Background: Cyclopentolate is not commonly used as mydriatic drug in veterinary medicine because of limited data on the local and systemic effects in animals.Aim: To determine the effects of topical 1% cyclopentolate hydrochloride on intraocular pressure (IOP), horizontal pupil diameter (HPD) and tear production in the cat and rabbit’s eye during the first hour and up to 36 hours after treatment.Methods: One drop of 1% cyclopentolate hydrochloride was used in the left eye in 10 clinically and ophthalmologically healthy domestic cats and 10 rabbits. IOP and HPD were recorded every 5 minutes during the first hour, then every 2 hours during the following 12-hour period, and at 24 and 36 hours after application. Schirmer tear test (STT) was measured at 30 and 60 minute after treatment, then in same time points as IOP and HPD. Rebound tonometer (TonoVet®) was used to assess IOP, Jameson calliper to measure HPD and STT to determine the tear production.Results: 1% cyclopentolate increased IOP in cats, reaching a maximum (28.1 ± 5.4 mmHg) at T50 and in rabbits at T25 (16.7 ± 1.3 mmHg). Maximal mydriasis in cats was observed at T40 and lasted 24–36 hours, but in rabbits at T25, and returned to pre-treatment values at T10h–T12h. In cats, STT decreased in both eyes 30 minutes after treatment and remained lower throughout the 36-hour period. In rabbits, STT decreased in the treated eye 30 minutes after treatment, but all following STT measurements returned to normal pre-treatment levels.Conclusion: Study showed novel data about the effects of 1% cyclopentolate to IOP, HPD, STT in cats and rabbits. Cyclopentolate in cats caused mydriasis 20–40 minutes after the treatment by increasing IOP, at the same time, pupil diameter reached pre-treatment values 24–36 hours after treatment. In rabbit’s mydriasis occurred faster, 10–25 minutes after treatment without significant IOP increase and mydriasis lasted 10–12 hours. Significant STT decrease was recorded in cats, but more likely were connected to stress factors. This drug could be considered as a therapeuticalalternative in rabbit more than in cats. Keywords: Cyclopentolate, Horizontal pupil diameter, Intraocular pressure, Tear production.

Background and Aim: Ophthalmological cytology is an easy, informative, rapid, and commonly-used low-cost diagnostic method, but sample collection and preparation are essential steps in obtaining qualitative material for cytological evaluation. This study aimed to evaluate cytological smear quality and animal discomfort after single or three serial conjunctival scrapings in normal cat eyes using five sampling methods. Materials and Methods: Five cytology methods (mini brush, cotton swab, soft brush, Kimura spatula, and cytobrush) were used in 50 eyes (10 with one scraping and 10 with three consecutive scrapings for a particular method) in complete 25 clinically and ophthalmologically healthy cats of different ages, sexes, and breeds. Ocular discomfort (1 = eyes open, 2 = partially open, and 3 = eyes squinted), average cell count (ten 10× fields), cell distribution (ten 100× fields: 0 = all cells are aggregated, 1 = <25% cells are evenly distributed, 2 = 25–50% cells are evenly distributed, and 3 = >50% cells are evenly distributed) and sample quality – aggregates (two cells and more), mucus, and artifacts (1+ = fair, 2+ = moderate, and 3+ = high amount) were evaluated. Results: The discomfort scores for the mini brush, cotton swab, soft brush, spatula, and cytobrush after a single and three scrapings were 1, 1, 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The average cell counts ± standard deviation after one and three scrapings were as follows: mini brush 11.15 ± 13.87 and 7.55 ± 12.7; cotton swab 7.17 ± 10.20 and 10.00 ± 16.44; soft brush 19.45 ± 22.22 and 8.55 ± 13.82; spatula 17.15 ± 32.94 and 13.85 ± 22.01; and cytobrush 13.35 ± 18.33 and 13.05 ± 19.29, respectively; the cell distributions were 3, 3, 3, 1, and 1 after single scraping and 3, 3, 2, 0, and 2 after three scrapings, respectively. Conclusion: The mini brush was the optimal method since it produced less discomfort, fewer artifacts, and the highest smear quality. Spatula smears were difficult to evaluate due to material thickness. The highest mucus and aggregate amounts were found in cytobrush, cotton swab, and soft brush samples. In this study, small number of samples per each sampling method is a major limitation. Keywords: cat, cytology, conjunctiva, sampling methods.