Do I need to take cat to vets?

[Alanisadick]

My cat Alan has runny eyes, if I had to say what colour the discharge is it’s maybe white/yellowish? It’s been going on a week or so, just wondered if anyone knows if it’s normal to have a little bit of eye gunk, or whether it’s a vet job? Wrangling him into the cat carrier and then battling with him to get eye drops in doesn’t appeal greatly if it’s not necessary. Actually have no idea how I’d get eye drops in his eyes without sustaining injuries 😬

Runny eyes is not normal and when one of ours had it recently it was related to an oral bacterial infection so I’d say see a vet .

I love the name Alan!

It looks pretty normal and healthy to me. Some cats have runnier/weepier eyes than others.

If it’s slightly yellow there may be a bit of infection, but if he’s otherwise happy, eating well, going about as normal - and not pawing at his eyes or doing anything to suggest he’s in pain - I’d not be too concerned. Obviously if that changes, seeing a vet is the right thing to do.

How old is he?

Ours has occasionally had gunky eyes. I usually dissolve salt in boiling water and let it cool then clean his eyes with this on cotton wool pad. I've only had to do it 2 or 3 times and seems to be fine.

I’m saying yes unequivocally.

When you notice something wrong it’s imperative you get them to the vet. They’re bastards for hiding illness.

It might look like a runny eye but a huge dental abscess might be lurking behind it. Ask me how I know

I'm not sure if it's normal. My cat hasn't had it but you could always ask at a pets at home - depending on the store they can be really helpful and suggest medicine if needed (and they do sell some drops). I've had to do eye drops for an eye injury before and it wasn't fun but unfortunately very necessary.

Thanks for replies. Alan is 3 years old. I’ll wipe them with some cooled boiled water with salt when he appears later. I’m away for the weekend so I won’t be around to give him any treatment until Monday, so I’ll see how he is then - a friend is coming to feed the cats but administering eye drops might be a bit of an ask!

Love that you've called your cat Alan! You could be describing my cat regarding getting him into a carrier to take to the vet. She gets gunky eyes occasionally. I wipe them with cotton wool and cooled,boiled water. This usually does the trick. On the one occasion that I've ended up having to administer eye drops,I find that trapping her by chucking a towel over her,then wrapping her snugly in the towel like a baby,with paws all enclosed,is the safest way to do it without getting torn to shreds in the process!