Mary Allen
Cloudiness, blinking, reddening, or lacrimation: diseases of the eye are usually clearly visible. It is then important to do something about it in good time before permanent damage occurs and vision suffers. Read what you need to watch out for.
Cats not only have a particularly sensitive nose, but they also have very good eyesight. And cats depend on them: their eyes help them find their way around in unfamiliar surroundings, show them exactly where to find food or where danger is approaching.
That’s why it’s so important to keep your eyes healthy. The most common diseases of cat eyes are as follows:
- conjunctivitis
- inflammation or infection
- inflammation of the iris
- cloudiness of the cornea or lens (cataract)
- abnormal increase in eye pressure
- green Star
- hereditary damage to the retina
Symptoms of Eye Diseases in Cats
As a cat owner, you should pay attention to these typical signs of eye diseases:
- redness
- cloudiness
- increased lacrimation/eye secretion
- clearly visible blood vessels in the area of the eye
- any differences in the appearance of both eyes
Differences in the appearance of both eyes, apart from different pupil colors, which occasionally occur, are always an indication of diseases. If the cat puts up with such signs, you should check the eye by grasping the head, holding the lower eyelid, and carefully pulling up the upper eyelid.
A healthy cat’s eye looks clear. The conjunctiva is pink and not swollen. There is no discharge from the eye. If one of these is not the case, there is a disease behind it.
Symptoms of Conjunctivitis in Cats
Conjunctivitis is one of the most common eye diseases in cats. Increased lacrimation or eye secretion is sometimes the only sign of the disease, sometimes rubbing the eye, photophobia and blinking are also present. However, these symptoms can also indicate a foreign body or an injury to the cornea.
The cornea often becomes cloudy at the injured area and if the process persists for a long time, blood vessels also grow in from the edge of the eye. The great advantage of such changes is that they are relatively easy to recognize as pathological, even for the layperson.
If There are Changes in the Eye, Be Sure to go to The Vet
When checking your cat’s eyes, make sure you have good lighting and look for any irregularities. Then compare the two eyes with each other. Occasionally the examination is complicated by the fact that the third eyelid moves in front of the eye and obscures the view.
If the eye is changed or injured, you should immediately consult a veterinarian, ideally with an additional qualification in ophthalmology, who can help your animal. This also applies to all eye emergencies, whether foreign bodies, injuries, painful conditions, or sudden blindness.
The Most Common Signs of Eye Diseases
The most common signs of eye disease are easy to spot and should serve as an alarm signal:
In conjunctivitis, the eye shows redness, secretion, and pain, which can be recognized by rubbing, photophobia, and blinking.
Traces of blood in the eye can result from accidents, but also from inflammation or infection.
If the iris is inflamed, it is usually a little darker and redder in color. The eye is very painful and the animal avoids the light. As a result, fibrin clots can form.
Opacities can appear both on the outside of the cornea and on the inside, especially in the lens. While clouding of the cornea is usually easy to treat, clouding of the lens, also known as a cataract, can hardly be reversed. However, it can provide indications of other diseases, such as diabetes mellitus.
With a pathological increase in eye pressure, the “glaucoma”, the pupil is usually dilated, recognizable in comparison with the second eye, or because it does not narrow when exposed to light.
Differences in the appearance of both eyes are always an indication of a disease.
When suddenly blinded, the animals refuse to walk or bump into obstacles in unfamiliar terrain. In addition to glaucoma, the cause can also be hereditary damage to the retina.
Acting Quickly Saves The Cat’s Eyesight
According to statistics, the eye is affected in about every 15th patient in an average small animal clinic. Since basically every single area of the eye – from the cornea to the back of the eye – can be affected, there are many different eye diseases and correspondingly many treatment options. However, almost all diseases have in common that something must be done as quickly as possible in order not to permanently endanger the ability to see.
That’s why you should go to the vet as soon as possible as soon as you discover an illness. This is the only way to save the cat’s eyesight.