Extreme eye ulcer

Hi, I was wondering if someone knows a lot about eye issues and could help me get another opinion. I am in contact with a lovely eye specialist but due to the severeness of my cat‘s eye issues I am quite worried. We first presented her with what we thought was just a light eye infection. As it got worse with regular eye drops, we went to the specialist who diagnosed her with eosinophilic keratitis. we treated it with virgan and optimmune but it got worse quickly. it is at a point where her eye clearly cannot be brought back to normal. because my cat weighs barely 3 kg and is almost 14 years old, my vet says we should try to avoid amputation. her eye looks incredibly scary and we are on day 9/10 with antibiotic pills + blood serum eye drops. my vet wants to continue with serum drops but add Cefenicol drops and Stromease. I don’t even know what a good outcome would be now, if the eye doesn’t suddenly collapse, what would a „healthy“ version be like? I am trying to add a photo but the option is not working for me. It is quite graphic. i could not find any similar photos online which makes me worry a lot

I was able to upload it like this: Tuesday: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bvqOYlKfkFSeOVigGh6czArEtdIatX5h/view?usp=drivesdk Today: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OdK2Q8Owz47xurldvbrV6pvaLP6VeR8S/view?usp=drivesdk It almost looks like there isn’t anything to save anymore, but my vet says to keep going as long as she is acting as usual. she does eat, play and cuddle, she just sleeps more which is understandable.  

Hi, and yes that doesn't sound good at all. I'm really glad to hear you're in touch with an eye specialist, because these can be really tricky to resolve. I have always considered that an eye that is both painful and blind isn't worth saving unless there is a very good chance of a full recovery - which sounds unlikely in this case. Overall, if your vet is recommending enucleation (removal of the infected eye), then that does sound like it really would be worth considering. Good luck with her!

Thanks so much, this was helpful advice at the time. The eye specialist suggested trying longer to save the eye from being removed but my cat got very frustrated with all the drops and meds (understandably). Our regular vet and I decided to go with the removal and we are now 5 days post surgery. It’s been a really rough few days with emergency vet and regular vet visits almost every day as she wasn’t eating or drinking. But today things are looking up. If someone comes across this thread, I just want to say I know it is scary and it is a horrible decision to make. But if you look at your cat and they are in pain and scared of the next eye drop application, you know it’s time. Surgery is always a risk, especially in an older cat, but if my sensitive little almost 14-year old Luna made it, your kitty will too. 💜

Thanks so much for letting us know how she got on - and I'm really glad to hear she's doing better.