The eye is a delicate and fragile structure that’s prone to injury through everyday activities: a rock could bounce up and strike a dog's eye while riding in the car; sand may blow into the dog's or cat's eyes while outside; a branch may strike and injure a dog's eye during a hike; hay can poke a goat, cow or chicken's eye while in the barn; woodchips can injure a small animal's eye while inside its cage; and a dog or cat can easily injure the eye during play or a fight.
Infection is another common eye problem in dogs, cats and other pets. An eye infection can occur when bacteria makes its way into the pet's eye from surrounding skin and fur. Airborne bacteria can find its way into the animal's eye from infected mucus that becomes airborne due to a cough or sneeze. And bacteria can also be introduced when an object comes in direct contact with the eye, so whenever a dog, cat or other pet suffers an eye injury, infection is always a possibility.
Disease can also affect vision. Some conditions, like cataracts and entropion (which occurs with the eyelashes grow inwards) are hereditary, while others occur spontaneously, like glaucoma.
The key to spotting a dog's eye injury or a cat's eye infection is to understand how a pet’s eyes normally appear. ye injuries and eye infections can be signaled by an array of symptoms, including the following:
- Discharge, often in shades of yellow, white and green.
- Tearing
- Squinting
- Bloodshot eyes
- Redness of the pet's eyelid and surrounding area
- Swelling of the animal's eyelid and surrounding area
- Enlargement of the eyeball
- Protrusion (bulging out of the socket) of the eyeball
- Clouding of the eye
- Debris or foreign objects in the pet's eye
- Pupil dilation in just one eye
- Non-responsive eyes (the pupils don’t respond to light or darkness)
- Glassy appearance
- Blue-tinged pupils
- Blood in or around the eye
