Pets’ eyes need to be watched carefully
EVERY week, readers contact me with queries about their pets, and earlier this week, someone sent me a photo of their cat’s eye with a simple question: “Is this normal?” As I contemplated the slightly blurry image showing their cat’s eye, with reflections bouncing off the front of the eye, I found it impossible to offer a useful opinion other than this obvious answer: “You really need to have this checked by your vet”.
As it happens, I’ve been told that this week is “Pet Eye Health Awareness Week”, a fact that is likely to escape most folk.
Pet eye health will never make headlines, but there’s no doubt that it’s an important topic, and it’s worth reminding pet owners of some key facts about their pets’ eyes.
The main message is that it’s important to recognise when an animal’s eyes are healthy, and when there is a problem that needs to be addressed. In particular, it’s important to take action if you see any changes in the appearance of your pet’s eyes, or if one eye suddenly looks different from the other. There are specific abnormalities that can happen to pets’ eyes, each needing a different approach.
Red eyes are the most common abnormality noticed by pet owners, and this is most commonly due to inflammation. Inflammation can occur anywhere in or around the eye. There may also be discharge, irritation and swelling. Conjunctivitis is a common cause of a red eye in dogs and cats and can be secondary to a number of causes such as allergies, foreign bodies (like grass seeds), tear film disorders (such as reduced tear production) or pathogens such as bacteria or viruses. As well as inflammation, redness may less commonly be due to engorged blood vessels (e.g. in glaucoma) or caused by bleeding inside the eye. Pets with red eyes really need to be taken to the vet for an accurate diagnosis of the problem: the right treatment depends on the underlying cause.
Painful eyes are another common abnormality: eyes are very sensitive, due to their dense network of nerve endings.
Signs of pain include pets rubbing or scratching their eyes, squinting or increased blink rate, excessive tearing, and increased sensitivity to light, hiding in dark corners. Corneal ulceration (damage to the window-like surface at the front of the eyeball) is a common cause of acute pain and needs to be addressed promptly to avoid long term damage to the eye. Other causes of acute eye pain include trauma or foreign bodies. Some conditions, such as glaucoma, can cause dull/throbbing pain due to increasing pressure inside the eyeball. This type of dull pain is not usually obvious to an owner: a pet with a painful eye might just hide themselves away, much as we would do if we had a dull, throbbing headache. However if you look at an affected pet’s eyes, you will see that “something is not normal”, and that’s when you need professional help.
Itchy eyes are also common, with pets pawing at, or rubbing their eyes. Itchy eyes may be due to allergies, infections or skin conditions and there may also other eye-related signs, such as redness or discharge.
Discharges from the eyes are never “normal”: these can range from watery to sticky/ thick, and can be a variety of colours (clear, yellow/green/brown or bloody). Normal healthy eyes should not have any discharge at all other than perhaps a mild overspilling of the tears at the inner corners of the eyes. Once discharge dries it can become crusty and stick to to the eyelids: this is uncomfortable and may become a site for bacterial multiplication.
Dull-looking eyes can be a sign of “dry eye”, when the immune system attacks the tear gland tissue leading to a gradual reduction in tear production. Vets have a rapid, simple test that measures tear production on the spot. Effective treatment is possible, and the earlier it’s given, the more likely it is to be successful.
Cloudy looking eyes can be caused by infiltrates developing in the front of the eye (the cornea) or issues with the lens (e.g. cataracts).
Tear stains are reddish-brown marks that can appear on the fur around your pet’s eyes. These stains can be unsightly and are especially noticeable on pale fur. In most cases tear staining occurs when tears don’t drain properly into the tear ducts, spilling down the face instead. This is usually just a cosmetic problem which can be solved with regular cleaning.
Loss of vision can be sudden or gradual depending on the cause and can sometimes go unnoticed as pets’ other senses (such as smell and hearing) are much more heightened than ours. A blind pet often learns to compensate by using these other senses and many will continue to lead a happy life.
Blindness, or vision loss, is not always immediately obvious, especially when it happens gradually. Typically a pet will start to bump into objects, often initially in dim light. This can be surprisingly difficult to detect: pets learn to navigate their familiar environments instinctively. It’s simple to check: set up a simple obstacle course, calling you pet towards you and carefully watching their progress. A subtle sign of vision loss can be that a pet becomes more clingy, using you for comfort and guidance.
Check your pets’ eyes daily so you know what is normal for him/her and to get them used to having their eyes examined.