Gold leaf stuck on cat eyeball
November 17, 2013 11:29 AM   Subscribe

My new hobby is gilding things and now the cat has a big gold leaf stuck to her eyeball. How bad is it for the cat? Will it just go away by itself?
posted by uandt to Pets & Animals (14 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Take your cat to the vet now.
posted by hydropsyche at 11:31 AM on November 17, 2013 [9 favorites]


Why on earth are you not taking the cat to the vet right away? No, it is not likely to just go away on its own! If there were a gold leaf on your eyeball, would you just sit around hoping it would just go away?
posted by Librarypt at 11:34 AM on November 17, 2013 [3 favorites]


Vet NOW.
posted by mollymayhem at 11:38 AM on November 17, 2013 [4 favorites]


Response by poster: Ok, we managed to get it out and everyone is fine. Still, since tiny gold flakes are basically everywhere can I get an answer to the questions please? Its quite likely gold is now stuck to everyones eyeballs.
posted by uandt at 11:46 AM on November 17, 2013


Is there glue on the leaf? Is the leaf just "stuck" to the eye because it's very thin and the eye is moist? Either way, it's time for the vet, but in the second case, the vet can use one of several methods to easily and quickly remove the leaf. If there's glue involved, there's another series of problems. But yes, go to the vet now. It's not your fault this happened - remind me to tell you the story of the bird who fell into the glue trap [but survived after some very scary moments and a vet visit] but you need to go.
posted by Frowner at 11:46 AM on November 17, 2013


Nothing should ever stick to an eyeball. Even the most advanced, expensive contact lens available is a serious problem if it becomes dry and sticks to the eye.

Vet now.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 11:47 AM on November 17, 2013 [2 favorites]


You can rinse your cat's eyes with a mild saline solution or sterilized cold water (see this video). Do not squirt the liquid at the cat's eye but just dribble it in. I'd call the vet's office tomorrow when they're open normal hours and ask if you need to bring your cat in for further attention.
posted by jessamyn at 11:51 AM on November 17, 2013 [1 favorite]


Gold on eyeballs is not a great thing. Nothing on eyeballs is a great thing, except maybe contact lenses.

That said, gold doesn't react with anything, at least anything in or on the body (human or feline) so it's not going to do anything other than irritate the tissue. But since it's the eyeball we're talking about, you don't want to just leave it there.
posted by dfriedman at 12:00 PM on November 17, 2013 [3 favorites]


Its quite likely gold is now stuck to everyones (sic) eyeballs.
For heaven's sake, for eyesight's sake, get some protective craft glasses! Good luck putting glasses on your cat.
posted by Cranberry at 12:50 PM on November 17, 2013 [2 favorites]


The cat might be in pain, they can't talk, call the vet tomorrow.
posted by just asking at 3:03 PM on November 17, 2013 [1 favorite]


Even with the gold leaf gone, she could still have a scratch on her cornea or a similar injury from it. Please take her to the vet to be checked over.
posted by dilettante at 5:59 PM on November 17, 2013 [2 favorites]


With very tiny particles like dirt, usually the eye's natural cleaning mechanisms can remove it. Something like gold leaf though I wouldn't count on the eye to be able to do so. It's flat and made to stick to things, and eyeballs are quite sticky. As someone said, even once out your cat could have a scratched cornea which, left untreated, could develop into an infection and loss of the eye.

Try to wash your kitty's eye out with sterile water to get everything out and get her to the vet tomorrow. If people have gold leaf on their eyeballs, also try to wash the eyeballs out and if there's pain and difficulty seeing go to the doctor.
posted by Anonymous at 7:17 PM on November 17, 2013


"Ok, we managed to get it out and everyone is fine."

You won't know that the cat's eyeball is fine until a vet has examined it fully. The vet will put some fluorescein into the eye to show up any damage invisible to the naked human eye.

Please take the cat to the vet. Gold leaf might be thin, but it's still metal and will scratch a cornea easily. A scratched cornea can ulcerate very quickly if left untreated. This will be very painful for your cat and could lead to a painful blindness.

Cats are very stoic about pain and may not express it in ways that you can understand.

Please take the cat to the vet now.
posted by Arqa at 6:37 AM on November 18, 2013 [3 favorites]


Response by poster: Thanks everyone for the concern shown and all the different tips on gold leaf removal.

The cat never had any problems whatsoever after we removed the gold leaf. She was perfectly normal and in no apparent pain whatsoever except for the regular pre-barf tummy aches she had every month or so.

Now for the bad news. Yesterday Lily had a seizure and died more or less instantly. As death goes it was a good one. She'd had a great day (taking a quick trip outdoors, drinking water from the tap, hanging out in her private chair looking at the birds in the tree) and in the end she was basically petted to death.

So, I'm posting this in case there is some weird link between gold leaf exposure and having a massive stroke. Don't really think so (she was 12-13 years old) but who knows. Lily will be dearly missed both by us and by her old family overseas. She truly was the greatest cat ever.
posted by uandt at 2:22 PM on December 30, 2013


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