Cat has hair in eye, squinting. What can I do safely at home?

HI, thanks for using PetCoach! Most cats and dogs that get thick mucous or a hair stuck on their eye are just fine. They eventually are able to blink enough to get the hair off the eye. These animals do not even notice it meaning the eye is open and not red. If Oliver is keeping his eye closed and seems painful then he needs to see a Vet. It could be something stuck irritating the eye or he could have a scratch on his eye, uveitis or glaucoma. You can use an eye safe flush to try and rinse the eye but other wise he needs a Vet to examine the painful eye. https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=1229 I wish you the best!

Young kittens very commonly have bacterial and viral ocular issues. They can also be squinting from an injury to the cornea. I suggest you get her to your vet ASAP so they can diagnose the issue and provide the proper treatment. Eyes are very delicate organs and can go from bad to worse very quickly. You should not wait a long time to seek treatment. The only thing you can do at home while waiting to get her to a vet is to rinse the eye with saline solution. That is the only safe thing you can put in there for now without knowing what the underlying problem is. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

It's always tough trying to deal with feral cats. The best option would be to take her to the vet (maybe they could spay her at the same time? Not all vets would be able to do that, but might be worth asking). The vet could sedate her, check out her eye, and vaccinate her for rabies at least. There is a risk of her biting, but we usually can take appropriate precautions to avoid this. If you do take her in, ask your vet ahead of time what preferences they have for type of carrier etc so that they have the best chance of successfully looking at her. It will probably end up costing you a decent amount of money to take her in, because of the extra time +/- sedation that will be required (plus costs for testing, vaccines, medications), so just be aware of that ahead of time. That said, to answer your question about care at home - she could have a viral eye infection (very very common in cats), or it could have gotten worse and become a bacterial infection or an ulcer. She could have issues with the pressure in her eye or have a congenital problem. All we really know is that her eye hurts for some reason. All you can really do at home is keep the eye clean with a warm wash cloth and maybe put some lubricating drops in (GenTeal severe is best for this, it's an OTC human eye drop). You can also give her L-lysine treats which will help fight off a viral infection. That won't be enough if she has a bacterial infection, an ulcer, or really any issue other than a mild viral infection. Eye issues can get bad fast she risks losing sight or the eye itself, so definitely consider going the vet route if at all possible. I hope she's feeling better soon! Good luck!

Poor Boots! You can use a warm washcloth or cotton ball, or try rinsing her eye with plain saline eye wash. If she's still squinting and acting uncomfortable by tomorrow, then I would recommend taking her to the vet for an exam as she may have damaged her cornea.

You can try to get it out with tweezers. Then I’d clean the wound with hydrogen peroxide and apply a thin film of antibacterial ointment on it. If you can’t get it out I would uses a hot compress on the area two or three times a day to increase the blood supply and hopefully that may help loosen it in the skin. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Nia.

This sounds uncomfortable for Gandalf! If you can see an obvious hair, you can try to flush his eye with a sterile saline based eye wash. However, if Gandalf is still closing his eye or showing any sensitivity after you flush his eye, he needs to be seen by his vet. There is a chance that the hair or other foreign material may have scratched his eye, causing a corneal ulcer. Make sure he is wearing an e-collar (cone) to prevent any further scratching or rubbing of his eye.

That’s a hair or fiber on Felix’s cornea. If you have eye drops at home or can pick up artificial tears or visine at your local drug store, you can flush it off of his eye that way. Avoid touching his eye with your fingers to avoid damaging his cornea. You might be able to push it down to the lower eyelid edge of his eye where you can pull it away by very gently closing his eyelids. Good luck!