1 wk old kitten emergency

[cheirogloss]

We just found a mama cat and a litter of 5 kittens living in a shed on our property. I moved them into our house and they are now living in a cardboard box in our bathroom. The kittens appear to be one week or so old. One of the kittens has what looks like pink eye, yellow discharge and crust around its eyes. Other than wiping the infected eye with a warm wash cloth to remove the gunk, does anyone know how to treat kitten gunk-eye? I read in an article online that I should put terramycin in the eye, but I don't know what form of terramycin that would be. We called the local vet and they can't get us in until Thursday, but I don't want to leave the poor little guy until then. Any ideas?

 

[meriruka]

Someone dumped a kitten on my porch, it had gunky eyes. I put plain Neosporin in it & it cleared up by next day. But I think you can do a search online for what kind of drops should go in kittens eyes when they are born, I just can't remember right off hand.......

 

[chickensioux]

You may be able to find some eye ointment OTC at Walmart but I would not put anything in an eye that did not state it was safe for eyes. Anything that says Opthalmic should be fine. Otherwise I would continue to wash the eye with warm water. Watch for other discharges from nose etc. You don't want it to be any of the FVRCP diseases. Seperate the kitty from the other kitties if it gets worse and only put it with the mother for nursing...only if it gets worse tho'.

 

[Imp]

What everyone else said. I have an old bottle of kitten eye drops in the fridge. Expired now, but I've been ignoring it for a reason I guess.
It is:
Neomycin and Polymyxin B Sulfates and Dexamethasone Opthalmic Suspension

Of course it was from the vet. Good luck with the kitties

Imp

 

[mylittlezoo]

You can buy Terramycin ointment OTC at the feedstore. It comes in a small yellow tube. I raise bottle kittens regularly, please feel free to PM me with questions.

 

[Southpaw970]

It could also be a Chlamydia infection, conjuntivitis or a few other things . (All of which are common in kittens) Keep it clean til you can get it to the vet. I would not advise putting anything in the eye that is not for eyes. And wash your hands really well after handling the kitten. I worked as a Vet Tech for 11 yrs. & its debatable, but some of the Vets I worked with said that it could be contagious to humans eyes.

 

[rcentner]

Quote:
No dexamethasone, that can be contraindicated in some eye problems, Neo-poly-Bac (neomycin, polymyxin and bacitracin) or Terrmaycin opthalmic ointment. Just so you have a heads up, it is VERY difficult to raise a 1 week old cat that is ill. They often fall ill and cannot make a comeback. Make sure it is kept clean and hydrated. Kittens can die form E coli infections if they have diarrhea and it cakes on the fur. good luck!

 

[Whimsical Farming Wife]

When we bought our place, it was overrun with wild cats. I took a mama with a litter to the SPCA. I found another litter without a mother in the roof of my chicken coop and took it to the SPCA as well. After we brought a total of around 30 cats in that week, I asked about the motherless litter, and was told that they would probably be put down. I felt awful, so I brought them back home. After spending ALOT of time mothering them (bottle feeding and wiping their butts constantly), they got sick with symptoms similar to what you are describing. I then spent ALOT of money on vet bills. I ended up having to put the whole batch of them down, because they had caught some kind of fatal respiratory infection from the SPCA while they had been there. It was terribly heart breaking... Good luck with your little kitties, hopefully they have something very different from mine! (By the way- this is not meant to be discouraging; I am sure your situation will be MUCH better!)

 

[babsbag]

I have a 10 year old cat sitting here right now keeping an eye on me. His only eye. I found him as a stray kitten, about 4 weeks old, and the whole litter had gunky eyes. There can be many reasons, but his turned out to be a herpes infection. His eye was so bad that I ended up having to have his eye removed. He is a sweet heart. The SPCA wouldn't take him as they said it would cost too much to do the surgery on his eye. DH said that someone needed to "keep an eye on him" so we kept him and had the surgery done. And DH says he doesn't like cats. hahaha

When we treated the litter, that one and many more, we used a triple antibiotic ointment for eyes. Got it from the vet but I bet it is online somewhere, and maybe at feed stores.

The last litter I rescued ended up have feline distemper. The momma cat died and left me with 6 kittens. The vet said put them down. I found an herbal treatment online and was able to save 5 of the 6. One died from pnuemonia. And they said it couldn't be done. A person I know that does rescue work has also treated kittens successfully with the same regime. Saving those little lives was THE MOST rewarding thing I have done in a long long time. It was long and hard, and took a lot of dedication, but well worth it. I have one of those kittens too, and I adore him.

I hope the best for you kitties. They are so much fun. No one dumps any on me anymore now that I am way of the beaten path. I miss it. If you have any questions you can PM me.

-Barbara