Dr. Lucas Kandefer from the Niagara Frontier Veterinary Society is talking today about eye care and eye issues with our pets. Dr. Kandefer say they can see a lot of common conditions that can lead to really serious complications when it comes to our pets so when you see eye issues; when you see your pet blinking, hold an eye closed or you see a lot of discharge it’s really important to call your vet right away because that can be a really critical time when you can get the right care at the right time.
It is really common with what they see with cats, eye discharge and eye issues is associated with the common herpes virus. Dr. Kandefer says most cats, especially if you got them from a shelter, have been exposed to the herpes virus and some cats, once you get it you have it for life. They get stressed out and a little under the weather and you can see this disease come out. Sometimes the sneezing, sometimes eye discharge and sometimes both. This can be associated with significant discomfort in the eyes. He goes on to say sometimes for life, they have a little bit of tear staining, a little bit of tears dropping down the eyes. As long as they are comfortable, he says sometimes the treatment can be significant and run the risk of causing issues better than the cure. If you see discharge, talk to your veterinarian. There are a lot of things they can help make better.
In dogs what they see most commonly is the dog out chasing things and having a good time and something can get poked in their eye. Eye ulcers are common in dogs. Dr. Kandefer says if you see your dog blinking or with one eye closed, you don’t always see ulcers, or scratches in their eye, you just see the signs of pain. Make sure you recognize your dog being uncomfortable and call the vet early. He says they have seen cases where in as little 3-5 days dogs have perforated eyes and had to lose their eyes because they can’t fix it at that point. When you see early eye conditions and eye issues call your veterinarian, some are chronic and they can help you manage long-term and keep them out of the clinic and others are more active and acute and you have to make sure you get them taken care really quickly.
Click here to go to the Niagara Frontier Veterinary Society.
