Tips For Administering Eye Drops And Ointments To Your Cat
If your cat develops pink eye or an eye infection, then your vet will likely have you administer several types of eye drops to help them heal. For the first few days or weeks, you'll likely need to give them antibiotic eye drops to help fight whatever infection is causing the pink eye. After that, you may need to follow up with a steroid cream or even some simple lubricating eye drops to further progress the healing. This all sounds well and good until you realize that putting eye drops in a cat's eye is not always easy. Here are some tips to help you in that regard.
Give your cat treats before and after.
Putting eye drops in your cat's eye will probably not be an overly pleasant experience for them. However, they'll likely tolerate it best if you pair it with something they do like, which for many cats is treats. Buy some of their favorite treats. Give them a treat, administer the eye drops, and then give them a second treat. After a few times of doing it this way, they'll realize not to try to get away when you administer the drops because there is another treat coming.
Hold their eye open gently.
One problem you might have is that your cat will close their eye before the drop is able to find its way in. You can correct this by gently holding your cat's eye open when you administer the drops. You don't need to really press on their skull or apply much pressure. Just rest one finger right above their eye and one finger just under it. This will slow down the rate at which your cat can close their eye, giving you more time to put the drops in.
Aim for the center of the eye.
When you squeeze the eye drops or ointment into the eye, hold the applicator about a half-inch above your cat's eye and squeeze the dropper. Always aim for the center of the eye. This way, the medication will spread out over the entire eye, treating the infection more effectively. You'll also waste less medication this way than if you were to insert the eye drops into the corner of the eye.
If you follow the tips above, you should have an easier time administering eye drops to your cat. If you're still struggling, you can reach out to your vet for advice.
For more information on cat pink eye products, contact your vet.
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