My cat had an accident

Question
I have a 21 year old female cat who has been in pretty good health. A few weeks ago she hit her head very hard on a piece of furniture. I believe she had a concussion because her right pupil refused to dilate in the dark and remained that way most of the night. In the morning, she had blood in her eye. I took her to the vet and after an exam they said she had sustained quite a trauma and weren't sure if her retina was detached. That was about 10 days ago and I have been putting drops in her eyes 3x daily. (She squeezes them out and I've missed doses from time to time because she won't come out from under the bed!) The drops are "Neomycin and Polymyxin B sulfates and Dexamethasone Opthalmic suspension. Here eye still isn't completely clear and it seems when I miss a dose, I see more blood in her eye. Where is the blood coming from and can you suggest anything else I can do for her?  She is a calico, domestic short haired cat.

Answer
Hi Kriss,
Wow 21 yrs is pretty great! Good job keeping her healthy that long. The Dexamethasone in her drops are there to help with the imflammation on the cornea. When you don't get them in there, the eye starts to send out the blood vessels to heal the eye but in doing so it covers them with tissue.

That is what they are trying to do and the Dexamethasone keeps that from happening. If you let it happen she wouldn't be able to see at all as her eye would have a whitish to brown coating on it.

So you need to get as many doses in her as you can. I know it's hard. If the drops bother her, go get the same thing in an ointment. It stays in the eye longer and lasts longer as a result. It is not easier to put it, but it doesn't burn either and sometimes the Dexamethasone in the drops can burn.

If nothing else works your vet can give her an injection of vetalog in the eye that will work longer.
I hope this helps. Let me know how she is doing in a few days.