From: "Kerrie Batcho" To: "Friends" Subject: Emailing: Eyes Wide Open Choosing the Right Eye Drops and Washes For Your Cat.htm Date: Sunday, January 21, 2007 9:49 PM Eyes Wide Open : Choosing the Right Eye Drops and Washes For Your Cat -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eyes Wide Open Part Two: Choosing the Right Eye Drops and Washes For Your Cat -------------------------------------------------------------------------- by Lee Harper, Mockingbird Persians & Exotics In Eyes Wide Open: Part One, we discussed the various things that can cause your beautiful cat to squint in the show ring. The list includes dry eyes, infections, allergies, dust, hair and grooming products, just to name a few of the possible culprits. Other Reasons A Cat Might Not Open Its Eyes Wide: ~ Very Laid Back Personality ~ ~ Tired & Sleepy ~ ~ Feeling Sexy ~ ~ Bored ~ ~ Shy ~ Once you have determined the cause of your cat's squinting, the next thing to do is choose an eye drop or a combination of eye drops and eye washes to help solve the problem. Your goal is not only to help your cat open its eyes wide but to make your cat's eyes more comfortable. The Minimum Eye Care Products You Should Have in Your Grooming Kit: a.. Eye Wash b.. Moisturizing eye drops c.. Antibiotic eye drops Types of Eye Drops and Eye Washes: If you stand in front of the display of eye care products at your local drugstore you quickly become aware that there is an almost overwhelming number of brands and types of drops, ointments and washes specifically designed to help keep the human eye happy and healthy. It can be quite confusing... and daunting to choose the right one of these products for your cat. Before you can make an informed choice, it is important to first understand the purpose of each different type of eye drop. Once you understand that, you can select the best one to help your kitty have wide open and comfortable eyes. The "big" manufacturers of eye care products include Alcon, Allergan, Bausch & Lomb, Optrex, and Visine... and most carry several products in each category of drops. While brand names differ, the types of eye care products fall into seven basic categories: 1.. Eye Washes: Used to clean foreign bodies or materials from the surface of the eye 2.. Artificial Tears: Used to supplement a cat's natural tears 3.. Moisturizing or Lubricating Drops: Used to give additional lubrication to the eye 4.. Allergy Drops/Decongestant Drops: Used to reduce or eliminate the symptoms of allergies 5.. Contact Lens Solutions: Various products for the comfort, cleaning and wearing of contact lens users. Most of these can be used in the eye. 6.. Medicated Drops or Ointments: Antibiotics used to combat eye infection usually obtained from your veterinarian or ordered from a veterinary supply catalogue 7.. Anesthetic or Pain relieving drops: A prescription drug used by medical personnel to anesthetize the eye surface in order to perform various tests or eliminate pain. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1) Eye Washes: Every exhibitor should include an eye wash in their grooming kit. The eye wash is used to clean the eye of hair and dust and for emergency flushing of foreign bodies. Recommended Eye Washes include: a.. Optrex (Available in Canada or from PandEcats.com) b.. Collyrium for Fresh Eyes c.. Lavoptik Eye Wash d.. Tomlyn's Opticlear Veterinary Eyewash found at PETsMART. e.. Boric Acid solution Swan Boric Acid Solution is available at a Costco pharmacy. My Favorite: Optrex 2) Artificial Tears High viscosity artificial tears are used to supplement a cat's normal tear production. Because even simple stress can reduce the volume of your cat's tears and cause it to squint, simply adding some artificial tears to the cat's eye will often eliminate the problem. Artificial Tears come in both drops and gels and with or without preservatives. Recommended choices include: a.. Novartis Tear-Gel (available in Canada) b.. Alcon Tears Naturale c.. Allergan Refresh Liquigel d.. Visine Tears My Favorites: Novartis Tear-gel or Alcon Tears Naturale 3) Moisturizing or Lubricating Drops: Moisturizing or Lubricating drops, gels, and ointments all are used to reduce redness and act to lubricate the eye. Most are slightly thick substances, some are more greasy than others. Start with a light lubricating drop to see if that works for your cat and if not move on to more heavy-duty choices. a.. Bausch & Lomb Moisture Eyes Lubricant Eye Ointment soothes and comforts irritated, dry eyes. It temporarily relieves burning and irritation and protects against further irritation. b.. Bausch & Lomb Moisture Eyes PM Lubricant Eye Ointment is ideal for overnight protection from dry eye and for more serious cases of dry eye. It is Preservative-free c.. Allergan Celluvisc Preservative free. Individual packets with twist off tops carboxymethylcellulose sodium 1% Single Use Containers d.. Allergan Refresh Eye Drops e.. Refresh Tears Plus Lubricant Eye Drops My Favorites: GenTeal by Ciba Vision (Doesn't Sting) or Allergan Celluvisc Individual Packets Choosing Brands of Eye Care Products Once you decide the type of eye care product you want to use, the next decision is which brand to pick. Read the label... then experiment. The first step is to try the eye drop in your own eyes. Does it Sting or Burn? Does it make your eye feel good? Don't expose any eye drops to high temperatures when traveling. 4) Allergy /Decongestant/Antimistimine Drops: Allergy symptoms can include itching, redness and stuffiness. If your cat has red rimmed eyes due to an allergy and you give an allergy eye drop, the redness should disappear within minutes. The active ingredient in most over-the-counter allergy drops is Naphazoline Hydrochloride in varying concentrations. Below is a list of recommendations from the lowest to the highest concentration of Naphazoline Hydrochloride: a.. Optrex Sterile Plus Decongestant Eye Drops (.01%) b.. Baush & Lomb Allergy drops (.012%) c.. Clear Eyes ACR (.012%) d.. Alcon Naphcaon-A (.025%) e.. Allergan Albalon-A (.05%) Note: Allergy drops may cause blue eye color to fade slightly. Some drops also sting momentarily. My Favorite: Bausch & Lomb Allergy Drop Timing How quickly a product affects the eye and how long the effect last is critical in deciding when to apply the product to your cat's eyes. 7) Products for Cleaning/Disinfection/Comfort of Contact Lens Users Many of the products meant for the use with soft contact lens can be used directly in the eye. a.. Bausch & Lomb Sensitive Eyes Lens Lubricant A rewetting solution for contact lens wearers b.. Allergan Refresh Contacts My Favorite: Bausch & Lomb Sensitive Eyes Lens Lubricant 5) Medicated drops or ointments: You should always carry an ophthalmic antibiotic in your show kit in case of a scratch or abrasion to the eye. If therapy is started immediately, ulcers can be prevented. a.. Gentocin Eye Drops b.. Gentocin with Durafilm Not to be used unless an eye stain has confirmed there is no ulcer present in the eye c.. Terramycin Ointment for a bacterial eye infection d.. Viroptic Drops to combat viral infections e.. Zithromax Oral antibiotic for bacteria or virus infections with symptoms that include conjunctivitis My Favorite: Gentocin (without Durafilm) 6) Anesthetic drops (Prescription Only) A last resort to help the cat with uncomfortable eyes is the use of a pain relieving or numbing eye drop. These drops are used by opthamologists as an effective local anesthetic for topical application to the eye. The drop numbs the surface of the eye temporarily. They take a few minutes to take effect and last from 10-30 minutes... so timing is critical if you want them to be working while the cat is in the show ring. Brand names include: a.. Tetracaine b.. Opticaine (requires refrigeration) c.. Ak-taine d.. Pontocaine NOTE: While these drops make your cat's eye more comfortable, there is the slight chance that because the cornea of the eye cannot feel pain, it might be scratched accidentally - so if you choose to use this drop, use it sparingly and with caution! NOTE: These drops are very drying, so before using them, moisturize your cat's eyes. Once your cat returns from the show ring, use an eye wash to flush the eye, then add more moisturizing drops. Some cats will actually shut down and close their eyes refusing to open them because the numbing drops are very drying and can cause irritation and swelling of the conjunctiva in some cats. Overuse or abuse of any type or brand of eye drops can lead to a cat building up a resistance to the medication, so it is important to use them only when they are absolutely necessary. More is not better! Note: Eye drops and washes are routinely used by cat show exhibitors along with the many grooming products, powders, sprays etc. and these products are often sold at booths in show halls across the country. However, the line between good grooming, good health care and show rules can be open to some personal interpretation. All exhibitors should be aware of CFA Show Rule 3.07 "the use of any device, substance, or chemical; e.g. tranquilizer, hormone, antihistamine, that will alter the natural actions or appearance of a cat or kitten, is forbidden, including the surgical alteration of the cat's anatomy such as cropped or stapled ears, docked or shortened tails." Related Articles: a.. Eyes Wide Open: Part One b.. The Correct Way to Give Eye Drops -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eye & Wound Grooming Powder This is the famous eye and wound antibiotic powder that exhibitors of Whites and Bi-Color Persians and Exotics "swear" by for keeping eye stains at a minimum. Specially compounded for PandEcats by a Canadian pharmacy, our powder is the same formulation as the original Ayerst product that is no longer manufactured, except without the cortisone. 45 gram plastic bottle Member Price $26 Place an Order Non-Member Price $31 Place an Order Pricing is in US dollars and includes taxes/packaging/handling & shipping* -------------------------------------------------------------------- Optrex Sterile Eye Wash Optrex is a wonderful sterile eyewash often used in conjunction with the Eye and Wound Powder. Not only is it a safe gentle wash for flushing and cleaning the eyes, it is excellent for dampening the hair around the eye prior to "packing" the area with the eye and wound powder. The Optrex helps the powder stay on the hair longer and work better. Large 300 ml glass bottle Member Price $26 Place an Order Nonmember Price $31 Place an Order Pricing is in US dollars and includes taxes/packaging/handling & shipping* -------------------------------------------------------------------- CFA Grand Points Chart & Regional/National Points Chart (set of two charts) Never be confused about your cats points again! Whether you need to calculate Grand points, or Regional/National points, these easy to use charts will make sure you know your cat's points earned in every ring. The charts are printed in full color with alternating columns of red and black for ease of reading. Each chart is fully laminated for quick cleaning and is almost indestructible. Just slip them into your show bag! There is a pale yellow chart for calculating grand points, and a soft white-toned chart for calculating regional and national points. The National/Regional Point Chart even shows the points earned to 15 places for kitten entries of 100 or more! Don't go campaigning without them! These charts make a great surprise gift for a special friend or for a newcomer to the cat fancy Set of 2 charts: each is approximately 11" high and 4.5" wide Member Price $19/set Place an Order Nonmember Price $24/set Place an Order Pricing is in US dollars and includes taxes/packaging/handling & shipping* -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top Back Homepage Copyright © ShowCatsOnline.com/PandEcats.com 2000-2003 All Rights Reserved Copying or redistribution of this article is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of ShowCatsOnline.com/PandEcats.com Website Designed and Maintained by ShowCatsOnline Web Design We'd love to design YOUR cattery website