Kitten with eye Infection? Help! :(

[aristotle]

Well, we (my mom to be exact) recently brought home a 5 week old kitten. One of her coworkers had a cat who had seven kittens, but the mom was attacked by a fox and died. My mom's coworker brought the kittens to work after a few days and gave them awaw, and my mom took one of the cute little balls of fluff. =P

Anyways, this kitten, who's name is now Trixy, has had her first shots and vaccinations, but her eye is worrying us. Ever since we got her (friday), her right eye has been excessively watery and making "eye gook" below and beside the eye. Also, although she isn't really closing it, she doesn't keep it open as much as her left eye. I've also cought her blinking it sometimes (just that eye, not both eyes). It doesn't look very serious (no redness, etc.), but when I held her in the sunlight today, I could see something like... how you would expect a little string of eye gook to look like, but it was directly on her eye. (sorry, I know that was a stinky explanation.)

Tractor Supply has this cat eye rinse (I forgot what the brand is, but the bottle said is was to soothe eye irritation. It basically looked like eye drops for cats.) that we're going to by a bottle of Wednesday and try it on her eye. Do any of you experts have any suggestions on what this irritation is? Oh and yes, she is going to the vet if the drops have no affect. Thanks!

 

[kailie]

Conjunctivitis may be the issue, fairly common in kitties, but there are a few different things you can do. Keep in mind, I AM NOT A VET, and a vet diagnosis is always best where they may prescribe an ointment or an antibiotic.

Having numerous fosters with this problem in the past, there are a couple of things that can help. Wash the eye out with warm tea. Also you can use regular Polysporin eye drops (recommended by a vet and a rescue group), one drop in the infected eye twice a day but make sure it has no pain meds or anything it it, just the regular drops.

If this doesn't help and the kitty becomes worse, please bring it to the vet for proper medication which should clear it up in no time.
 

 

[orientalslave]

That would be black tea - no milk, no sugar! 

Personally I would be ringing the vets.  Sore eyes are no fun - had one myself - though come to that what seems to be the commonest treatment in the UK (Fusidic acid ointment) isn't either.  It stung like mad when it was prescribed for me, but it did the job.  It was no fun waking up to find my eyes were glued shut.

 

[mrblanche]

There are any number of home remedies for this, since it is very common in kittens. It is very serious, too, since it can easily result in eye damage and blindness.

This is often a symptom of an upper respiratory infection. Your vet will check on that and likely prescribe n antibiotic. However, the underlying infection is a virus, annd antibiotics won't touch that.

Many of us supplement our cats with a daily dose of L-lysine, which inhibits the virus that is often at the root of the eye disease.

Another treatment that can help is a very weak boric acid solution. If you check the ingredients of most eye washes, you'll find boric acid in it at something like a 1% concentration. My mother, the farm girl, always used a level teaspoon of the powdered medical grade boric acid (available at pharmacies) in a cup of warm water. Then she would use a soft cloth, wet a corner, and gently cleanse the eye.

 

[calico2222]

I agree with Mike, there is a good possibility this is caused by a virus (feline Herpes) and you just have to treat the symptoms. Our barn cats and our indoor cats (former barn kitties) all get watery eyes and goop caking at one time or another. Our vet was prescribing Terramycin. We also found out it was sold at a cheaper price at a local feed store so we have just been picking it up there instead of paying the vet prescription prices.

http://www.revivalanimal.com/Terramycin-Ophthalmic-Ointment.html

A friend at work that also cares for a stray colony around her house has used neosporin  in a pinch and she says it didn't hurt the cats. I'm hesitant about that until I talk to the vet and I keep forgetting to ask him.

I never heard about using black tea as a treatment. I'm going to have to try that. One thing I would definitely do until you get Trixie to the vet is to wipe out the eyes with a wet warm cloth a few times a day. If it's left unattended for too long the eye with glue shut and it can cause serious eye problems.

Congrats on Trixie!! I know she is in good hands and congrats on you new kitty!!

 

[orientalslave]

Black tea is simply something a little better than water to clean the eye with - I feel that calling it a treatment is overstating it.

 

[eb24]

I would for sure check with a vet (as many have recommended) to get some drops or ointment. My resident cat had a lot of health problems when she was young, including a chronic eye infection. I don't know if it is caused by feline herpes (I would assume that it is in her case) but I have noticed that after she gets her yearly booster it will come back. So, your kitten may be like my girl where the vaccines weaken the immune system enough to let the virus take over. It's not a big deal and you should always vaccinate, just be prepared that it may be recurring. To be on the safe side, I would start now trying to make any drops or ointment a pleasant experience for the little one. Try to do it when she is resting and give her plenty of love and attention beforehand. If she's food motivated I would give her some treats afterward too! It wasn't hard to put ointment in Ella's eye when she was a tiny kitten, but now that she's 10 pounds of muscle it can be quite an experience! 

 

[jennyr]

Just to say I have deleted the other thread on this topic as it almost duplicated all the posts in this thread. It keeps all comments on one place. I agree that eye problems in young kittens are very common, but often need a prescription ointment or drops to clear it up. So I would get the kitten to the vet as soon as possible. If left, it could cause permanent damage to her sight. SHe should have a general vet check anyway.

 

[aristotle]

Thank you all for the information!! Thanks jennyranson for deleting the other post. I hope bumping a 5 day old thread isn't breaking the rules or anything. I just wanted to inform ya'll that Trixy was taken to the vet today. Of course, I woke up with a miagrain. Taking a cat to the vet with a miagrain is never fun!! haha =D Anyways, our little kitty has conjuctivitis. (10 Points to Kailie!! =P) We treated it early, so everythings ok. The vet said if we waited, she would have gotten a fever, and the infection would have spread to the other eye. D= Also, he said that conjunctivitis can spread from a cat's eye to a human's eye and cause pink eye. I'm sure glad he told me that, disredarding the fact that we've been handling her for over a week now. o_o Anyways, he gave us a microscopic sized tube of cream to add to the eye. She's already looking better. =) Thank you all so much!  

 

[doylenova]

Thanks for this thread, it prompted me to join up!

 

[JamesCalifornia]

Very helpful info. I am keeping an "eye" on a new kitty with this condition.
So far it seems to be clearing up.

 

[Sarthur2]

You've posted on a thread from 2012 JamesCalifornia , but you can ask the vet for an antibiotic eye ointment if it doesn't clear. Please feel free to start your own thread about your kitten's eye if you need more help! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

 

[kristara horne]

Actually, I've always heard of chamomile tea, not black tea. Chamomile is considered dangerous in large quantities during early pregnancy, because it is an antiinflammatory and thins the blood, which needs to thicken in pregnancy in order to nurture the fetus. Anything cutting off this supply will cause a miscarriage. lol I know that's not related to cats, but it's a way to explain what chamomile does. It will decrease the eye inflammatoin and allow the cat some relief, but it isn't a treatment for infections.

 

[StefanZ]

 
Actually, I've always heard of chamomile tea, not black tea. Chamomile is considered dangerous in large quantities during early pregnancy, because it is an antiinflammatory and thins the blood, which needs to thicken in pregnancy in order to nurture the fetus. Anything cutting off this supply will cause a miscarriage. lol I know that's not related to cats, but it's a way to explain what chamomile does. It will decrease the eye inflammatoin and allow the cat some relief, but it isn't a treatment for infections.

I think both can be used. Not too strong concetrations though.  Strong black tea is poisonous for cats.  But weak black tea solution is fine to wash off the eyes, if you want to try a home remedy.  Weak chamomile tea is another possibility yes.  So is saline  water.  Observe in cases of bad infections, vets help is a must, a least an antibiotic paste, but possibly more.  Dont play games with eye infections if you arent very experienced and sure what you do.

 

[bob barnes]

they all sound good except for few that say if you cant afford them dont keep them ,, i stopped keeping pets  when i could,nt afford to keep them .. you know retired under obuma care  .now i live on 20 acres and the keeper of 16 stray cats 2 wooodchucks,4 skunks,3 big racoons a few deer ,and only god knows what else,so dont tell me about giving  them up .