5 Week Old Kitten Eye Infection

Norachan

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The last lot of foster kittens I had were easily finishing a 3 oz can at every meal, plus eating dry food as well.

They weighed almost 2 lbs at 7 weeks, how much does she weigh now?

Yes, offer her some KMR and see if she'll eat it.

Does she have a good appetite? My kittens ate like little furry horses as soon as I got them, there was never any trouble getting them to eat.
 
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kendalcm

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She's still hanging around 1 lb 6 oz so we must be doing something wrong. I've been trying to give her more opportunity to munch on wet food before I have to supplement with the bottle but she takes a few bites and then wants to go play. I've tried royal canin babycat, wellness, blue buffalo, natural balance.... she's just not that into them so far. I'm about to go to PetSmart and just buy one of every can of quality kitten food they offer to find something she likes. So what I've had to do is still give her bottles that have babycat mousse mixed with kmr since she's just barely grazing on wet food. I slacked off a little on that because I thought she was about to be fully weaned, but without the bottle she's definitely not going to get enough. The vet had said maybe she was just spoiled to the bottle. We are going back today to reschedule her surgery so I will talk to her more about the feeding issues then too.
 
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kendalcm

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UPDATE:
Back to the vet today for a check-up, and she is very confident (not in an arrogant way) about the surgery being successful. She said she's taken legs, tails, eyes, etc off of these little guys before and the risk would be the same now as it would be a few weeks from now. She also said she gained almost half a pound since last week (so my scale must be off). The eye is starting to show more edema, and animals are good at hiding pain. So the sooner we do this thing, the sooner she can get on with her life. She is cooped up right now in a pet playpen to prevent injury, and she is quarantined from the other cats so that they don't injure her eye either. She really just wants to get out and play and be a normal kitten. The vet said that the eating is not an issue. She thinks Scout has me trained to give her a bottle, instead of the other way around, which is probably true. I feel pretty good about this now, so we rescheduled for next week. She will be 8 weeks then.
Attaching pic from otw to the vet:
20180813_151528.jpg
 

Kieka

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It probably is a good thing that her surgery was delayed. As much as the vet has confidence in the safety of the surgery I know of many vets who simply won't do surgery on a cat under 2 pounds unless it is life threatening to wait. Just keep offering her as much as she will eat to get that weight up as much as possible before surgery.

I know the vet said she's probably trained you for the bottle, but I would be hesitant to fight that battle before the surgery. Right now she needs to be as strong as possible so going with her food demands to keep her eating isn't a bad thing. Some kittens do take comfort from food and routines; maybe something about the bottle is soothing and helps with the pain management. Plus she doesn't need additional stress that could come with trying to change what is comfortable. You also have kittens who are late weaners; she could be one or she just hasn't made the mental leap from bottle to bowl. I'd actually bet once her surgery is done and she sees the big cats eating she will wean herself in copying the other cats/kittens in eating.

Please keep us up to date with her progress. The little wonky eyed one is growing on me. :loveeyes:
 
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kendalcm

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It probably is a good thing that her surgery was delayed. As much as the vet has confidence in the safety of the surgery I know of many vets who simply won't do surgery on a cat under 2 pounds unless it is life threatening to wait. Just keep offering her as much as she will eat to get that weight up as much as possible before surgery.

I know the vet said she's probably trained you for the bottle, but I would be hesitant to fight that battle before the surgery. Right now she needs to be as strong as possible so going with her food demands to keep her eating isn't a bad thing. Some kittens do take comfort from food and routines; maybe something about the bottle is soothing and helps with the pain management. Plus she doesn't need additional stress that could come with trying to change what is comfortable. You also have kittens who are late weaners; she could be one or she just hasn't made the mental leap from bottle to bowl. I'd actually bet once her surgery is done and she sees the big cats eating she will wean herself in copying the other cats/kittens in eating.

Please keep us up to date with her progress. The little wonky eyed one is growing on me. :loveeyes:
I will definitely cater to her demands for now to help her gain some weight. What are your thoughts on supplementing with nutrical to up the calories?
 

Kieka

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I will definitely cater to her demands for now to help her gain some weight. What are your thoughts on supplementing with nutrical to up the calories?
If she will take it, I would from what you've said about her intake levels. I would stop it once she starts eating a little better.
 

Norachan

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That's good news about her weight being up a little.

Personally I don't think you should be in any rush to wean her off the bottle. She needs the extra calories, it's comforting for her and helps you bond with her.

I've known feral mums nurse their kittens for at least four months, often longer. Just let her have what ever she'll eat for now.
 
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kendalcm

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UPDATE:
Today was surgery day. Everything went well. The eye ruptured at the beginning, but there was no sign of cyst/tumor/abscess that was causing this. She said it must have been congenital. They said she was back there playing with a ball after she woke up, and she got cuddled and doted on a lot. We go back in 2 weeks to get stitches out, and we are in a cone til then. Hopefully this will heal up and she can get on with her life finally. Thanks to everyone for all the advice and help with this. I'm uploading a picture, but it is a little rough.
20180821_175417.jpg
 

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Thank you so much for taking such great care of her. Looking forward to updates as she heals and grows.
 

Norachan

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I'm glad to hear the surgery went well. She'll get on fine with just one eye, especially as she's still so young. I have a one-eyed cat who lost an eye to herpes when he was a kitten. He doesn't even notice it's gone.

LittleBoy23.jpg


Keep us posted.

:goodluck:
 
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kendalcm

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I'm glad to hear the surgery went well. She'll get on fine with just one eye, especially as she's still so young. I have a one-eyed cat who lost an eye to herpes when he was a kitten. He doesn't even notice it's gone.

View attachment 249095

Keep us posted.

:goodluck:
Thank you. I figure she's used to only using her good eye anyway, so she should do okay as long as get through the next 2 weeks with these stitches without any hiccups.
Glad your kitty adjusted to it well. That is encouraging. He is so handsome.
:heartshape:
 
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kendalcm

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Update:
We made another trip to the vet this week for two reasons. One, her pain medicine vial broke (cat(s) pushed it off the counter), so I had to get her a refill. Two, there has been a little blood in the nostril on the side of the surgery. Doctor said as long as it's not actively bleeding it's fine. Her stitches are healing great so far. Looking forward to Tuesday so we can get these stitches out and get out of the cone. Uploading a pic of her in her new cone. And you can tell her hair and whiskers are already growing back in.
IMG_20180829_210725_549.jpg
 

saleri

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Good to hear, I assume at this point she is eating really well and has gained a good bit?
 
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kendalcm

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Good to hear, I assume at this point she is eating really well and has gained a good bit?
I just have to feed her lots of small meals. She is so excited that she takes a few bites and tries to run off and play, then comes back for a few more bites, and so on. At night I usually give her a bottle with some Pedialyte added just to make sure she's getting enough fluids since she has trouble eating and drinking with the cone on. I think once she gets out of the cone and playpen, has free roam, and can burn off more energy she will calm down enough to eat better. But she is steadily gaining weight so the vet isn't concerned.
 
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kendalcm

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That is the sweetest cone I've ever seen! Did you make that?
Thanks! I actually ordered it on Amazon. They have a few different colors to choose from too.
 
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