Third eyelids showing - should I be worried?

[IdaPrentice]

Hello cat-lovers (and vets?!). I noticed a few days ago that my 8 year old cat has got his third eyelid showing in the inside corner of both eyes. I googled of course, and got a lot of different possible causes. He seems OK in himself, eating normally etc, one of the possible causes is apparently dehydration, so I've been trying to encourage him to drink more - as the only odd behaviour we noticed was a bit of dry poo.

What should I do? Take him to the vet (would need to pay excess on insurance), or wait and see if it improves? Do we need to be concerned?

Worm him first. Make sure he has plenty to drink. It's my first response and 99% of the time it resolves the issue.

Thanks, that's really reassuring, I will do that

Worm him and hydrate him with a big bowl of chicken stock with the fat removed then see how he is.

I would normally give this a day or two to resolve if the cat did not seem unwell. But you say this has been going on for 'a few days' already, so I would take him to the vet.

If this has been going on for a few days then your cat should see the vet. You don't need to pay an excess just to get them seen and checked over - that's only if you go on to claim on insurance.

I've had a beautiful rescue boy since January, who was picked up as a stray. His third eyelids have been showing since I got him but the shelter vet and my own vet have not mentioned it as an issue. He was wormed at the shelter but subsequently threw up more worms 8 weeks ago. He was then rewormed at my vet. He has wet food twice a day as well as biscuits (Royal Canin) and is well in himself. His poo is generally fine, with very occasional diarrhoea which has improved post-worms. He had a bad case of ear mites too but that's now cleared up. I've started him back on Fortiflora but would welcome any other suggestions. He's indoors only with occasional short sniffs in the garden.

FYI it's been impossible to get him back to the vet despite being on Bonqat (pregabalin), he's terrified of the carrier (tried two types). I'm going to arrange a house visit by the vet but wanted to tap into the expertise here too.