Eye issue could affect both cats
QI HAVE two young rescue cats both neutered. One of them has recently developed a watery discharge from one eye, which has now spread to the other eye. There has also been the occasional sneeze. Is this something I should bother the vet with?
ATHE SHORT answer to the question is yes. Like all vets I always prefer to treat a disease early when it is much easier to cure. There are several possible causes of eye discharge in young cats. I think the fact it started in one eye and then spread to the other is significant, making it likely that the other cat will soon have eye
OUR VET DAVID GRANT WORKS HIS MAGIC
problems too. Your cat possibly has conjunctivitis.
This causes relatively mild signs in most cases, although often the watery discharge becomes thick and yellow in colour. Occasionally cats become feverish and the bacterium can spread to the lungs and elsewhere and those cats will be ill.
Your vet may send a swab to an outside laboratory to confirm the diagnosis and the result will help select the best antibiotic for treatment.These can be given orally and in eye drops or ointment.
Treatment may be needed for several weeks. Cat owners often worry whether the bacterium could affect them. It is very specific to the cat making human infection extremely unlikely, especially with good hand hygiene and avoidance of close nuzzling while there are symptoms.
QMY SIXYEAR-OLD Gordon Setter has been shaking his ears for a year.
He has had his ears syringed, been prescribed a course of steroids and for the last four months has been on a hypoallergenic diet. There has been no improvement and I would be grateful for any advice.
AEAR DISEASES are very common and they frequently have an underlying disease causing a secondary infection.
In early cases the secondary infection is commonly due to staphylococci or yeast.These cases can be successfully treated with eardrops obtained from the vet. If recurrence occurs, which is not unusual, it means an underlying cause needs dealing with. Failure to treat this risks a chronic condition where the ear lining becomes thickened, with narrowing of the ear canal. Different, more difficult to treat bacteria, is then more likely to occur.
If there is pain this makes it very difficult for owners to apply drops, as the dog will simply not tolerate it. Investigation of chronic cases will first ensure any infection is under control.
If your dog has allowed you to put eardrops in, I would hope this would be the case. Your vet can then continue to concentrate on possible underlying factors. About 75 per cent of dogs have an underlying allergy and a hypoallergenic diet is the normal starting point to investigate this. Four months is more than adequate for a hypoallergenic diet. I recommend another veterinary appointment for further investigations and also to check for thickness of the ear canal.
David Grant MBE was a vet at the RSPCA Harmsworth Hospital for Animals. Email questions to him at pamperedpets@express. co.uk. He is unable to enter into individual correspondence.