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My cat is coughing with green eye discharge. Is it contagious?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 4 years and 4 months old | 17 lbs

My cat started hacking a couple of days ago, like he had a hair ball, now his eye is watery and oozing green. It started to spread to my other cat today.

5 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Sara Farmer, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on October 3rd, 2018

Coughing is often a sign of asthma or other lung inflammation. Eye discharge is often a sign of an upper respiratory infection, especially if your other cat is now showing symptoms as well. Since there is green discharge you should see a veterinarian who can prescribe antibiotics if needed, and potentially take a chest x-ray as well.

4Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on May 20th, 2017
This is probably an upper respiratory infection. it's very common in young cats and is very contagious to other cats as well.

It is treated with antibiotic eye drops/ointment and oral antibiotics for about 2 weeks. if left untreated many cats will end up blind or even die from the disease.

I advise going to your vet asap to start the treatment right away.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on December 20th, 2016
This is probably an upper respiratory infection. it's very common in cats and is very contagious to other cats as well.

It is treated with antibiotic eye drops/ointment and oral antibiotics for about 2 weeks. if left untreated many cats will end up blind or even die from the disease.

I advise going to your vet asap to start the treatment right away for her, you don't need to take your cats yet if they do not show any symptoms.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on January 19th, 2018
This is probably an upper respiratory infection. it's very common in young cats and is very contagious to other cats as well. It is treated with antibiotic eye drops/ointment and oral antibiotics for about 2 weeks. if left untreated many cats will end up blind or even die from the disease.

I advise going to your vet asap to start the treatment right away.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA
Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer
Published on July 18th, 2017
Oh, poor Oreo! His eye does look awful :( I'm afraid there is really no way around taking him to the vet for this problem, as it looks to be a pretty nasty infection - he definitely needs prescription antibiotics to treat it. There is nothing available over the counter that will help. The good news is, there is no reason that this needs to be an expensive visit - the only costs should be the exam fee, plus the cost of whatever antibiotic or other medication is prescribed.

In the meantime, you can try gently rinsing his eye with plain saline eye wash and using a warm washcloth to clean away the discharge. This will not do anything to treat the underlying infection, but may help to make him a bit more comfortable until you are able to see the vet.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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My cat has green eye discharge and a swollen eye. Is it an infection?

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Trinidad. The most likely cause is an upper respiratory virus/organism infecting the inner part of the eyelids called the conjunctiva. There are a few viruses that cause this in addition to a few bacteria. Herpes virus, calicivirus, chlamydia, and mycoplasma are just a few of the organisms that can cause this in cats/kittens. These organisms are NOT contagious to people but are contagious to other cats. Kittens get infected by their mom and many of them become chronic carriers of the viruses. Once the infection takes hold and damages the conjunctiva, a secondary bacterial infection can take hold which often is noticed by a green/yellow eye discharge. Other signs can include those similar to a common cold in people- sneezing, runny nose, coughing, fever, lethargy, decreased appetite, etc. The other possibilities for this include a tear duct problem, injury to the eye, etc. Your vet can take a detailed history, examine Trinidad and focus in on the eyes and look for other signs of an upper respiratory infection. They can stain the eye and measure the pressure inside the eye if needed. Staining the eye will tell if the cornea is damaged from either trauma or a viral infection. Your vet can then advise a treatment plan including eye drops/ointment, something for pain, possibly some antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, etc. Good Luck with Trinidad.

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My indoor cats have recurring green/brown eye discharge. What's wrong?

This could be caused by either allergies or a virus that is affecting all the cats. If the problem is self resolving and not causing any other issues (like anorexia or lethargy) then I would not worry about it too much. If, however, it seems like your cats are ill, not wanting to eat, etc, then you should consider taking them to the vet to be checked out. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

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