Oh those puppy dog eyes, or those crazy cat eyes. We love to look into our pets eyes. The sweetness, the silliness, the love, all of those things show up in those wonderful eyes.
So, what if those eyes don’t look right? Are the pupils different sizes? Are they red, or leaking? Are they swollen or cloudy?
Just like humans, our animals' eyes can indicate a variety of things. Here we want to give you some clues for when you should bring your animal into the vet if his eyes look cloudy in Oak Park, CA..
It’s not abnormal for your cats or dogs to have different sized pupils, on occasion. Kind of like when we lift our eyebrows, it’s often that they are expressing emotion, they may have just woken up and one eye is adjusting faster than the other, or it could just be old age. However, if you see this come on suddenly, one pupil is smaller or larger, and the phenomena stays for an extensive amount of time, this is when you should see a vet in Oak Park, CA. Drugs that your pet is on, inflammation, trauma, infection, and cancer can all produce abnormal pupil sizes in your animal.
Pink eye and dry eye aren’t just human conditions either. If your dog or cat is scratching or rubbing their eyes, if their eyes are red or leaking, they could have an infection like pink eye, or it may be the opposite problem that they aren’t producing tears, which can lead to corneal ulcers. Most pink eye and dry eye issues can be readily fixed, usually with eye drops, either antibacterial for pink eye or artificial tears in the case of dry eye. Make sure to talk to your vet in Oak Park, CA so that you are getting the best treatment and wash your hands when applying drops for your animals.
Swollen eyes in your pet can mean an infection, an injury, or even allergies. Generally, with an infection, there will be leakage, or some sort of discharge, and with an injury, whether it’s a sting or a cut, there will be a wound. Just as we can be allergic to pets, pets can have allergies too. Parasites, like fleas, certain foods, and even pollen can affect our pets and cause them to have itchy swollen eyes. Your vet can narrow down the cause and provide your pet with relief.
Cataracts and glaucoma are both common in animals, especially as they age. Both can result in blindness, and at the very least poor eyesight. Cloudiness in the eyes can also be a symptom of many other conditions, including corneal ulcers. With cats, the symptom can indicate feline herpesvirus which can be a cause of major upper respiratory disease. Cloudy eyes should always be checked by your vet in Oak Park, CA.
Your vet can test for a variety of eye problems, utilizing a special stain that will turn color to indicate problems, tear tests, to make sure that your pet is producing enough and not too many tears, and eye pressure tests to check for any issues with their cornea.
We can’t put glasses on our pets, yet, but we can do the best to make sure that their eyes are in good, healthy, working order. Just take your pet to see the vet.
