My cat's eye is scratched, infected, and oozing pus. How to treat it?

Your vet will need to take a look at your cat's eye to see if the scratch perforated the cornea and involved other structures of the eye. Your vet should also see it to treat it because not treating it can lead to vision loss depending on the severity of the injury. The course of treatment will depend on the severity of the injury and the part of the eye that was injured. If the wound is non-perforating and has no wound edge or opening, an Elizabethan collar will be used to prevent your cat from scratching at its eye, along with antibiotic or atropine eye solutions. Non-perforating wounds that have a mild break in the tissue, or a pinpoint wound perforation, may be treated with a soft contact lens, an Elizabethan collar, and antibiotic or atropine solutions. If the scratch goes deep into the eye and involves other structures in the eye, surgical repair will likely be needed. Your vet is the best person to determine what course of treatment is best.

Hi and thank you for posting your question on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is hard to say exactly what the problem with you cat's eye without examine your cat first. Diagnostics and treatment options as well as prices for those options are all dependent on individual veterinary hospital variation. Some hospitals are more expensive than others. An exam, eye exam, diagnostics may be (ballpark) around $100-$200. Treatment will depend on diagnosis and prognosis and may be $200-$2000. I hope this has helped. From the picture, both eyes look very swollen. Swelling of the eye in this way is very painful. I hope you can get her into see a veterinarian soon.

Many times discharge from the eye in a cat can signal the start of an upper respiratory infection. Other possible causes are a blocked tear duct, allergy, or scratch on the cornea. Because anytime the eye is involved I'm very cautious I'd recommend seeing veterinarian especially if the issue does not resolve by tomorrow. A veterinarian can examine the eye to ensure there is no infection or signs of an upper respiratory infection starting. They can also check to make sure no corneal scratches are present as these can be painful and require antibiotic ointment to treat. Anytime the eye is having an issue it's always best to err on the side of caution and have it checked out. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I hope Tiger recovers quickly!

I am so sorry about Stitches's eye. She appears to have obtained some sort of trauma, or have a severe infection in the eye. She keeps it closed & is acting timid because it hurts & she is in quite a bit of pain. She really needs veterinary attention so that the proper treatment can be done to save her vision, & possibly even her eye.

I would not listen to online sites saying to buy eye drops from the drug store. A lot of these sites are written by people who have no veterinary education at all, and some of their advice is frankly dangerous and potentially fatal. It is never advised to buy OTC eye drops for a cat because a cat's eye reacts differently to human eye medications than a human's eye does. In addition, some of these drops contain ingredients that are unsafe for use in cats. It sounds like Cleo may have an eye infection, and she will need to see a vet to get a topical antibiotic ointment to treat the infection. I would take her into the vet first thing Monday. Until then, it's fine to use a warm wash cloth to wipe away any gunk that comes from her eye. I hope this helps!

Hello, & thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I am so sorry that Sheldon has scratched his eye. These are common injuries in kittens, & invariably they need to be treated with antibiotics. The reason for this is there is no way to clean or bandage the eye & there is bacteria on the eye. Depending on how deep the scratch goes will also dictate how deep an infection can become seated. In addition, a scratched cornea is very painful. Antibiotics will prevent a massive & deep infection from possibly compromising the eye, & appropriate pain medication will make Sheldon much happier. The thing to remember is an eye infection can clear up very quickly with proper treatment. Things can also go very bad without, so I hope you ca have him seen by your veterinarian as soon as possible. Good luck.

Poor Bond. It’s hard to say for sure based on the photo, but the scratch appears to be fairly superficial. If it is, then just flushing it with sterile eye irrigating solution from your local pharmacy should be enough to keep it from getting infected so that it can heal well. If it any point it looks like it is getting infected (yellow or green discharge) or isn’t healing well (within 4-7 days), then it’s best to get your vet to take a look at the wound for further treatment. No topical ointment should be placed this close to the eye, unless it is a prescription eye ointment from your vet. Hopefully things heal up well! As long as you continue to flush it daily it should heal well. Best wishes and take care.