Brave Pet of the Month - Feebee

Meet Feebee, our Brave Pet of the Month

Early last year Feebee came to see us because her right eye had become sore with green discharge, and she was reluctant to open the eye properly. Further testing revealed that she had a shallow scratch on the surface on her eye and also had developed a condition known as Dry Eye. This condition most commonly occurs when the immune system makes a mistake, and starts to attack the glands around the eyes that produce tears. This leads to the surface of the eye becoming drier than it should be, which means that the eyes are more vulnerable to getting scratched and to getting infected. If it goes on long enough, the constant damage to the surface of the eye can cause permanent scarring that is painful and stops them from being able to see properly. Thank goodness we’d caught it earlier and Feebee was not at that stage! Feebee also had a lump on the edge of her right eyelid, which was further irritating the eye.

We treated the infection and the scratch, and then started treatment to increase the amount of tears she was producing. Dry Eye requires life-long eye drops to help stop the immune system from attacking the tear producing glands, allowing them to get back to their job of producing tears. Frustratingly for Feebee, her owner and for us, Feebee’s immune system turned out to be particularly determined to attack those tear producing glands! And the eyelid mass causing further irritation to her right eye wasn’t helping either.

While Feebee’s tear production has not returned to normal levels of tear production, with eye drops she is now producing enough tears to protect her eyes from damage and infection. The eyelid lump on her right eye was removed early this year, meaning that this was no longer damaging the surface of the right eye. Feebee’s eyes are now feeling much more comfortable!