I have never asked a question before but have certainly benefited by reading all the great advice you members have shared. If you can help with this situation, please let me know. I foster bottle baby kittens for the humane society. We currently have six kittens. The one I am concerned about has a swollen eye (they have not opened their eyes yet) that just appeared tonight. It bulges out quite a bit for such a tiny kitten who weighs 207 grams, which is a 3 gram loss from yesterday. He took his KMR today, peed and pooped, but I am very worried about it. I wonder if one of his litter mates could have hit his eye with a sharp claw? I plan to take him to the vet in the morning, but wonder if there is anything I should be doing tonight to help him until he gets medical help in the morning. Thank you for any advice you can give.
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
8 Day Old Kitten With Swollen Eye
- Thread starter maggielee
- Start Date
Welcome! 
It's possible he took a claw to his eye, which sounds swollen behind the lid.
The vet may want to put him on antibiotics to prevent infection and potential damage to the eyeball, especially since his eyes are not open yet and so cannot drain.
I suggest that you apply a warm, damp compress to the eye. It may offer relief and reduce swelling.
How much and how often are you feeding this kitten? Weight loss is never good.
Thank you for fostering!
It's possible he took a claw to his eye, which sounds swollen behind the lid.
The vet may want to put him on antibiotics to prevent infection and potential damage to the eyeball, especially since his eyes are not open yet and so cannot drain.
I suggest that you apply a warm, damp compress to the eye. It may offer relief and reduce swelling.
How much and how often are you feeding this kitten? Weight loss is never good.
Thank you for fostering!
Last edited:
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
Thank you for the idea of applying a warm, damp compress ~ I'll give it a try while attempting to keep him warm and dry too. He weighed 108 g. 9 days ago when we got them. Weights since then were 110, 124, 144, 144(again), 162, 187, 193, 210 and today 207. I, too, was upset by the weight loss. He drinks his KMR (PetAg) mixed with Pedialyte which was recommended when we got them, and takes about 3-5ml or more which averages about 8-9 times a day as I get up at night and feed them. If a kitten doesn't gain at least 6 g. per day, I supplement with the Kitten Nutrical.
Do you think he's old enough for an antibiotic? He's such a sweet kitten I hope he doesn't lose his eyesight in that eye. I will be camped on the vet's doorstep at 8:00 in the morning to get him medical attention.
Do you think he's old enough for an antibiotic? He's such a sweet kitten I hope he doesn't lose his eyesight in that eye. I will be camped on the vet's doorstep at 8:00 in the morning to get him medical attention.
The kitten weighs a little over 7 grams, so should be drinking a minimum of 56mLs each 24 hour period.
He's probably not getting enough food. The rule of thumb is 8mLs for every ounce of body weight so as the kitten grows the amount increases.
If you feed 8x/day (every 3 hours), the kitten needs 7mls at each feeding, so he is not getting enough.
Meanwhile, no kitten is too young for meds if they need them. The dose is adjusted based on weight. Do not let a vet tell you a kitten is too young for meds because it is simply not true.
I hope he eats more at the next feeding, and that the compress helps. Please let us know how he is tomorrow.
You'll want to adjust the mLs for the entire litter. Convert the gram weights to ounces using an online converter, then multiply by 8, and divide the total by the number of feedings.
Let me know if you need help with the math for the others.
He's probably not getting enough food. The rule of thumb is 8mLs for every ounce of body weight so as the kitten grows the amount increases.
If you feed 8x/day (every 3 hours), the kitten needs 7mls at each feeding, so he is not getting enough.
Meanwhile, no kitten is too young for meds if they need them. The dose is adjusted based on weight. Do not let a vet tell you a kitten is too young for meds because it is simply not true.
I hope he eats more at the next feeding, and that the compress helps. Please let us know how he is tomorrow.
You'll want to adjust the mLs for the entire litter. Convert the gram weights to ounces using an online converter, then multiply by 8, and divide the total by the number of feedings.
Let me know if you need help with the math for the others.
Bless you for being a rescue-hero! I agree that kittens are not too young for antibiotics, especially those born to feral moms. Are you able to consider using goat-milk instead of KMR? Raw goat milk is best (you can usually ask your county farm advisor for a list of 4-H clubs) but canned or fresh goat milk from the grocery store works good, but you have to mix it into a kitten formula (I like the recipe for "kitten glop" at www.kitten-rescue.com). My personal experience with kittens of ALL ages, from a wide variety of feral colonies, is that they tend to do better with goat milk than with KMR although I have seen here that plenty of people use KMR or other commercially prepared milk substitute. The addition of Pedialyte is also a good idea; one that I use when kittens have diarrhea (if the little one seems to decline, you can give him diluted unflavored Pedialyte with a little corn syrup added). Prayers and vibes that your little guy thrives- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #6
Thank you, catsknowme! I believe our vet has a goat himself so I will try to talk to him tomorrow about goat milk for the kittens. I hope he agrees with you that antibiotics are fine for kittens so young. Again, many thanks for your well-wishes.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #8
Good morning to everyone who shared information with me last night. I took the kitten to the vet first thing today and it is an eye infection and he did give me an antibiotic salve to put in his eye each day. Since the kitten was 10 days old, he opened the infected eye, and showed me how to apply the antibiotic myself. Special thanks to sarthur2 who encouraged me to ask for an antibiotic no matter what the kitten's age. Also, thanks for the idea of applying a warm wet compress. I did and about 4:00 A. M. today, the infection was draining out of his poor little eye. I will do my best to give the kittens all the formula they can eat and have healthy, happy bottle babies! Again, thank you so much to all of you who took the time to help.
That's awesome the vet fixed him up. The kitten probably feels much better now too without the fluid buildup.
Thank you for getting him to the vet! Please keep us posted on the kittens' development!
Thank you for getting him to the vet! Please keep us posted on the kittens' development!
