Cats » Third eyelid problem

Zena	Third eyelid problem My cat is constantly showing his third eyelid almost halfway across his eye and (one to begin with) both eyelid are a pink/red colour looking a little swollen. it doesn't seem to cause him noticeable discomfort in any way. A little note on the side is that over the last year he has become more nervous, less responsive, distancing himself more - I have wondered for a while if he's suffering from mild depression though he does purr very often for me. Should I be worried? or leave him to it? 29/11/11 Answer this question
stuart	yes there is cause for concern. The protruding eyelids in cats tends to be an indication of some chronic health problem so definitely worth checking out as soon as possible. 30/11/11 If this answer helped you, please consider donating to our website or to the charities we support
Zena	I will get him to the vets as soon as i can. I have looked up pictures of feline eye problems and I reckon it is 'cherry eye', can you recommend any eye drops/ointments etc that I can use until then? 1/12/11
stuart	you can bathe with a dilute saline solution (1 teaspoonful salt to a pint of boiled water) but only likely to be of any benefit if there is active infection or inflammation of the conjunctiva. Thanks for the term cherry had slipped n my memory and I do usually associate it more with dogs than cats 1/12/11 If this answer helped you, please consider donating to our website or to the charities we support
Zena	i don't think it is cherry eye anymore - it doesn't seem to be the glad. definaetly the third eyelid a lot of the time, its mostly retracted and mostly white/clear. just every other day it seems so swell a little and looks inflamed, covering more of the eye. do you think i should try using an eye cleaning solution before taking him to the vets? remembering i'm a student, i'd also rather not spend more money than needed. it doesnt seem to be painful for beau, he's not bumping into things or anything like that so i'm not tooooo worried but i do want to get it sorted asap. 8/12/11
stuart	if there is any suggestion of any opacity in the cornea (cloudy surface) or it is irritating him then get him to the vets tomorrow if not then give it a bit of time. I am unable to recommend any specific treatment as I am unable to examine him. 8/12/11
Zena	no problem, there's no cloudiness, no signs of it bothering him. im going to start cleaning his eyes out with some wipes i've got from the vet pharmacy. and we'll see it if clears up - give it a week or so, if not ill get him to the vets. thank you for your help 9/12/11

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