My cat's eye has a wrinkle or flat area. What could be the cause?

Hi, and thanks for your question. That is likely to be due to a moderate conjunctivitis, probably secondary to a infection. A check up would be needed as appropriate treatment would include antibiotics and anti-inflammatory eye drops. Corneal injuries must be ruled out as well. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

Sneezing and eye discharge make me suspicious of a viral infection, especially feline herpes virus. Herpes virus can cause a myriad of eye problems including ulcers, conjunctivitis, and keratitis. I would highly encourage you to have him evaluated by a veterinarian soon as you don’t want the problem to get worse. In the meantime I would use a warm water compress on the eye several times a day for 5 minutes at a time. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

It very well could be a scratch. If he is also squinting his eye and develops eye discharge then this is definitely a corneal scratch. However if he doesn’t seem bothered by it and the eye is clear otherwise, it may be a pigment or old scar on the corneal surface. If he becomes symptomatic then have your vet examine him and do a confirmatory eye test so that he can be prescribed antibiotic eye ointment to help this scratch heal. Best of luck with your kitty Kidogo. Take care.

It sounds like you may be describing an elevated third eyelid - it looks like a thin membrane, that covers part of the eye near the inner corner. This is often associated with an eye infection or an injury to the cornea (such as a scratch or ulcer), but can also be seen with other types of illnesses. I would recommend taking her to the vet for an eye exam tomorrow, if possible.

Thank you for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. A blurry spot can mean that you pet either has a scar on the cornea or it could indicate a corneal ulcer, depending on how this looks. There is also the potential it could be nuclear sclerosis, if it is a deeper opacity that you are seeing. Please submit a photo of the eye in question for clarification on what this likely is, or have your vet do a physical exam to confirm. If it is a corneal ulcer, it needs to be confirmed with an eye test through your veterinarian and then treated with medication. Corneal ulcers however cause excessive blinking and eye discharge. Nuclear sclerosis is common in older cats, and I'm not sure how old your cat is, but they don't require any treatment.. And corneal scars are basically scarring from a previous corneal injury, which typically are permanent and don't require treatment. I wish you the best moving forward with your fur baby. Take care.

This may be a symptom of an upper respiratory infection, typically herpes. Most cats are exposed to the viruses that cause URI and flare ups are quite common, especially in rescue cats that get stressed. I have attached a link regarding URI in cats for more info. I hope this helps and thank you for using PetCoach! https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.petcoach.co/amp/article/5-things-you-should-know-about-feline-respiratory-infections

This lesion seem to be due to a chronic irritation of the cornea, an active corneal ulceration seem not to be present, but only a fluorescein test at your local veterinarian can confirm it (=rule out further corneal damage). The eye looks fairly comfortable anyway. I suspect the conjunctivitis is due to a viral type of infection/inflammation (herpesvirus can be involved). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.