What is up with Marble's eyes?

Marbles is a 22-month-old tortoiseshell cat who came to see us at our Waiuku clinic with a sore eye of about a week's duration.

One of our Vets examined Marbles and found a deep corneal ulcer and severe swelling to the left eye.

Marbles’s ulcer was suspected to be caused by the Feline Herpes virus. Feline Herpes virus (commonly known as one of the causes of ‘cat flu’) is a common upper respiratory tract infection in young cats. Cats infected with Herpes virus often become carriers for life. Cats can start to shed the virus and become ill again when exposed to stressors such as travel, relocation, boarding, breeding, and pregnancy.

Herpes is one of the leading causes of eye issues in cats. Most cats will present with conjunctivitis but corneal ulcers can occur as the virus replicates inside the cornea (the clear surface of the eye). These ulcers can be aggressive, persistent and difficult to get on top of quickly.

Thanks to Marbles’ dedicated owners and their consistency with both the topical and oral medications, we saw significant improvement with Marbles’ eye at the follow-up check a week later.

One final recheck was done 3 weeks from the initial visit, and Marbles’ eye was almost back to normal. Marbles may have a small amount of scarring left over but has done exceptionally well to heal what can sometimes be a long and problematic journey in some cats.

Dr Christina Booker, Pet Vet, Waiuku.