my cats third eyelids keep closing halfway across his eyes any ideas why?

Answer 1

Can be a sign of illness. May want to see a vet.

Answer 2

The third eyelid is used in cats and dogs to help distribute tears across the surface of the eye and to help remove dust and dirt. Both cats and dogs blink quite rarely compared to humans so need extra help to keep their eyes clean.

It can be seen clearly when a cat is asleep or resting with it's eyes open, and may act as a shade to reduce the amount of light coming into the eye.

Some breeds of cats such as persians have bulging eyes which the outer eyelids sometimes fail to cover completely meaning that the majority of the work falls to the third eyelid (making it visible more often)

It can also be seen when the cat is run down, or sick. Eye infections will make the third eyelid look inflamed and other illnesses will sometimes make it sit half-way across the eye - even when awake.

If there are other signs of illness, such as changes in eating, sleeping or toilet habits, or signs that the cat is in pain such as crying or hiding away then you should take it to the vet.

If the cat seems healthy in all other respects you may want to just accept it as the way your cat is. Some cats get dry eyes sometimes and the eyelid just sticks.

As with all animal questions - if it worries you a lot, take it to the vet.

Answer 3

I would say something is wrong. But what is the question. We got a kitten about 6 weeks ago and she does that too. Our vet said that usually means something is wrong. Cats typically do not close their third eyelid for no reason. Our kitten did have an upper respitory infection, which is now gone, but the eye situation remains. Our vet said it could be eye herpes, which there is no treament for, but she did recommend putting Lycine (spelling?) on her food twice a day. This is supposed to help. We haven't been doing that cuz she hasn't been eating very good anyway. But you may want to get a second opinion with what's going on. Good luck.

Answer 4

Haw's syndrome, bilateral elevation of the third eyelids that is not due to dehydration, is thought to be caused by a problem with the autonomic nervous system. It can occur in conjunction with gastrointestinal disease, especially tapeworms and possibly other GI parasites, and has been linked to a torovirus by some researchers due to finding this virus in cats with chronic diarrhea and elevation of the third eyelids. Haw's syndrome may persist for as long as six months and that there is no effective treatment.
Since cats do eventually recover, the lack of a treatment doesn't seem as important as it might otherwise. Supposedly, putting phenylephrine drops in the eyes will cause the third eyelids to return to normal positioning in cats with Haw's syndrome but I have never actually tried this to see if it works. If tapeworms are contributing to the problem deworming may resolve it and is probably worth considering as a diagnostic test since tapeworms can be hard to find if segments are not being passed at the present time.

Chlamydiosis and herpes virus infection are sometimes associated with bilateral elevation of thethird eyelids but they usually have obvious ocular signs associated with them, as well.

Bilateral Horner's syndrome sometimes occurs, but this should produce miotic pupils on both sides. It may be hard to discern that this is present. Horner's syndrome occurs due to damage to the recurrent largyngeal nerve, anywhere along its path, which includes the chest, the neck, the brain and the local eye area. As long as there isn't a space occupying lesion in the chest, Horner's syndrome is often a temporary problem in cats, too.

I guess the good news is that this problem is highly likely to resolve and the bad news is that it might take a while and there usually isn't any way to speed up the process unless you luck out and your cat responds to deworming for tapeworms. Some cats are supposed to respond to metronidazole therapy, too. This is probably also due to decreasing gastrointestinal parasites like giardia or response from other GI problems like inflammatory bowel disease.

Make a appointment with your vet.

Answer 5

That's a sign that your cat isn't well. It could be anything from a fever to getting into something that was posinous. Can also be a sign of a bad reaction to medication, if your cats on any. Better get your cat vet checked ASAP.

Answer 6

iceez81 is absolutely correct. If the cat is otherwise eating, defacating, sleeping and playing normally, the half-mast third eyelid may just indicate the presence of tapeworm. This happened to my neighbor's cat.

Answer 7

the third eyelids usually come across the eyes when they are run down, possibly due to an infection of some kind.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

That's an indication that something is wrong. Unless you see this when you are waking him up. If it happens all the time or when he is not sleeping, take him to the vet ASAP!!

Answer 10

Take the cat to the vet for an eye exam.