Elderly cat s third eyelid one eye only

[jan]

Max is 16 and three quarters - deaf as a post but apart from sneezing fits which he has always suffered from seems well in himself until yesterday when he got up and his right eye has his third eyelid about a third over it and his pupil is smaller on that eye than his other normal eye. It s a bit teary but not exceptionally so and I have gently bathed it with a weak saline solution in cooled boiled water. No change today at all. He s sleeping well, eating well, mobile enough, grooming himself. Any advice at all ? Thankyou for reading. Jan

[Leesy]

Sorry I can`t help you with that or offer any advice, don`t know much about eyes:( , but I am quite sure that somebody on this forum will:D .

[Mags]

Generally when a cats third eyelid is showing it is an indication that there is an infection or the cat is unwell.

My advice would be to take him to the vet as soon as possible and have him checked over.

I hope it's nothing too serious, please let us know how he is.....

[dinahsmum]

How odd. Usually the third eyelids show both sides and is a general "I'm not very well' sign. Or possibly just in one eye where the eye itself has an infection or minor injury but you seem to discount that.
What do you think? Do you think Puss seems well enough and you'll be Ok doing a couple of days 'wait and watch'? If so, why not do that?
If you are worried (and you know Puss better than anyone) then off to the vets with you on Monday!
Do you think he could have had a minor stroke? I seem to remember reading somewhere that older cats can suffer a sort of feline mini-stroke, from which they normally recover well. The small pupil tends to suggest some sort of neurological problem - but then again maybe he has had a bump or something.
Simple answer - I don't know. If he was mine and I wasn't immediately worried I think I'd wait and watch for a few days. If there's anything else to cause concern then I'd be straight to the vet.

Good luck and keep us informed won't you?

[Elaine]

Personally, I'd have a vet take a look at it.
http://www.best-cat-art.com/cat-eye-health.html

[Kazz]

Hiya really decent advice given so far but you could wait and see by Monday if no better I would take him my old cat Oscar had the similar thing and he had conjunctivitius nothing serious but it irritated him slightly. Just a thought. his cleared up nicely though.

[dandysmom]

I'm with the watch it, and go to the vet if it seems serious school of thought. You do know your cat.

[farthing]

I think because his pupils are uneven, i would get him checked by a vet, as said before it is usually neurological, and personally, I would rather have it looked at.

[jan]

Thankyou all for your advice, he s exactly the same again today so that s the third day today - its weeping a bit more yesterday and today but does nt appear to be bothering him, he s got a huge appetite always! Am keeping him warm by the fire and continuing to wipe it at intervals with cooled saline solution. I might be being silly, but it terrifies me to take him to a vet as it stresses max out going, I dont like my vet I registered with as they are of the do blood tests, do kidney tests this is the price mentality whether the patient warrants it or not, so need to visit one recommended to me but a good journey away. Also with the age he is and past experience, it stresses ME out taking them. Worry about my animals like I do my two now grown up children lol. It would nt surprise me if my third cat felix has whacked him and caught him in his eye as he tends to knock him off my digital box to move Max and take his seat on it himself, but I dont know for certain. Well, will continue to monitor him today and see what tomorrow brings. Thanks again, Jan .

[dandysmom]

Hope he does well and that the haw recedes...is the pupil still contracted? I fully understand the worry of taking a dreadfully stressed cat to the vets!

[Leesy]

Hope things get better for Max and that he will not need a visit to the vets:) .
My Maxi is the same when it comes to going to the vets he seems to get really stressed, I am certain that his continual visits to the vets for the problems that he has makes him worse, it is a vicious circle:(

[jan]

Hi all,
its very difficult to see his pupil really most of the time as his third eyelid is two thirds over his eye. When I came in earlier and he was meowing for his food it certainly seemed to be open more and look a bit better but since eating and sleeping in front of the fire again it has covered over more again. It seems a bit weepy at times but the weather has been dreadful here today and very difficult to drive in so visiting a vet was out of the question really, and as said, it upsets max and the one I want to go to as recommended to me is about half hour away on a good day. So am still playing the waiting game, but other than his eye he is acting the same as normal. As he is totally deaf now I stopped letting him out last summer and he doesnt bother one bit. I was bothered about him not hearing a car and getting run over. Oh well, will continue to keep an eye on it, no pun intended. Jan

[Elaine]

I have a very stressy cat but I'd rather she went to the vet if something was not right with her rather than leave it.
I understand the weather thing and the not liking the vet but I personally would have her seen to.
With respect about the blood tests, vets do try to keep an eye on the kidney function of older cats, the quicker they can diagnose CRF, the quicker it can be managed and hopefully the progression of this illness slowed down.

[jan]

Well, its a week tomorrow that we got up to find max s eye problem - on 3 occasions yesterday and including this morning his eye has looked almost back to normal for awhile, but then once he s been asleep the third eyelid comes back over more again. This morning i got a good look at his pupil and it looked normal to me once more but as I said it s now pretty well covered with the third eyelid again. I couldnt get out to work today as the village roads I live in are so covered in snow but this morning i was sure he was on the mend. If i have any doubts tomorrow I m going to have to take him to a vets weather permitting . He s still behaving normally thankgoodness ! Jan

[jan]

Hi all, Update on max - I took him to the vets yesterday morning. He was brilliant travelling - meowed a couple times but very calm tho my son sat in the rear of the car stroking him and talking to him. The lady vet gave him a very thorough check up and it isnt an infection. He can see out of it and she didnt seem certain but suspected horners syndrome, where the nerve for some reason gets damaged, I have read about it and it does seem like it can be a variety of reasons and some are serious and some are not. I am on a low income and my son is unemployed so I couldnt afford a mri scan but we did have blood tests taken and the thyroid being enlarged was ruled out - his kidney s were also tested and his diet needs to be monitored ( I already put him on the senior cat food on Tuesday) with a further blood test taken at some point in the near future. So, we arent much further forward but I know it isnt an infection. I shall just keep a close eye on him more so than usual in the future. I slept better than I had for eight days last night, it has been a constant niggle in the back of my mind and I was waking early worrying. Thanks for all your support. Jan x

[farthing]

Hi Jan,
our Samson was taken into the vets for nearly a year, as I don't feel he was quite right, they found nothing obvious and it didn't look like his thyroid- no enlargement. It turned out that he did have a thyorid problem and has been better since on treatment. I hope you find out what the problem is, I did wonder about horner's. If you come to no conclusions it might be worth going for a thyroid test, it is very common. If he has a thyroid problem, ask about vidalta as a treatment , it is much cheaper than felimazole and only needs to be given once daily.

[Elaine]

I dont know anything out horners syndrome but I hope it's not been caused by anything serious.
With regards to the kidneys, did the vet give you her kidney function levels? I can give you loads of info on CRF, Chronic Renal Failure. Dont be frightened about the title of the illness, it's not uncommon for older cats to develope this. The important thing is to make sure she gets enough fluids and a low phospherous diet. Also CRF can mask an over active thyroid and vice versa.
If you want any info dont hesitate to ask, I would be only too happy to help in any way i can.

[jan]

Thankyou both for your input - Max did have his thyroid checked by a blood test I realise I didnt put that clearly! That came up normal. The vet didnt give me the readings for his kidneys but said as I had put him on a senior cat food diet just this week to maybe go back for another blood test in about a month to see if it s stabilised or I would have to buy the prescription diet from them directly which is apparently even lower? Max does drink tons of water - my second eldest cat is Tess she s fourteen (15 in April) she is also now on the senior cat food though she does nt seem overly impressed! She doesnt seem to touch water, is this a problem? It is always put down twice a day fresh. I see you can buy tinned hill s senior cat food direct online, is this what the vet provides, do you know? Any information is gratefully received. Have had cats for years but Max is now the eldest (just) of all my cats. Thanking you Jan x

[Elaine]

http://www.catsey.com/showthread.php?t=25488
This link might be helpful for you.
You might want to try adding a little cooled, boiled water to their wet food. Fluids are very important for cats with failing kidneys. The best thing is to try to get them to eat a good quality, low phospherous diet. The prescription diet is low protein and low phospherous.
Applaws chicken cat food is quite good but it's not a complete food. This is ok if you feed dry food as well but with cats with kidney issues dry is not good as it makes the kidneys work harder due to the lack of water content.
The felinecrf.org site has a wealth of knowledge on foods etc. I'll find the link for you.

[Elaine]

http://www.felinecrf.org/which_foods.htm
It might be an idea to get as clued up as possible about CRF, if you need any help, just yell and I'll do my best to help.

[jan]

Thanks very much Elaine - read your post which was brilliantly written and Winston was obviously lucky to have you as his friend. (I was going to put owner but seems a bit misleading when we love them so much!) Have taken a look at the other site you mentioned - there s a lot to take in there! One question if you dont mind - are tuna and chicken alright for my two elder cats to have still? I only ask as you mention them in your post and I had assumed not as chicken especially is high in protein. They do both love their chicken though it would be wonderful if they can still eat it. I have them on the senior cat food the whiska s one which they both love, also Aldi do a tray food for cats over 8 years old which they love. Thankyou again, Jan x

[Elaine]

Hi Jan and thankyou for your comments. Tuna is ok as an occasional treat or to try to persuade your cat to eat but not as a regular food.
With regards to chicken, it's the quality of protein thats important. Cats are obligate carnivours and need a high protein diet, many people recomend that the brown meat is better for cats than the breast meat. Now I also know that vets recomend a low protein/low phospherous diet for cats with failing kidneys, there is however some contoversy over this and I personally feel that it may be the phospherous content in cat foods that cause the most damage. I base my feelings on everything I have read and beleive me I have read loads on CRF in cats:lol: .
So in answer to your question, chicken is absolutely fine for cats of any age.
The felinecrf.org site is indeed very large and very informative. If you get lost with anything or need anything clarified just yell;) . It's entirely your choice but I feel it's better to get as clued up as possible in order to help your cat/s with this progressive illness.
I wish you all well and as i say if you need any help or advice, just ask. There are several of us here who have been through the emotional roller coaster of CRF, we all dealt with it in a different way but all did as much as we felt we possibly could to help them and love them till the end. Most of all we supported each other.