Cat Keratitis: Symptoms and Treatment

1 Cat Keratitis: Symptoms and Treatment

1. Symptoms of cat keratitis

Keratitis and conjunctivitis look much alike — both show red, swollen conjunctiva, involuntary tearing, fear of light, and more eye discharge. The discharge starts as white mucus, then turns yellow-green. The cat paws constantly, which worsens the discomfort; sneezing and runny nose often come with the eye trouble, mostly in kittens.

Keratitis usually comes from mechanical or chemical irritation of the cornea; in kittens it’s mostly feline herpesvirus. Examples: a bump or poke to the eye, soapy water in it, or the owner using human eye drops; it can also follow other eye disease — entropion, missing eyelid, ingrown lashes, conjunctivitis. Herpesvirus infection also brings these signs.

1. Traumatic keratitis. You can see injury marks around the eye; the site looks rough, and a hazy film covers the cornea — typical. Severe inflammation may leave pigment and hurt vision. Ulcers bring light-shyness, tearing, blurry sight, even cloudy cornea.

2. Keratitis from internal inflammation. Usually bacterial or viral — feline herpesvirus. Severe infection causes permanent corneal and conjunctival scarring, and some cases change the tear drainage path, causing chronic spillover. Worst case, the cornea perforates and the cat goes blind. Leaving keratitis untreated brings exactly this.

So how is it treated?

2. Prevention and care

Principle: find and remove the cause, cut irritation, control infection, aid absorption, and limit scarring.

1. For the symptoms, try Langduqing eye drops, made for cat and dog keratitis and conjunctivitis. Hold the cat’s head, part the lids, and drop 3–5 drops from 3–5 cm away; don’t lower the head until the residue drains. Use 3–5 days; if no improvement, see a vet.

2. Treat the underlying cause too — ingrown lashes need a vet to pluck or fix surgically. Viral keratitis brings other signs; see a vet promptly. During treatment, put on an E-collar so the cat can’t paw the eye, and keep it in a quiet dim place to cut light irritation.

Tip: the sooner keratitis is caught and treated, the better. At the first sign, take the cat to a vet to confirm and treat, before it worsens and becomes harder — and the cat suffers more. Watch your cat closely day to day.