Anything I can do for mild eye infection?

[MagpiePi]

The cat developed a bit of a gammy eye yesterday - it looks very slightly swollen and there is a bit of white mucus collecting in the corner but no redness and it doesn’t seem to be bothering him.

Is there anything I can do to help it clear up?

Obviously I will take him to the vet if it gets worse but he finds that all extremely stressful and I don’t think it warrants an out of hours call so would have to wait until Tuesday afternoon.

I'll make the same suggestion I made to another poster earlier this week. Try a cold used tea bag to gently wipe it, or cold tea on a swab (obviously no milk or sugar!). Has anti bac and anti inflammatory properties, was taught that for horses and used it on myself in then past.

eye drops containing chloramphenicol can be used on cats but you had to buy over the counter and say it’s for humans

He needs to see the vet.

"If you think your cat could be suffering from one of these conditions, or you notice any unusual signs, contact your vet without delay."

https://www.purina.co.uk/articles/cats/health/symptoms/cat-eye-infections

One of my neighbours' dog went blind in one eye because the neighbour bathed the eye in saline instead of taking the dog to the vet. Cats are very good at concealing pain and have no way to tell us that the pain is getting worse or their vision is failing.

If it doesn't go away it's worth checking with a vet as it could be a foreign body stuck in the eyelid, like a grass seed. It can be hard to see this as they have the third eyelid so it could be in-between & hidden unless you know how to check it, as a vet would do.

Take a small amount of yoyr spit and rub it on the eye

Absolutely not. Human saliva is full of bacteria that have no business being anywhere near a cat's eye.

I’d bathe it in saline and keep an eye on it, ring the vet first thing tomorrow if no better, or obviously if it worstens today. Our insurance has a 24/7 helpline thing where you can video call a vet - do you have anything like that?

I repost: One of my neighbours' dog went blind in one eye because the neighbour bathed the eye in saline instead of taking the dog to the vet.

The cat has no way to tell you that the saline is too strong. A human can.

Was going to say the same but camomile tea which is very soothing. Make some, allow to cool, use cotton wool ball, wipe inner eye to outer eye then discard. Fresh piece of cotton wool for each wipe.

Thank you for the replies.

I will try an ordinary teabag as I don’t have cammomile. Obviously I will take him to the vet if things don’t improve.

I used to get chloramphenicol over the counter. When I realised it was the same stuff we used at work. I’d tell them it was for my non existent child.

Okay, thanks for reposting. I have saline solution for my contact lenses which I have used round my cat’s eye when it was weepy, and it worked very well. I don’t think anyone would dump a load of table salt in a cup and hope for the best. But my second suggestion of consulting an insurance helpline if available would presumably stop any person about to do that.

Proper eye saline is a different matter. Thanks for clarifying.

Had this with one of my many cats years ago. Boiled water, cooled, add salt, wipe every three hours. Often works. Repeat next day, if no improvement, then vets, they will administer eye drops and send home with prescription.