Mysterious Maine Coon eye problems

[Sophie's Mum]

Our female maine coon Sophie is 4 yrs old. She has always squinted a little when waking up - we thought it was very cute. All of a sudden three weeks ago when I come home from work, her third eyelid is covering half of her eye. Our vet does a stain test, no apparent injury, but we start her on antibiotic drops. A week later no apparent improvement. No problem with eating, playing, beating up on the male cat, using the litterbox, etc. So the vet wonders whether there might be nerve damage to the third eyelid and suggests stopping medication. Two days later the other eye is angry and pink with discharge. Back onto the antibiotics. The second eye gets a little better but still irritated looking, original eye the same. Took blood plus swabs from both eyes and tested for herpes, chlamydia (sp?) and other stuff - all negative. Then we try the Schirmer test for dry eye. Normal should come in 10 to 15, Sophie's didn't make it to 5. We get drops for a compounded solution of cyclosporine. One drop in each eye the first night and the poor little girl spends hours scratching at her eyes and eyes are closed - the drops are so irritating to her eyes. Did lots of internet research and it appears that cyclosporine treatment is common for dogs but unusual for cats. So we're back to the drawing board with the vet, basically grasping at straws.
I would love to hear from one of the consultants or vets as to other ideas. Or anyone that has had similar problems. Thanks for any help.

[rg_girlca]

Hi Sophie's Mum,

I have no idea what is going on with your precious girls eyes, but it sounds awful. The only thing that I would suggest is to ask your vet to give you a name of an eye specialist for animals. I had to go that route when my vet was treating my Lhasa Apso numerous times for his eye problem with no results. Once he was seen by the specialist and got the proper treatment, he had no more problems with his eyes. Obviously it was a bit more expensive, but well worth it.

Prayers on the way that you are able to get answers on what is causing your Sophie's eye problems and get the proper treatment for it.

[Sophie's Mum]

Thanks. I actually spent some time on the internet last night and found a couple of ophthalmologist vets in our area and will be asking about a referral today. We love our vet but think that this situation may require a specialist.

[quincymycat]

I dont know if it is the breed or what, but I have three coons and it seems to be an almost constant passing around of eye infections. It does not affect the other two kitties though.
For my guys, usually gentamycin drops work...if the stain is negative for damage, the next step if it is really stubborn is cortisone drops. I have had episodes with one guy that required 4-5 rounds of treatments before it cleared...
I second that she should be seen by a specialist...better to be safe than sorry