Blind kittens?

[Lindsayj014]

Hello,

I just posted about a stray cat problem I've been having and it seems to have just gotten worse. This afternoon, I found 4 very small kittens in my fenced in back yard that my dog uses. My dog is used to cats since I have 4 of my own but he has never seen small kittens before. The mother kitten is a kitten herself, only about 9 or 10 months old. I've been feeding her since she was a baby and I had no idea until this afternoon that the kitten I thought was a he is actually a she. I know who the father is as well.

I got close to them and I'm worried that they seem to not have opened their eyes yet. Is this normal? I took some pictures. I dont not know much about kittens.

I really thought my stray cat problem had been fixed. I took a female cat to the shelter in February and I currently have a male in my house that is on the waitlist for the shelter that's being treated for a bad skin infection.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. How long ago were the kittens born? Kittens generally don't open their eyes before 8 - 12 days old. They are actually blind and deaf before that. Is the mama feeding/taking care of them?

 

[Lindsayj014]

I am not entirely sure when they were born. I just found them a few hours ago and the mother has been at my house for food every day that I can remember. A month ago she seemed to be really bloated but since I assumed wrongly that she was a male i didn't think anything of it.

The mother was feeding them a little while ago so im assuming she is taking care of them too. They just look older than a couple weeks old so thats why I was wondering if the eyes looked odd. They are meowing a little bit too but can't move around that well.

 

[Sarthur2]

Oh my! The kittens are probably 3-4 weeks old. Eyes usually open by 14 days.

Begin using a warm, wet compress on their eyes, and as quickly as you can, get a tube(s) of Terramycin ointment and begin immediately smearing it on their eyes to help them to open. Do not force any of the eyes open.

Can you get these kittens inside? They will be much better off, poor things.

They may or may not be blind. Let us know how things go, but this is the result of infection and pus build-up behind their eyelids and left untreated.

 

[Sarthur2]

Treat their eyes 2-3 times daily.

Get their mom inside too if you can.

No prescription needed unless you’re in California. Vets carry it also and is a quicker way to get it.

L Lindsayj014

 

[FeebysOwner]

You said you don't know much about kittens - maybe reading up a bit on this web site will help - but ask away of the members who have responded to you as they can help you a lot!
Kitten Care - Home — Kitten Lady

 

[Lindsayj014]

Oh my! The kittens are probably 3-4 weeks old. Eyes usually open by 14 days.

Begin using a warm, wet compress on their eyes, and as quickly as you can, get a tube(s) of Terramycin ointment and begin immediately smearing it on their eyes to help them to open. Do not force any of the eyes open.

Can you get these kittens inside? They will be much better off, poor things.

They may or may not be blind. Let us know how things go, but this is the result of infection and pus build-up behind their eyelids and left untreated.

Thank you for this. I might be able to trap the kittens since they aren't moving very well yet, but the mother will be harder. I can get close to her, but if I try to pet her she runs away. She is very skittish. I will try though.

I have reached out to a couple of local rescues so hopefully they can help me as well.

 

[Sarthur2]

Please do begin treating the kittens’ eyes ASAP. If you boil water and make black tea, then cool it, dip the wash cloth in the tea and soak the eyes with it if you can’t get terramycin right away. The tea has helped kitten eyes in the past.

 

[Sarthur2]

How are things going?

 

[Kflowers]

If you bring the kittens inside and put them in a room without the outside door, then leave the outside door open, mom cat may come in looking for them. Especially since she is used to you. I've also seen people put the kittens in a small carrier inside the larger trap cage to persuade mom to go in the trap.

 

[Lindsayj014]

I was able to find a rescue that took the kittens. We will work on catching the young mother too since she is only around 9 months old herself and we don't want her to have any more litters. The rescue has a trap that I can use.

 

[Sarthur2]

Great! What did the rescue say about the kittens’ eyes?

I hope you can get their mom too. They still need her and she’ll need spaying.

Thanks for feeding mom and for getting the kittens to a rescue.

 

[Lindsayj014]

Great! What did the rescue say about the kittens’ eyes?

I hope you can get their mom too. They still need her and she’ll need spaying.

Thanks for feeding mom and for getting the kittens to a rescue.

The eyes were actually getting a little better when they picked them up, but they told me with some treatment their eyes should be okay. They won't be blind which is a relief. One of the kittens had both eyes open when they got picked up but will definitely still need treatment. They are with the lady that owns the rescue so I know they will be well taken care of.

I almost just trapped the mother, but she somehow found a broken screen that i didnt know was broken in my enclosed porch and escaped just as the lady from the rescue was pulling up to my house. So now she is freaked out. We do have a trap out by where her babies were so hopefully we can trap her that way. The rescue wants her to be with her kittens too right now. They also want to see how she is indoors so she can possibly be adopted herself down the road if she does okay inside. Otherwise, they will get her spayed and put her back out by my house.

 

[Lindsayj014]

Just an update. The mother has been caught and will be with her kittens now. She will also be spayed so at least if it's determined she needs to come back outside, there will be no more pregnancies for her.

 

[Sarthur2]

Awesome! Kittens and mom can be happily reunited. Mom will get spayed. It’s a win-win. Thank you for your part in this!