Any vets about / anyone with experience of cat eye trouble?

[treeinthedistance]

My cat has an ongoing issue with her eyes and our vets can't find the cause. She is a rescue, we have had her for 3 years. Ever since we have had her she has spells where she starts rubbing one of her eyes. It can be either eye that starts up, occasionally she will rub at both eyes. She paws and scratches at them to the point of making them red, weepy and sore - clearly something about them is irritating her, leading to the rubbing, but the weird thing is it starts up suddenly and usually stops as quickly as it started.

We've been back and forth to the vet so many times (and seen different vets within the practice for a second opinion etc) and they've examined her eyes repeatedly - no problems with tear ducts etc have been found. They found an entropian on her left eye, which was operated on. Yet the problem persists.

We thought maybe she had an allergy to something, but we can't determine what - there seems to be no rhyme or reason to when her irritation starts up.

I'm thoroughly sick of seeing my girl pawing at her eyes in obvious distress and I want to help her. Does anyone have any experience of this or any idea of what might be going on?

That sounds awful, poor wee lamb.

I don't have direct experience of this, but I have loads of pets with various itchy bits and allergies. At the first sign of itching, I use a natural antiseptic spray called Leucillin. It's safe for all animals and can be used on eyes, ears and skin.

I'd spray it liberally on a cotton wool pad (like a makeup remover pad, rather than a cotton wool ball which I think is too fluffy) and gently rub across her eye from the inside corner to the outside. If you're doing the other eye too, obviously use a different pad.

Sorry I can't link because my phone's playing up a bit, but read about it online first, you'll see that it's perfectly safe. You can buy it in Pets at Home, Amazon etc etc.

Did your vet not give you some eye drops though for when it's particularly painful? We had a dog with sore eyes years ago and we got a cream called Fucithalmic, but I think it's called something else now.

Good luck, hope this helps.

Thank you so much for the suggestion, I will definitely look in to this.
Our vet did give us eye drops, and they seem to help a bit - but it's hard to know whether the irritation would have gone away by itself anyway, as it always has on the occasions where we don't have drops to hand. Sometimes it clears up for months at a time and we think the issue has been healed, only for it to rear its ugly head again at some point.

We're also keeping a log of when her eyes are flaring up and what's been happening around those times (kind of like a food diary) to see if we can determine an allergic trigger.

I am just so fed up of it and I'm sure she is too. She's my girl and I hate to see her in distress.

It's so hard seeing them uncomfortable isn't it? I always feel so sorry for them particularly with itching because we all know how irritating it is 😔

It'll be interesting if you can find a link to any different treats, scented candles etc.

She sounds like she's very lucky to have you as an owner anyway, and I really hope the Leucillin helps. 🤗

You could request a referral to a specialist? Dermatology if it seems allergen related, or opthalmology?

I'm a vet. Request a referral to an ophthalmologist.

@CarrieMoonbeams thank you so much, yes it's horrible seeing your pet in discomfort and being unsure how to help.

@AwkwardPaws27 , @Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I know this is ridiculous, but I didn't know you could get a referral to an eye specialist! I wish our vet had suggested it. I will contact them to make the request.
Thank you very much!

It could be cat flu. Are her bloods clear? It recurs when cats are a bit tired etc It seems to affect eyes plus cat conjunctivitis not unusual. Also possible to get mites on eyelids.