My cat is 17 years old, takes medication bid for hyperthyroidism, and woke up this morning with pink eye and yellowish

Thanks for trusting me to help you and Angus today. I am a licensed veterinarian with over 34 years of experience and would be happy to work with you. While I am not legally able to establish a diagnosis or provide a prescription without the benefit of an in-person exam, I should be able to help you decide what is the best course of action for your pet.

I would like to ask you for a bit more information to better assist you if you don’t mind to gain a better understanding of what is going on.

**NOTE**This website will automatically offer an upgrade for a premium service phone call. The request is not coming from me and you can simply ignore the prompt by pressing decline. I am not able to offer phone consultations at this time but would be happy to continue to chat with you here. If you request a phone call, you will be contacted by a different expert.

I understand that you are concerned about Angus's eye discharge and redness.  Let me see if I can help.

Is he rubbing it or acting like it is bothering him?

Irritation or allergic conjunctivitis is one possible cause, but there are other things that can make a cat's eye appear that way including anterior uveitis (inflammation of the eyeball itself), dry eye, scratches or even glaucoma. None of these conditions can be identified by visual evaluation alone and further testing is often needed to differentiate.  If you are seeing a yellow discharge, that is a sign that secondary bacterial infection is starting and he will need to have antibiotic eyedrops prescribed after the cause is identified.

In the meantime, it is best to keep any discharge from building up around his eyes by wiping gently with a warm water cloth. You can try flushing his eyes with eyewash or saline solution (like contact wearers use). He may also get some relief from an artificial tear type solution applied as frequently as needed to keep the eyes lubricated. The product called Genteal® is available over the counter (OTC) as a solution or a gel.

Please keep me updated if anything changes. You can reply to this post as it is our private chat, and I will receive a notification and can reply when I am able.

I hope this is helpful. Please let me know if you have ANY other questions. My goal is to give you 100% satisfaction and if you are not yet satisfied, please reply so I can clarify for you.