Corneal bee sting in a Bengal cat

A 6-month-old female Bengal cat was referred for a suspected vegetal foreign body (FB) in the mid-stroma of the right cornea. A small dark linear FB was identified in the dorsal aspect of the cornea, with associated cell infiltrate. Ophthalmic examination was otherwise normal, with no inflammatory reaction of the anterior uvea, and no abnormalities of the lens or fundus. Surgical removal was performed under general anesthesia. The FB, as observed under an optic microscope, was a worker bee stinger without the venom sac. Medical treatment consisted of topical and systemic antibiotics and steroids, and topical administration of atropine. Follow-up was uneventful.

Ocular bee stings have been described in humans, with several consequences ranging from mild conjunctivitis to severe lesions affecting the cornea, iris, lens and retina. Most severely affected cases have been observed when the venom sac was found with the stinger, with a likely greater amount of venom being delivered into the ocular structures. The relatively benign presentation of this case was probably due to the lack of the venom sac within the bee sting. To our knowledge, this is the first documented case of a corneal bee sting in a cat.