Martian

My cat's eye waters occasionally for no reason that's readily apparent. It's always just her left eye. It's clear fluid and appears to just be water (tears, I suppose). She doesn't seem particularly bothered and I'm hesitant to take her to the vet and incur a vet's bill over nothing.

She also sneezes. It never occurred to me that the two would be related, but maybe they are. I have a habit of leaving my windows open pretty much always; do cats get hay fever?

Anyone have any ideas as to why this is occurring and whether or not I should be concerned?

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RetroGunslinger

One of my cats tears up a lot, but she's alright. The sneezing combined with tearing up could very well be sinuses, and that's something that could really go either way on the "oh shit" scale.

Sorry, that's really not much help, at all.

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Grancey

Is this a sudden occurrence or an ongoing condition? Has she been around other animals recently?

My cat occasionally gets upper respiratory infections (usually after a trip to the vet where she may have been in contact with germs from sick pets). Her eyes will start to water. She will rub her eyes, her throat will get sore and and a few days later she will start sneezing. I always have her treated by the vet, and it usually clears up within a week or 10 days.

I'm not saying that your cat is sick, but these are symptoms that my cat has when she is sick. It very well could be something outside such as a pollutant from somewhere nearby or something blooming causing her irritation.

I always expect the worse so my cats go to the vet if I suspect something. I'd rather know than wonder. It's just that respiratory things can sometimes get worse, if that is what it is.

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Jenna

This happens to my cat when she pokes her eye. But that happens once a year, at most. So if this is a steady problem, I'd suggest taking her to the vet maybe?

Martian

It's happened occasionally before, but never this frequently. It seems nearly constant tonight. She's not rubbing at her eye at all, and it's only the left one that's watering, although when it's happened previously I haven't really paid attention so I can't say definitively that it's always the left one. I used to smoke and just assumed when I saw it watering before that it was that bothering her, but it's clearly not now. In any event, she's giving no indication that it's troubling her at all, or that she even notices.

She may have poked her eye on something -- she likes to explore, and might've gotten into something she shouldnt've.

I'm hesitant to take her to the vet because I've been off work on sick leave and until I get back full time again money's a bit tight. If it continues then I may have to just suck it up and take her in, but I'd rather not take her in and have to pay for an examination if it's not a problem.

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I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

ShaniFaye

I've noticed Morgana does this when we change how we are heating/cooling the house (when we switch from using the heather to the a/c and vice versa). Our new little one did this for a few days when we brought him home a few weeks ago but it cleared up

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JustJess

Since it's a progressive thing (getting worse, eh?), I'd say she's got a upper respiratory thing. Punkin gets these *constantly*, the little sickly bastard. This is what they do: if his eye's conjunctiva is really red, he'll get an eye ointment that I line his lower eyelid with twice a day, and either way, he gets an eye dropper of amoxicillin, 1 mL, twice a day for 7 days. I'll check on what eye ointment it is for you. You can look at her conjunctiva yourself: pull down her lower lid a little - all the moist stuff between her lid and her eyeball is what you're checking. If it's a darker color, i.e., not light pink, it's probably irritated.

My point in telling you this... URIs aren't difficult to diagnose yourself. And the meds aren't very expensive. You can get them without the vet, I think, and just treat her.

Another option - get some L-lysine (available at any place with a vitamin selection), and give her 500mg per day (you can split it up or do it all at once, as you like). Let me know if you need help figuring out how to shove a pill down her throat. This stuff helps their immune system - and it really does work. I've avoided vet trips by giving Punkin this stuff, and he does act and look better after about a day or so. Do it for about 7-10 days. No prescription needed, and it won't hurt her at all even if it's just allergies. (For that matter, neither will the other stuff.)

I hope that will help!

PS - Sneezing cats = never normal if more than just once in a while. Runny eyes, while common, are not good anyway. Small things progress to scary things, so help her immune system now, whatever way you can afford. You can also have a chat with your vet, and beg mercy - no one becomes a vet to get rich, you know?

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Martian

Thanks JustJess and everyone else.

I'm starting to think I was just over-reacting. It happens. She's still tearing on and off, but it hasn't been a major thing before last night and she hasn't sneezed lately. I've been keeping a close eye on her and she's still showing no signs of discomfort (she's currently sleeping on top of my monitor).

I did have a good look at her eye and she didn't much like that, although to be fair I wouldn't be too big a fan of someone pulling at my eyelids either. Her sclera is normal and the lining of her eye looks okay. She hasn't had any problems breathing either.

Do cats get allergies? I don't actually know if that's possible, but if a person were suffering from these symptoms I'd assume that was the cause; it is that time of year after all.

I'll keep an eye on her for now and if it persists or worsens we'll go visit the vet. The advantage of having a dog breeder for a step father is I know the good ones in the area.

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

snowy

Sneezing and eye-water sounds like allergies. Yes, cats get allergies. Chlortrimetron is safe for cats and should be available OTC. I believe we gave our cat half a pill every couple of days.

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Cynthetiq

maybe she's allergic to humans LOL

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lotsofmagnets

i know i´m allergic to our cat, and that one of our dogs is allergic to me....

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JumpinJesus

Has your cat ever seen you masturbate? That could explain the crying. The sneezing is her attempts to expel the image burnt into her cerebellum.

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noodle

^ lol, I've missed JJ.

Our newest little demon sneezes contantly and I have to pull everything out of his nose about every other day because he likes to stick his head under the refirgerator, the dishwasher, and into every crevice imaginable. He gets filled up with dust and cat hair. I find that the more I vacuum, the less he sneeze and has eye boogies.

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jRuntlets

Hey there -
To answer your question, yes, cats DO get allergies.
Did you change your litter recently? Do you notice the eye watering is worse after your kitty uses the box? I have two cats who are allergic to the clay litter and suffer from wheezing and eye watering after using the box. I remedied this by switching to Swheat Scoop (wheat) or Nature's Miracle (pine) litters.
Also, if you leave your windows open there is the potential that something outside is upsetting your cat's allergies. This is common with my older cat who has chronic eye problems from having a third eyelid that is scarred (thicker - so it rubs against the eye ALL the time) from being irritated by allergies.
It is also possible that your cat is allergic to things you use around the house. My cats are sensitive to candles and air fresheners. If you use sprinkle on carpet refreshers your cat may be allergic to them.

It is possible that your cat could also be having a reaction to something in the food. Check the label on your food to be sure there is no corn, wheat or soy. These three things are cheap protein sources and are all indigestible by cats who are a true carnivore. When fed they tax the immune system because they are indigestible.

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petre

sorry for topic diversion , but my cats drooling, albeit with small amounts, and i can see her teeth clearly, is this normal?

One more thing, is there anyway to reverse my cats fixing? I want kittens again....

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snowy

Cats often drool when they're happy. I had a babysitter who called my cat "Spitty Kitty" because when Fuzz Bucket was being petted, she would drool all over whoever was doing it. Most of the reasons for cats to drool are harmless, though you do want to double-check that the cat hasn't gotten into anything around the house. Once you've eliminated that possibility, identify what your cat is doing--or what you're doing to the cat--when it drools; some cats drool when they're scared.

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jewels

I feel for you. I'm going to have to fix my new kitties in a few weeks, get their shots, etc. I found some very low-cost alternatives by scouring the net. Maybe this link can help you find something less costly than you might expect.

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