Prevalence of bacteria in the conjunctival sac and on the eyelid margin of clinically normal cats

Samples from the palpebral conjunctiva, third eyelid and eyelid margin from 50 asymptomatic cats were analysed. Sixty-seven per cent of the samples showed bacterial growth with a high predominance of the genus Staphylococcus (97.8 per cent) predominantly coagulase-negative (93.5 per cent). The most frequent species was S epidermidis (45.7 per cent), followed by S simulans (23.9 per cent), S auricularis (17.4 per cent) and S saprophyticus (6.5 per cent). Three samples of S aureus (6.5 per cent) and one of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2.1 per cent) were also identified. The role of these microorganisms in the eyes of cats is discussed and the importance of the new species Staphylococcus felis is stressed.