VCA Animal Care Center of Sonoma County

Cats' eyes may be a window to their health

Published: May 09, 2012

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Cat's eyes are often beautiful, but they can also be indicative of how healthy the cat is on the inside. While eyes can develop infections of their own, they can also act as a window to other diseases, showing clinical signs that may indicate something more serious.

If your cat's eyes are inflamed, watering excessively or have any type of conjunctivitis, you should bring your cat to the veterinarian to find out what is going on. The issue may be as simple as trauma to the eye that can be cleared up with eye drops, but it may also be uveitis, which is usually indicative of a more serious issue.

Uveitis in cats is characterized by squinting and watering in the eyes. The eyes may also appear red or cloudy and the pupils may be smaller than usual. This condition is also painful for the feline, so it may either paw at it or prevent you from touching it, WebMD Pets reports.

It is important to address this issue with your vet and determine any underlying cause. For instance, uveitis is one of several clinical signs of feline leukemia. According to VCA Animal Hospitals, uveitis may also indicate diabetes, high blood pressure, toxemia, a metabolic disease or an infection.

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General Practice

We have over 540 animal hospitals in 41 states that are staffed by more than 2,000 fully qualified, dedicated and compassionate veterinarians, with more than 200 being board-certified specialists. The nationwide VCA family of general practice hospitals give your pet the very best in medical care, providing a full range of general medical and surgical services as well as specialized treatments*: Wellness, Spay/neuter, Advanced diagnostic services (MRI/CT Scan), Internal medicine, Oncology, Ophthalmology, Dermatology, Cardiology, Neurology, Boarding, Grooming

*services may vary by location.

Our family of pet hospitals stands out by delivering the greatest resources in order provide the highest quality care available for your pets. By maintaining the highest standards of pet health care available anywhere, we emphasize prevention as well as healing. We provide continuing education programs to our doctors and staff and promote the open exchange of professional knowledge and expertise. And finally, we have established a consistent program of procedures and techniques, proven to be the most effective in keeping pets healthy.

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Emergency Care

VCA Animal Care Center provides round-the-clock emergency services to care for your pet when your family veterinarian is not available. We have six veterinarians and many technicians on staff that specialize in emergency services and critical care to attend to any type of small animal emergency including trauma, toxin exposure, surgical and medical crises, just to name a few. Our experienced staff continually receives advanced training specific to emergency practices and procedures to insure your pet gets the best care possible.

In addition to emergency services, we are able to provide intensive care for critically ill pets that have been referred by family veterinarians. Our clinicians are on staff 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including weekends and holidays, allowing us to monitor and provide continuous care.

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