The eyes they are a very important body part for cats. In the natural environment it makes use of them to hunt its prey, and inside our homes they need them, among other things, to know where the person they love is está.
Normally, they do not require maintenance, since it is the animal itself who is responsible for removing the dirt with its feet. However, sometimes we will have to do this work, so if you find yourself in the situation and do not know how to clean the cat's eyes, we will help you.
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Why can their eyes get dirty?
A healthy cat will have slightly moist, open eyes. But throughout his life you will see how one or both of them cry for him one day, or that he cannot open them. These are situations that sometimes occur caused by a weakened immune system.
In most cases, it is not serious. You may have caught a cold and caught a cold, but in other cases we will have to worry, especially if the third eyelid becomes visible or if you have a potentially dangerous disease, such as Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) or feline leukemia. Both can considerably decrease the quality of life of the animal, so in the event of any change in your friend's routine, it is advisable to visit your trusted veterinarian.
It is important to remember that a cat that is very sick may stop grooming. And if that happens, you could even stop eating, thus putting your life in danger. It could be said that hygiene is vital for them, so if your furry is not well, you should take care of keeping it clean ... not only its body, but also its eyes.
What are the eye diseases that affect cats?
Cats, like us, can also have eye diseases. They are as follows:
Conjunctivitis
When the conjunctiva becomes inflamed, it produces a redness of the affected eye and discharge which can be transparent in milder cases, or purulent when the disease has worsened. The causes that cause it are several: from viruses to bacteria, through fungi and, unfortunately, it can also be associated with other diseases such as those mentioned above.
Uveitis
This is a disease that affects the interior structure of the eye, causing the animal a lot of pain. It is caused mainly by fungal and viral infections, although you can also have it if you have cancer. If it is not treated in time, you can lose your vision.
Keratitis
It is very similar to conjunctivitis, however, keratitis is not only painful, but also it can cause partial or total blindness of the affected eye.
Glaucoma
It occurs when there is abnormal pressure in the eyeball. The fluid that circulates through the veins of a healthy eye drains without causing problems, but when there is any change the fluid accumulates, causing nerve damage and can lead to blindness. There are many causes that can cause glaucoma: cataracts, wounds or infections are among the most common.
Chlamydiosis
It is a bacterial disease that causes inflammation and redness of the eye. It is very contagious; However, the vaccine that currently exists has many unpleasant side effects such as vomiting and fever, so it is highly recommended to keep the cat indoors to avoid taking risks.
How to clean my cat's eyes?
Now that we have seen what are the diseases that can affect the eyes of our friends, let's see how to clean their eyes without him or us having a bad time. To do this, the first thing we have to do is To relaxAs otherwise he will notice that we are nervous, and he will not be able to help feeling tense as well. So, take a breath, count to 10 little by little and exhale, also slowly.
You are better? If so, it is time to prepare everything you will need, and if not, do it again until you feel calmer. When you are ready, you will have to take the following: gloves (preferably disposable, although if you do not have they can be made of rubber, the kind used to wash dishes), some gauze sold in pharmacies, and finally you have to make a Chamomile infusion. This does not have to be very cold or very warm, but at room temperature.
Once you have everything, wash your hands well, and put on your gloves. With the help of these, the risk of you being infected is practically nil (in fact, there could only be a possibility of contagion if you wipe your eyes with your gloves).
Then, put a gauze in the glass that contains the infusion and, avoiding dripping, clean your furry's eyes. It is very important not to apply too much pressure. If you see that it has legañas that are very attached, wipe the gauze over several times until it becomes soft and can be removed. Now, if you see that there is no way, then there will be no choice but to apply a little more pressure, but without harming the animal.
A cat that has dirt in its eyes is likely to have some other problem, which can be from a simple cold to the flu. Taking this into account, it is very necessary to take him to the vet so that he can give him the most appropriate treatment and thus get him back to health.
A question what is gauze to clean the cat's eye
Gauze is a normally sterilized white tissue to clean wounds or delicate areas that you can buy in pharmacies or other stores. The article says to use gauze not cotton because the cotton falls apart, it breaks, it can leave traces while the gauze is like a fabric that does not leave residues that can remain in the eye of the animal. I use some that are sold in a pharmacy to clean people's eyes, eye, without being impregnated in product, only gauze. And to clean the eyes of cats (external area) you can soak the gauze in olive oil. You can also use this method to clean the nose, ears, etc. In addition, the cat licks the olive oil and in turn it is useful to eliminate the hairballs. I know that you wrote this message more than a year ago, but since they did not respond to you, I do it now. Greetings.
Great, if it no longer worked for him, at least it did for me, it was just what I wanted to know, thank you!
Hello;
I am taking care of three kittens who are almost 3 weeks old and two have problems with their eyes ... In fact, I think that they are very serious because they can no longer open their eyes, they have them as glued (more than a week ago they had opened but now they they have closed again…) Would I have to use eye drops? What are eye drops and where can I buy?
Thank you very much.
Hi Joana, go to a vet and ask him the question. I don't think that's why I charge you. Being so small I can't tell you. But precisely I am feeding some cats of about 2 months and one also has a little eye glued to it. Since he's wild, I can't get close but I'll ask the vet. Eye drops are eye drop medications. They can be purchased at any pharmacy. But if it is for cats, it is better to ask a vet. You can also ask at an animal shelter or at a university veterinary clinic. Good luck. Normally at that age they are with their mother who cleans them, were they orphans? Greetings
Hi carmen,
The kittens are already healthy, as I have seen your message very late I have gone to the pharmacy
and I have taken the eye drops without asking a vet, but it seems that they have gone very
well. The cat died when the kittens were one week old and now I have to take care of them. Of the four only one has died, the others are growing and appear to be healthy.
Joana, something similar has happened to me, I have three two-week-old kittens that have been orphaned, their mother was killed by a Doberman and now I take care of them. Could you give me some advice? Please. You say your kittens survived and are healthy. What eye drops did you use? They have their eyes closed, but when I clean them with serum they open them but tend to close again and create a green mucus. What I can do? Please help.
Hello!!! I hope I can help you ... I have a cat and I work in ophthalmology ... I would tell you to go to the pharmacy and buy an eye drop (they are worth 3 euros approx.) Type Oftalmowell ... first you clean his eyes with a gauze soaked and drained in chamomile ( cold or warm) IMPORTANT EYE: ONE FOR EACH EYE !!! because it can be contaminated from one eye to the other ... gauze (not cotton since it releases lint and is counterproductive) ... Once they are clean, 2 drops are put in each eye (the eyelid is carefully opened making sure that the drops enter and keeping it closed for a few seconds)… .the duration of the treatment is one week and the drops are put every 6 hours the first 2 days, passing every 8 hours the rest of the days until the week is completed. We must be careful to wash our hands well before touching the cats' eyes and after having practiced the cure ... I also advise you to do the chamomile every day (a bag and let it cool and covered).
I hope I can help you ... if in a week it does not improve ... take them to the vet since consultations of this type are cheap and the health of our pets is our responsibility and I think they deserve it for all the good and the love that we they contribute !!! Greetings and thank you!!
hello I have a kitten roast a few days and has the right eye with something like yellow but the left is healthy…. : / As I clean it better so that it does not happen again and cleaned it for two days but it comes out again.
Hello, I have a dog, who had that green mucus in his eye and the vet recommended him to use the eye drops, and we bought it, well the dog is fine, but we realized that it spread to my cat, about 5 years old , and we also put the same eye drops, because in the box it was intended for cats and dogs, and my mother put a drop in her sick eye ... but that is not the problem, I would like to ask if the eye drops are toxic or bad for the health of the cat, because as cats always do, he washed his eye (as cats do, he licked his paw and then his eye, and then his paw again) and if I ingest it, I would like to know if it is toxic .
Hello, I have my cat that is two months old and has the right white object and the left is healthy, how can I clean his eye or what can I do so that he no longer has that in his right eye
hello I have a cat of 2 years with 5 months and she has an eye which can not open well what can I do
Hi yonas. You can clean it with a gauze moistened with water, but if it does not improve, I recommend taking it to a vet, since something could have gotten inside it.
A greeting.
Sorry I have 4 kittens of a week and a half .. 3 have already opened their eyes but the biggest one has not yet .. it has like some dry lagañas and I don't know if it will be normal .. what would you recommend?
Hi Marianela.
No, it's not normal 🙁. I recommend cleaning his eyes with a gauze moistened with chamomile infusion, between 3 and 4 times a day. If you do not see improvement in a couple of days, maximum 3, go to the vet to see if something more serious happens.
A greeting.
Much encouragement, and patience. Eye infections can take a long time to heal; I can tell you that one of my cats had conjunctivitis for several months. In the end he recovered, as your kitty sure will.
thanks to that comment and helped my furry and is better than ever
I'm very happy, Elena 🙂
Hello, good night, look, today I took my two-year-old cat to the vet and they made me buy steroid eye drops because they found an ulcer has a pimple on the outside, you would remove my doubt if that will heal or if it will not do necessary to operate it has me worried and another question he wipes his injured eye with his paw, is it normal? Oh, it's fine? thank you I hope you answer me
Hello Priscila.
Eye drops will most likely cure you.
Regarding your question, it is normal for him to wipe his eye with his paw, don't worry.
A greeting.
After sleeping or yawning, my cat has her right eye closed, but she opens it without helping herself with her paw or anything, is that normal for that to happen?
Hi Mara.
If you do not observe any other symptoms and the cat leads a normal life, yes, it could be.
Anyway, and as it will not do any harm, I recommend you wipe it with a clean gauze moistened in chamomile, three times during five days.
A greeting.
Hello! My kitten came back yesterday with a closed and teary eye, I just today took her to the vet and he recommended some drops for her eyes ... my problem is that when I put the first drop on her it was like a transparent spot in her eye ... well? Is this how it works? I am afraid that my eye has worsened, I was very worried ... I am waiting for your answer!
Hello Angie.
You mean it stayed like a small droplet in his eye? If so, it is normal.
If you see that he has a normal life and that he does not complain, do not worry 🙂
A greeting.
Good,
What do you recommend that I do with a kitten of about 5 months that is very, very scary? He barely lets me get close to him, and at most he lets me caress him a bit, but immediately he runs off as if something was scaring him off. I do not know how to clean a cat that has this behavior, because it is impossible to hold it.
A greeting.
Hello Daniel.
The first thing I recommend is that you earn their trust: feed him wet food, play with him, stroke him when he is concentrating on something ...
Later you can wrap him in a towel and clean his eyes.
A greeting.
My vet recommended this homemade recipe to me, make the infusion with chamomile but with a tablespoon of salt, and wait for it to cool, also sent me some drops for his eyes since the disease he has is conjunctivitis
Terrible that they recommend using chamomile. Chamomile is ASTRINGENT and dries the eyes, plus an infusion is not a sterile solution and can complicate and worsen the situation. Before recommending something, RESEARCH, do not be irresponsible, because many people believe that being on the internet is reliable and true and they listen to them, putting their cats' eyes at risk.
Yolanda, before recommending something like this, I have tried it with my own cats (I have 4 at home and another 5 in the garden). And I've never had a problem.
Although of course, it is best to go to the vet.