorrow. The main issue has been a fever. He has been eating well and no problems in himslef just the fever and eyes. The vet thinks he has been fighting off a cold. We will see about the fever tomorrow. The eyes are better but he still has a watery eye once or twice during the day. It just rests in the bottom lid of his right eye. It has never been gunky but strange as to what it is.

[emmab]

He is now thank you Janey just a minor problem with his eye. He goes back to the vet tomorrow. The main issue has been a fever. He has been eating well and no problems in himslef just the fever and eyes. The vet thinks he has been fighting off a cold. We will see about the fever tomorrow. The eyes are better but he still has a watery eye once or twice during the day. It just rests in the bottom lid of his right eye then will drip like a tear?? It has never been gunky but strange as to what it is.

[emmab]

Grany has visited the vets today. His eye is still dripping but the vet thinks he has had a virus before and has a weakness from it. He does not seem at all concerned about it but his last protein levels done by the vet at the refuge showed an anomily with the protein levels. He said they were normal but was clear to see they weren't as this protein test was out. Our vet today has redone the bloods which again has showed very high protein levels but everything else is OK. He has sent them off for further analysis but I am not sure what to make of it. It could be his fever is down to the protein levels and an old infection/virus which is making his immune system low and causing the problems with the protein. Anyone else had a cat suffer low protein levels due to their immune system?