Cold in Cat's Eye

[Bumblebuzz]

I think my cat has a cold in one of her eyes. It drains from the corner, not much, just a little. Years ago, my mother use to boil, I think it was "boric acid" and water in a pan. Then let it cool down and dabbed the corner of the eye and it cured the problem. Any suggestions other than going to the vet for this? Hope someone can help. Thank you----Bumblebuzz    

  

[opus88]

please DON'T USE BORIC ACID....there are many safe antibiotic eye ointments available from your Vet....to keep this infection from spreading and leading to blindness....please take kitty to a Vet asap -(

[cherbear99]

My mom used boric acid too. am scared to use though and my cat has an eye infection too.

[Mrs_Savas]

Eye discharge is generally a sign of an infection and that does require medication, usually antibiotics, or it can become very serious (I have seen more cats go blind in one eye than I can remember, it's very common with eye infections that go untreated).  Especially if the discharge is thick or creamy colored.

I really wouldn't use the boric acid solution (really!).  You should also avoid wiping the eye too much, as it could spread to the other eye pretty easily.

I understand that it can be costly, but it can be far more expensive if you let it go and it requires more serious treatment down the line.  If cost is an issue, there's an article in the Health Pages that might help (lower right side of this page).

Welcome to our forum!  And good luck!

[Jade59]

Our cat had this problem too.  She ended up having Cryptocaucus (sp?) which is a fungal infection.  We had to medicate her twice daily for 4mos and she's great now, but would have died had we not acted quickly.  

I agree with Enceph, discharge from the eyes is not a good sign.  

Please don't take any chances with your kitties health and get her to a vet right away.  It may be something very simple and not too costly.

Good luck!

[Encephalomalcia]

Sometimes the drainage can be due to an abcess tooth.  This happened to one of our cats.  We took her into the vet too late.  She developed cancer and died.  You should take your cat to the vet to make sure you have the correct diagnosis.  Watery eyes is a sign of a sick cat.  

[zodiacqueen]

I would not try the boric acid on a cat because you don't know if it'll do harm or not.

Is there a reason you don't want to hear the suggestion of a vet?  The discharge from the eye could be caused by glaucoma or an eye infection, both of which can cause blindness if you let it go.  Sorry, there is no magical cure that we can offer to spare you the expense of a vet.