Kitten with eye infection

[flutemandolin]

We have a mother cat and three week old kitten living in our tool shed. For the past few days I've noticed one of the kitten's eyes is stuck closed; occasionally the mother will lick it and it will open for a while then get stuck again. I suspect an eye infection. Is there anything I can do for it, or will the mama cat's grooming help it naturally? I've heard for conjunctivitis in humans, breast milk applied to the eye helps...maybe I should grab the mama cat and squeeze its teat in the kitten's face! :haha: Sounds like a good way to get scratched! :no:

[OUVickie]

I had that happen to two kittens. I used buffered eye solution and washed their eyes daily for about a week. It worked great and was cheaper than running them to the Vet.

[Cyngbaeld]

See if you can get mama to eat some good groceries with extra vitamins. I've noticed cats (especially kittens) will get conjunctivitis when their nutrition is poor. If that doesn't work you can try catching them and flushing the eyes, but you'll prob never catch them again.

[james dilley]

A damp wash rag ,use warm water and gently wipe the eye this helps but will need to be repeated for a while.

If you have LA 200 around the farm just draw some out into a syringe, and using the end of the syringe, ( minus the needle) squirt some right into the eye.
Excellent for pinkeye in cows too.

[Gayle in LA]

<<<<<<<Cat vet here, so I don't know anything and you should probably ignore me...........You need to clean that eye up and get the eyelid open so the (likely) pus under the eyelid can drain. This kitten is at high risk for permanent eye damage or even loss of the eye. If you can't get to a vet, try to get ahold of some Tetracycline or Erythromycin eye ointment and put some in 3 times a day after cleaning. Good luck!

[wr]

Gayle, I always use a warm tea bag compress. It's always worked for me, is this a reasonable approach or is it just an old wives tale?

[HarleysMom]

I have used neosporin on my animal's eye infections.

[babetteq]

Originally Posted by wr

Gayle, I always use a warm tea bag compress. It's always worked for me, is this a reasonable approach or is it just an old wives tale?

Nope, teabags are great. Black tea (like red rose or other orange pekoe blends) warm and wet. you cna use them as a 'sponge' to clean away the infected area, and then, for about 15 minutes, four times a day press a warm tea bag to the infected area. Often you can avoid the use of antibiotics using teabags and sometimes they work where antibiotics fail in my experience. My dentist also suggests people use them on mouth infections.... and he's got doctor schoolin'...

[comfortablynumb]

my kittens always get that... i keep a tupe of eye ointment the vet sold me on hand, it clears it up in a week at most. leave it for mom to fix and youll have blind kittens.

[fin29]

I think the erythromycin eye ointment is a great thing to have around. I keep people-strength (just ask your doc-they'll write a prescription or better yet, give you a sample ) around, and if I need it for an animal, I just wash my hands very well, squeeze the amount on a Q-tip to prevent contamination of the product, and apply it with my finger or the Q-tip.

[flutemandolin]

Thanks for the advice! I'll try a combination of the ideas and let you know how it works. Mama cat is eating some of the best cat food around but I think she was undernourished during her pregnancy. I've also heard chamomile tea is good for an eye wash.

What would I do without the helpful folks here? :worship:

[wr]

babetteq, that's exactly how I use them

[Sandra Nelson]

At the same time you treat those kittens in the eye, worm them and treat them and their mother for coccidia (a teaspoon of deccox granules in a six ounce can of kitty food works great for one shot treatment of coccidia). I've noticed that farm cats and kittens often have a parasite load and that can add to the weepy eye, sickly kitten routine.

[Sherri C]

I have 3 kittens who had the same problem. Two of them had one eye stuck shut and the other had both eyes stuck shut. I bought some eyewash solution from the petstore and put a couple of drops on each eye to soften up the gunk, then I cleaned it away with a q-tip (fresh q-tip for each eye). I've been doing that 2-3 times a day. It's been a little over a week and all the eyes are now open and staying that way. I also gave them a good dose of probiotics.

[flutemandolin]

Sherri C- what form of probiotics do you use? How do you give it to them?

An update- last night I talked to the neighbors across the road and it turns out they've been wondering where the mother cat was-she's the woman's favorite cat! So she came over to see the cat and kitten while I was away doing an errand, and when I came back she had cleaned the kitten's eye and it looked fine. I could tell she had been missing her cat and I felt kind of bad that I had kept it so long without telling them! I've just been too busy to stop by there and chat. They're kind hearted people but a bit slow. So when the kitten weans we will return the mama cat but maybe keep the kitten.

[humminbird]

Buy a bottle of boric acid at Walmart...mom always treated us and the farm animals with a solution of boric acid in warm water and it clears it right up. The directions on are the bottle and I always used a cotton ball saturated to wipe the eyes three times a day...works and its cheap!

Humminbird

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[Gayle in LA]

I can't imagine what earthly good a teabag on the eyelid would do to help in an abvious infection like this sounds like. Erythromycin ointment, Terramycin ointment, or in a real pinch Neosporin (but the neomycin can cause some inflammation) are your best bet, and get to a VET ASAP.

[humminbird]

Originally Posted by Gayle in LA

I can't imagine what earthly good a teabag on the eyelid would do to help in an abvious infection like this sounds like. Erythromycin ointment, Terramycin ointment, or in a real pinch Neosporin (but the neomycin can cause some inflammation) are your best bet, and get to a VET ASAP.

The tea contains tannin...natural "drawing" agent and anti-inflammatory...what aspirin contains!

[Q_Links]

I've got kittens going through this now and I've had some in the past with it. Make absolutely sure the antibiotic ointment does NOT contain a steroid. I've used an ointment from the vet and one from Rural King with equally good results. I've also had 2 kitties who have lost an eye from infection, so it's nothing to play around with. The cost of meds is maybe $10 to $30 if you go to a vet. The cost of the kitten losing an eye is about $180 to $200. Susan