Watery eye related to tumor removal?

by Lacey
(Maryland)

My kitty is an 11 year old tabby. She just had 5 teeth removed, 3 were on her right side where apparently there was a tumor. The veterinarian said the tumor was fully removed, but her gums are still red a bit. This was before Christmas, now a couple weeks ago I noticed her right eye draining goop, clear but a little cloudy. The veterinarian did a dye test and said it's not scratched and prescribed triple antibiotic drops twice a day for 2 weeks. It's been 3 and no improvement. Could she have an infection in her socket that's causing the eye to drain? We don't know what to do now, obviously she hates the vet at this point!


Dear Lacey,

Thank you for writing in with concern for your kitty. I don't know if the teeth that were pulled or if the tumor on the right side were on the upper or lower part of the jaw. If they were on the upper right side, I would be a little concerned about whether part of the tumor was extending into the area behind the eye.

There are a few questions that would be important to ask your veterinarian in regards to the tumor. Was the tumor sent out to a laboratory for a pathology report? If so, was there indication whether it was malignant or benign, and whether or not the margins were clean? Clean margins indicate that the entire area was removed. Also, did your veterinarian measure your cat's ocular pressure and blood pressure? Considering the location of the tumor and the current discharge issue, an ocular pressure reading is especially important.

Did your veterinarian look at your cat's retina? And did he say she had conjunctivitis or that her membranes were pink? My concern is that there are many things besides a scratch that could cause her cat eye discharge.

Even though your kitty is likely not happy about all of these trips to the veterinarian, continuing to follow-up with this until it is resolved is very important.

Best wishes,
Dr. Neely