Eye injuries can be extremely uncomfortable for cats. When discomfort sets in, they will rub their eyes or paw at the area to ease their distress.
When your cat experiences eye injuries, contact their veterinarian immediately for evaluation and advice on treatment. Treatment will depend on the severity and location of any scratches to their eyeball.
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Corneal Ulcers
The cornea is the transparent tissue covering the front of your eyeball. Similar to glass window surfaces, its purpose is to protect and provide vision. An injury to this protective barrier may lead to pain, foreign body sensations and tear production if left untreated; untreated wounds may lead to ulceration that interferes with vision requiring medical intervention immediately; an ulcer is therefore considered a medical emergency and must be attended to immediately.
Your cat will visit a veterinarian to have their eyes examined to identify any source of scratching or irritation, using special stain to detect ulcers; the stain binds with corneal epithelium cells to produce green fluorescence under special lighting. A corneal ulcer or erosion will appear bright under this light while healthy eyes appear more transparent.
If your cat’s eye becomes irritated, it will likely water and squint. This irritation could be the result of scratching, infection, foreign objects in their eye or allergies; sometimes this irritation is very painful leading to them rubbing their paw at it or trying to rub off.
symptoms of corneal ulcers include redness of the eye, pain, discomfort when light exposure increases and discharge and crusting around the eyelid. If left untreated, an ulcer could progress into a corneal sequestrum in which dead corneal cells build up like scabs to block healing.
Treatment for corneal ulcers typically includes antibiotic drops/ointments and pain relievers to prevent infections and hasten healing. A cone collar may be necessary if your cat becomes uncomfortably distressed from self-trauma that aggravates an already existing ulcer and impairs recovery. For severe cases, surgery called surgical debridement may be required – this procedure removes dead corneal tissue to allow healing, after which follow up visits should take place with your veterinarian to check on progress and decide on further therapy/transplant options if required.
Scleral Ulcers
Corneal ulcers in cats are a relatively common eye problem that often results from scratches or other trauma to the cornea – the clear outer covering of their eyes. When an ulcer becomes infected, however, it can quickly progress into corneal sequestrum: an unsightly mass of dead tissue covering the cornea that disrupts healing processes and leads to vision loss. Any cat diagnosed with corneal ulcer should be evaluated immediately by an ophthalmologist for diagnosis and treatment.
An corneal ulcer is characterized by redness, swelling of surrounding tissue and a thick white or yellow discharge that often results in intense pain for your pet. Your pet may rub the affected eye or scratch its head while cats may also close their eyes tightly to keep light out. In more serious cases, severe corneal ulcers may lead to dislocated iris syndrome requiring surgical repair as a solution.
An ophthalmologist can evaluate a corneal ulcer using a special slit lamp, an instrument which allows doctors to view damage in the cornea at high magnification. A drop of fluorescein stain is then put in the affected eye; it adheres to any damaged areas on the cornea and glows green under special lighting.
Antibiotic eyedrops or ointments should be prescribed to prevent and relieve an eye corneal ulcer infection; atropine drops may help ease pain relief; these may need to be applied regularly, usually every hour or two; antibiotics typically last longer but still need frequent application.
If the ulcer is infected, surgery may be required to remove dead tissue that has formed around its edges, preventing proper healing. A scleral buckle or Elizabethan collar may be needed to keep your pet from rubbing its eyes too much and aggravating or worsening its ulcer, thus hindering proper recovery.
Most scleral ulcers respond well to appropriate treatment; however, your pet will require quiet and calm environments post-procedure for several weeks in order for its wounds to heal properly. This includes no boisterous play or lead or garden walks and minimal excitement around the home.
Iris Ulcers
Fighting cats often suffer eye injuries during fights. These range from scratches to perforating wounds in their delicate interior tissues of their eyes; and can even result in corneal ulcers or scleral ulcers that threaten vision – often the result of catfights, but sometimes from blunt trauma or an infected scratch on the cornea.
Thankfully, most corneal ulcers heal quite rapidly when treated. Your vet will use fluorescein dye drops on the eye surface to detect and diagnose an ulcer; injured or damaged areas will show up as bright orange spots easily visible under bright lighting; for smaller ulcers however a special light and filter may be required for diagnosing them.
An ulcer forms when the corneal epithelium is broken, exposing its underlying corneal stroma and leading to painful eye injuries. Most injuries recover quickly provided the immune system can prevent bacterial invasion while simultaneously managing inflammation responses; however, some ulcers do not respond well to treatment and progress into sequestrum-like conditions that require more serious interventions such as sequestrum injections.
Infected corneal ulcers caused by bacteria or fungus typically take longer to heal than uninfected ulcers, with deeper and inflamed ulcers typically needing antibiotic therapy for several weeks to fully resolve their infections.
As soon as your cat has an eye injury, be careful when handling their head or eyes to prevent further aggravating or aggravating the injury. Your vet can advise on how best to keep them safe during this time period, including what should happen if they continue pawing or scratching at their eye – they may require being put into an Elizabethan collar or having their dewclaw clipped to prevent any additional damage being done to it.
Eyelid Ulcers
Some eye injuries require immediate veterinary attention while others can be treated more minorly at home. A mild irritation of the eyelid known as conjunctivitis (swollen, red or itchy eyes) typically responds well to treatment using an ointment; antibiotic drops may be necessary. A small cut that causes bleeding may require sutures; for deeper cuts that go through an eyelid require immediate medical care.
Cuts typically heal on their own if uninfected; other common injuries include styes – bumps under the upper eyelid that look like purple or black bruises and can be painful. A hot compress should be used on such cases to relieve symptoms; be careful when choosing its temperature as something hot enough for discomfort but not hot enough that it burns the skin! It should be applied multiple times each day until healing occurs.
An ulcer of the cornea, or keratitis, may develop from scratches or other trauma to its clear outer layer of eyeball. While prognosis of corneal ulcers varies based on depth and severity of lacerations, penetrating injuries tend to heal slower.
Treatment for corneal ulcers typically entails antibiotic ointment or surgery. Any infected ulcers must be examined immediately as perforations could result in permanent loss of vision and perforations could even cause blindness.
If your cat has been diagnosed with corneal ulcers or styes, it’s essential that they remain isolated from other cats to reduce further irritation of the injury. Furthermore, an Elizabethan-type collar should be put on them in order to keep them from scratching at it further and further endangering it.
Cats are notoriously curious creatures, leading them to get into things they shouldn’t and cause themselves harm. While most abrasions and scratches will heal on their own, if there are signs of facial injury you should schedule an appointment with a vet immediately.