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- May 25, 2023
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Hi all 
I’m looking after a litter of 18-day-old kittens (mama is taking good care of them, haven’t needed to supplement).
The kittens are dealing with some gunky eye goop and I was wondering if I could apply Terramycin ointment before consulting our vet. I have attached few pics of some of the kittens eyes.
The vet who originally prescribed the Terramycin isn’t open til June 6th (Tuesday), which is why I’m asking here. I’ve sent an email already but I’m unsure if they check it on days off.
Currently:
- All kittens have had their eyes open fully for a week
- All kittens are active, gaining weight, and seeking to nurse
- The tube of Terramycin is from earlier this year (Jan 2023) and was prescribed to an older cat. It expires October 2024.
Background info if needed:
- 9 days ago (May 26): Took kittens to vet at teaching hospital at 9 days old. I had concerns about eye redness + FCK.
- Vet said a little redness was normal when they’ve just opened their eyes, diagnosed runt with a ‘slightly flat chest.’ Did not prescribe anything, said to bring them back at 8 weeks
- 2 days ago (June 2): one kitten’s left was closed shut.
- It developed within 12 hours (when I last inspected them during weigh-in)
- I used warm damp cotton pad on the kitten’s eye area, but even after making sure it wasn’t stuck shut, the kitten preferred to keep the eye shut.
- Staining/leakage under kitten’s eye, looked like crusty gunk surrounding it. Unsure of color. When eye did open, it seemed like gunk was under the eyelid too, but it’s been clear since.
- Today (June 4): all kittens have some leakage/staining under eyes
- Color when wiped off is orange. Included a pic (#2)
Would you feel comfortable using the remainder of the ointment, since it’s still within the expiration date? Or would you get a new tube, because it’d already been opened 5 months ago?
Ideally, I’d like to start the Terramycin as soon as possible, so if anyone has experience (or warnings!) on reusing a tube of ointment, I would much appreciate hearing about it.
Apologies if this is longer than necessary, I’ve had poor experiences with vets in my semi-rural area. I lost a young kitten last year in a somewhat traumatic way which has made me a little neurotic about newborns.
Thank you for any help in advance!
I’m looking after a litter of 18-day-old kittens (mama is taking good care of them, haven’t needed to supplement).
The kittens are dealing with some gunky eye goop and I was wondering if I could apply Terramycin ointment before consulting our vet. I have attached few pics of some of the kittens eyes.
The vet who originally prescribed the Terramycin isn’t open til June 6th (Tuesday), which is why I’m asking here. I’ve sent an email already but I’m unsure if they check it on days off.
Currently:
- All kittens have had their eyes open fully for a week
- All kittens are active, gaining weight, and seeking to nurse
- The tube of Terramycin is from earlier this year (Jan 2023) and was prescribed to an older cat. It expires October 2024.
Background info if needed:
- 9 days ago (May 26): Took kittens to vet at teaching hospital at 9 days old. I had concerns about eye redness + FCK.
- Vet said a little redness was normal when they’ve just opened their eyes, diagnosed runt with a ‘slightly flat chest.’ Did not prescribe anything, said to bring them back at 8 weeks
- 2 days ago (June 2): one kitten’s left was closed shut.
- It developed within 12 hours (when I last inspected them during weigh-in)
- I used warm damp cotton pad on the kitten’s eye area, but even after making sure it wasn’t stuck shut, the kitten preferred to keep the eye shut.
- Staining/leakage under kitten’s eye, looked like crusty gunk surrounding it. Unsure of color. When eye did open, it seemed like gunk was under the eyelid too, but it’s been clear since.
- Today (June 4): all kittens have some leakage/staining under eyes
- Color when wiped off is orange. Included a pic (#2)
Would you feel comfortable using the remainder of the ointment, since it’s still within the expiration date? Or would you get a new tube, because it’d already been opened 5 months ago?
Ideally, I’d like to start the Terramycin as soon as possible, so if anyone has experience (or warnings!) on reusing a tube of ointment, I would much appreciate hearing about it.
Apologies if this is longer than necessary, I’ve had poor experiences with vets in my semi-rural area. I lost a young kitten last year in a somewhat traumatic way which has made me a little neurotic about newborns.
Thank you for any help in advance!
