Cat’s constant eye infections. At my wit’s end
My 13YO male cat has had nearly constant eye infections since I adopted him in 2020. We have seen multiple vets but most have been completely useless and insist on prescribing him eyedrops (Tobramycin, Ciloxan, Optixcare extracellular matrix, maxitrol among others that I have lost track of) which never work.
Our former vet suggested we try a Methylprednisolone Acetate (40 mg/ml) injection and it miraculously solved his eye issues for a good 2-2.5 years. We ended up taking him for an injection every 3-4 months but eventually had to stop in fall of 2025 as he was no longer able to tolerate the medication. I believe it was congestive heart failure and/or fluid in his lungs but was out of town so my boyfriend took him in. He was given a furosemide injection and a few days of furosemide tablets and was completely fine.
His eye problems came back worse than ever in the new year (winter 2026) and our new vet has been useless saying that this is feline herpes and that antibacterial eyedrops will fix it despite the 20 pages of vet records that I provided and prescribed ciloxan which has done nothing.
I am considering reaching out to a veterinary ophthalmologist as a last ditch effort to fix this issue even though our vet said he sees no reason for our cat to see one. I live in Canada but am close to the US border so am even willing to take him to the Seattle area if someone there knows what they’re doing.
I am miserable and my poor cat is miserable. I’m starting to run out of money and patience and don’t know what to do.