Cat Scratched in the eye

Question
Hello, My cat was just recently taken to the vet for a weepy eye. He didn't have any colored discharge, just clear liquid. It was on and off for a month, and finally I had my husband take the cat in while I was on the road. They did several tests, including a stain test to find out that the cat had a small scratch on the eye near the lower eye lid. We have been putting saline drops and ointment in his eyes three times a day. I notice that the more we mess with it, the watery his eye gets, to the point where he is dropping full size tears tears from time to time. Is this normal to have the eye water so much after application? Today we only did it once, and he seemed less watery before the application. I am sure I am just worried, and I am sure it might have something to do with the fact that we are slightly irritating it more with the application, I just don't know if we are making it worse by medicating him. He doesn't seem bothered by it so much, but I worry. I have a follow up visit in two weeks, I just want to make sure I don't have him suffering more than necessary, or if this is a bad reaction to have.

Thanks,
Rachelle

Answer
Rachelle -

Applying meds to the eye may cause some discharge initially, but if the medicine is effective, the eye should be healing, not becoming more irritated.  Perhaps you should ask the doctor for a different type of eye medication as some antibiotics for the eye can be irritating.


Best Regards,

Charlotte Sherrell, DVM