Do cats get itchy, gunky, puffy eyes from spring allergies like humans?

Question

Hello. Im wondering if cats get itchy allergy eyes like humans? Redish on skin around eye, some gunk, slight puffiness. Cant upload pic, sorry. Last year/this year his eyes have gotten like this in Spring. The 1st time the vet ran dye to rule out injury/gave us meds. The meds didn't seem to help. I washed his eyes with a warm rag often and after a month it was normal. He has no coughing, snotty nose or other visible issues. Eating, bathroom all normal and no home changes. Thanks for any advice! Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Male | neutered | 14 lbs

Lauren Kennedy, DVM · Accepted Answer

Yes, this can be very normal. Cats and dogs can get allergies just like humans. Sometimes the allergic reaction manifests as itchy skin, but they can also have itchy, watery eyes, and respiratory symptoms. Based on what you were describing with your cat, since it happens seasonally, I would be suspicious of allergies. One other thing to consider in your cat would be an upper respiratory virus. These viruses can remain in the system for long periods of time and cause ocular symptoms like you are describing and also sometimes cause respiratory symptoms. Sometimes cats need medication to get over these respiratory viruses but often times they self resolved within a couple of weeks. Since rinsing his eyes out routinely last year helped I would recommend starting with that again. You may also want to try and over-the-counter anti-histamine like Zyrtec as well. If you don’t see improvement within a reasonable period of time then you might want to take him back to the vet to have him checked out. Sometimes goopy eyes can be indicative of more complicated diseases like anterior uveitis or corneal ulcers. I hope this helps. Thanks reason Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Do cats get itchy, gunky, puffy eyes from spring allergies like humans?

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