My kitten has a scratched eye. What urgent steps should I take?

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.

Hello, A cat scratch to the eye can be a serious emergency and warrants evaluation by a veterinarian. It is important to have the eye evaluted because if left untreated, Fluffy may develop a severe infection inside the eye. However, with prompt treatment and application of an E-collar she should make a speedy recovery.

I'm so sorry that Myrtle has been injured. Injuries to the cornea (the clear outer portion of the eye) are very painful, so that is likely why Myrtle is keeping her eye closed. Hopefully Myrtle just has a small scratch that will heal well, but I would strongly recommend having it evaluated ASAP to get her on antibiotics if there is a scratch. Unfortunately, a cat scratch to the eye can be very serious. I have included a link to more information below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=554 I hope that was helpful! Thanks for using PetCoach.

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.

Great job thinking on your feet to keep Midnight in your lap so that he can't scratch his eye. It sounds as if he may have either gotten something in his eye or potentially have a corneal ulcer, which is just a fancy way to say a small cut on the surface of his eye (the cornea). It is important that you keep him from scratching or rubbing the eye, as this can potentially cause more damage. Midnight will definitely need to see a veterinarian to examine his eye and prescribe the appropriate medication if needed. In the meantime, I highly recommend getting Midnight an e-collar, or cone of shame until you can get him seen by a vet as soon as possible. Most pet stores sell them, PetCo. definitely carries them. While this is not a true emergency, it may be easier to take Midnight to an emergency clinic just to get things taken care of before there is time for things to potentially get worse. I hope this helps and good luck with everything. I'm happy to consult with you or your parents if they have any additional questions.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It looks like a corneal ulcer, I suspect Rex was scratched by the kitten. Please, do not use steroids as they are contraindicated in corneal wounds. Antibiotics eye drops is a much better idea. Please, call one of your local vets that is open and get the advise on what antibiotics eye drops are available in your country.

Hello and thank your for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Superficial corneal ulcers are treated with antibiotics eye drops and oral pain killers. These medications are prescription-only, so you need to take your kitten to your local vets to get them.