Conjunctivitis

[Jodi]

Chessa has conjunctivitis in her right eye which we are giving her eyedrops for. The vet said that it is not contagious to other cats, so Chauncey should not get it just by being in contact with her. However, I forgot to ask..

Can it spread to Chessa's other eye? And this may be an even sillier question... Can it spread to people? Chessa is always rubbing her face against mine and I was just curious.

Thanks in advance for the replies!!!

[Tina B and crew]

I'm not sure about that Jodi...I'll let Traci come to the rescue on it But I would think it would depend on the cause of it. If it is a herpes virus I thought it was contagious...but I'm not sure. Hope Chessa is feeling better soon. I hate to see kitties with their eyes all watery

[Mona]

Jodi~

Conjunctivitis is highly contagious. It is like when people have "pink eye" and it spreads to both eyes.

My kitten recently developed a runny eye with one eye after a cold, and her vet prescribed an ointment with an antibiotic in it. It cleared up almost immediately with treatment. I only had to treat the one eye.

I recommend having your vet give you an ointment.

As for spreading to humans, I am not sure, I do know it would probably be best to obstain from kissing and rubbing until the ointment has taken affect. This is my nursing training coming out.

Good luck and let us know updates.

Mona, Honeybun and Little Chloe

[davet]

it depends on the type and cause of the conjunctivitis but in my experience it is fvery rare for it to go to the other eye or another cat, but just keep an eye on it.....now that sounds like a stuped statement, ie keep an eye on the eye....

[Traci]

Jodi, when you first posted, you didn't say if there was any discharge, just glazed and possibly dilated pupil. If no discharge is present, chances are, it will not spread to the other eye. However, if there is an infection present, it certainly can spread to the other eye regardless, plus grooming habits, rubbing the eyes etc. It sounds like a mild case of conjunctivitis with no accompanying infection, etc, so follow the course of the opthalmic drops and notify your vet at once should it persist past the course, or if other symptoms develop, changes in the eye, etc.

I'd get a followup on her after the course of the drops are finished, just to make sure everything is ok.

Don't think this can transmit to you, very few feline viruses are transmitted to humans-- your vet is probably correct in assuming this is conjunctivitis only with no apparent infection. Other problems like pinkeye found in livestock can certainly be transmitted to humans.

[Lupie Linda]

I know this is an old subject, but I will answer anyway for future reference. As a coincidence, I called the vet and asked them about this last week, as one of the two cats I am getting had the herpes virus (conjunctivitis) when he was tiny and his eye still waters occasionally at 9 months. I had real reservations about this kitten..

The vet said -- it is VERY contagious to other cats but not humans. However, the reason my kitten's eye waters is a common problem, which he may or may not outgrow. It should not be anything that would require medicines or future doctor visits. His eye will just water for a little while when it flares up, usually brought on by stress -- just like humans who are prone to cold sores (also a herpes virus) will get cold sores from stress.

Linda

[Guest]

Oh ya, one more note that may be interesting.

None of the other cats in the cattery have conjunctivitus. So even though he was contagious with the initial conjunctivitis, the leftover watery eye is not. He is not kept separate from the other cats at all.

Linda

[Traci]

as one of the two cats I am getting had the herpes virus (conjunctivitis)...The vet said -- it is VERY contagious to other cats but not humans.

Linda, I'm alittle confused, your vet said your kitty had herpesvirus (which actually is rhinotracheitis)....while it is indeed contagious to other cats, I do hope your vet explained to you other symptoms of the herpesvirus. The eye watering may be a persistent or lifelong problem, but so can immunological stress, at any point in life, especially during times of stress (or in cats tested positive for FELV/FIV). For this reason, I would have this kitty in particular, get an annual exam or more frequent check-ups more often. Other signs of persistant herpesvirus include chronic rhinitis, sinusitis, ulcerative keratitis, upper respiratory infections, chronic discharge from nasal passages, sneezing, coughing or fever. If it is simply the ocular discharge and it is chronic, might want to rule out calicivirus or bacterials.