For the rest of this article, when I talk about corneal injuries, assume sclera injuries can be the same. It is subject to the same injuries that the cornea is, but these injuries are less common since it’s not nearly as out there. You can only see a small part of the sclera in a normal cat eye. It’s like the counterpart to the cornea only it’s not clear, so light doesn’t penetrate it. The sclera is the white membrane that covers the back part of the eye. It’s made up of three layers, which is important when your veterinarian is trying to determine the extent of an injury to the cornea. It’s what holds the liquid filler of the eye in. The cornea is the clear membrane that covers the outer surface of the eyeball. All three eyelids are subject to injuries like tears or lacerations. Most of the time, you won’t even notice this eyelid unless your kitty is feeling ill or if there’s an injury to the eye. That third eyelid attaches at the lower corner closest to your cat’s nose, and when it closes, it moves up and outward to cover the eye. They have an upper and a lower eyelid like you do, they also have a third eyelid or a nictitating membrane as it’s called. Your cat has three eyelids per eye, that’s right, three. Let’s take a look at the different parts, injuries that can occur, and how they are treated for a speedy recovery. Just like there are many parts to your cat’s personality, there are many parts to their eye that can become injured.

Whatever the cause of an eye injury in cats, the injury’s extent is going to be the primary determining factor of what the treatment will be and how long it will take to heal. They come from fighting with the neighborhood critters, rough and tumble type play with their roommates, or even self-inflicted from an errant claw while scratching their ears. Eye injuries can occur in cats for many reasons.

Scratch on eye