I have a question concerning some kittens that are in my household?

Question

I have 3 mother cats that each had a litter of kittens there were 17 total i just recently gave one away making it 16 kittens. I cannot afford the health care or advice from a vet but i am having a problem with the kittens.

The kittens in question are 8-10 weeks old. I'm having a problem with their eyes crusting over and puss coming out of them. What is the cause of this problem and how do i fix it. Other than the eyes they seem to be pretty healthy and love to play and romp.

Could what their eating be causing this problem?

I am currently trying to give them away i have an add in the local classifieds, and as i said i already gave one away. I just don't like the fact of sitting with these kittens in front of wal-mart in the god awful heat of summer. Also I want them to look at least half-way presentable or else no one will take them

Answer 1

you dont need to worry about it being a matter of their diet. a lot of cats..or babies of any species tend to get eye colds. i have an 8 year old cat who gets eye colds when the seasons change..so i assume allergies.

if you cannot afford vet care..wipe their eyes..2/3 times a day with a warm cloth. no soap. and keep them inside if you can. i realize thats a large number of kittens. maybe put an add in the paper and give them away.

good luck with all of that!

Answer 2

This is probably an infection based on the fact that you have so many kittens in close proximity to each other, and I'm guessing, unvaccinated mother cats? A couple common infections that present with ocular discharge are chlamydia and feline herpes virus (which a few posters above have probably had experience with, as often these infections go into remission, but realize they never really are cured), but there are others, and some are very serious.
I hate to tell you this, but these cats need medical attention at the least for their eyes, and had better get vaccinated and dewormed as soon as possible.
And perhaps it is time to realize that if you cannot afford to give your pets adequate health care, it is time for you to stop owning pets. Also, letting three cats have 17 surviving kittens certainly is adding to the HORRIBLE cat overpopulation problem that this country is facing, leading to the deaths of thousands of cats a day. Because of people like you who do not spay and neuter there animals because they do not accept their financial responsibility of owning a pet. I would highly suggest you contact your local animal shelter to have them take as many of these kittens as possible, hopefully give them medical care (although unfortunately some overburdened shelters must euthanize the sicker animals so that the healthy ones have a chance to find a home!!!) and find the funds to have the three mothers spayed. Please. End the cycle before these 17 cats each have litters making the total number of cats about 170. Unless you find the funds to care for that many cats.
(And no offense to the person posting below me, but these kittens are realistically way to young to have allergies, and viral or bacterial conjunctivitis is MUCH more likely!!!
And to the person posting two below me, all great advice except I really would be concerned about using boric acid and even MORE concerned about using a mercury compound in a kitten!!! The boric acid would be too harsh and could damage the conjuctiva, which leads to other issues, and mercury is obviously toxic, and cats, especially kittens, are VERY sensitive to toxins. But the rest of your advise is spot-on IMHO)

Answer 3

Hello yes that is right this is just a common allergy problem,there is not much you can do to treat this,however you can help by taking a warm wash cloth and removing as much as you can as gently as you can without hurting them.Then after you have removed the puss take petroleum jelly you can get at a drug store and put a then layer over the eyes this will help to prevent the puss from drying and sticking to the fur.And it will not hurt them if they lick it.Another way of dealing with this is to call a vet and ask them for allergy drops for your kittens I am not sure how much it cost but it should not be that high.Some vets will give you this without making you have an office visit.If you are close to a petco or other animal store they may carry this,so you would not have to go to the vet.Depending on the older cats do they have the same problem if the older cats have the same problem it could be infection,if this is the case then you would need to buy enough antibiotics and give each kitten a shot for info on how much to give ask a vet.Call your local vet and set up a appointment for one kitten and tell him how many you have with this same problem,most vets are reasonable priced I would say around 40 to 50 dollars for a office visit,they will be able to help with all your questions.

Answer 4

You need to see a vet. I don't know where you live, but perhaps there is assistance available through a local rescue group. Pus always means an infection, and an infection requires antibiotic treatment.

There are some things you can do. Get a boric acid ophthalmic solution. The pharmacist can help you find it. It is an antiseptic for the eye. Dip a cotton ball in the solution, and get the cotton ball just wet, but not dripping wet. Take a kitten, and GENTLY stroke the wet cotton ball over the eye very gently, but repeatedly until all the crust and goop are cleaned off that eye. Then THROW THAT COTTON BALL AWAY. Use one cotton ball for each eye on each kitten. You don't want to spread any possible infection from one eye to the other, or from one cat to another. So use a fresh cotton ball for each little eye. This should cltean the crusty, goopy stuff up and clean out the eye.

When you are at the drug store, ask the pharmacist if he has a tube of yellow oxide of mercury ophthalmic ointment. This is a very old fashioned remedy and it may not be easy to find, but try.

After you clean out the eyes of each kitten, put in some ointment. You do this by very, very gently pulling the lower eyelid down until it pooches out a little. Then squeeze a stripe of the ointment into the eye. Then, when the eye closes, use the lid to smear the ointment over the eyeball. For each kitten, clean with boric acid using a different cotton ball for each eye, then put in the ointment. Then move on to the next kitten.

If your kittens got an eye infection while they were in your house, then the bacteria is in your house, and it is in their nest (basket, bed, box, whatever). You need to disinfect their nest. That means washing a bed and putting fresh rags on it; changing the box entirely and putting new rags in it. Clean out the bed, and have it ready. When you have a completely cleaned up kitty, put it in the fresh nest.

Keep their bed absolutely clean. Change the rags in it daily. And every day, clean the eyes at 8 hour intervals and put in fresh ointment.

If the infection is not bad and the kittens are really healthy -- and you keep them immaculate -- the problem may resolve.

Keep your other animals away from these kittens. Put them in a separate room; quarantine them. Otherwise, if these little guys do have something, they will spread it through the entire population, and you will have a real mess on your hands. If the kittens' eyes worsen even with diligent care, you will have to try and get help. And if the membrane that lines the eyeball socket -- the conjunctiva -- turns hot pink and swollen, you absolutely must get them help immediately. There is an angry form of conjunctivitis in kittens that causes blindness, and is difficult to treat if not treated early.

Perhaps an assistant in a local vet's office who does rescue work can get you some meds for your little guys.

Finally, you need to get your female cats spayed. If you cannot afford vet care for your kittens, you should not be having them. I do not want to insult you, but it really is very irresponsible of you to let your queens breed. There are free spay/neuter programs in most cities. Call your local SPCA or Humane Society or Animal Control people to find out when and where you can avail yourself of this service. It really is very important.

Answer 5

It's actually really normal for their eyes to do this. All of the kittens I've had do it at one point. It's basically just a slight cold or an allergy. Just clean the kitty's eyes out every day and keep him on a healthy diet. Also keep him inside the house in a warm place. He should do just fine then. Also, if you can't afford the vet care, maybe you should think about getting your cats spayed. There are government programs which will pay for the spaying of your cats. Check it out at your local animal shelter. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

This is a common kitten problem but left unattended, the kittens could lose their sight. You don't have to drag all the kittens to the vet, but you do need to get the eye ointment to clear up the problem. Keep their eyes cleaned and then use the ointment until the puss and gunk are gone. Doesn't hurt them, like burn or anything, but it is necessary to get their eyes fixed. You can get help from a non-kill animal shelter - that many cats around without being able to spay and neuter them is only going to get worse.

Answer 7

Not what their eating :) They're kittens, and they do play. Claws get near and into eyes, most kittens have this problem. Kitten claws are filled with germs, so when one kitten claws another's eyes, it gets infected. I've had many kittens, and it's always been the case.

Answer 8

They may have an upper respiratory infection. They have some kind of infection, at any rate. Take one to the vet and tell him or her that you need medication to treat all of them.

Answer 9

first of all you need to get the mothers fixed!
and no offense but if you cant afford to take care of them, dont you think it would be better for them if you found all of them new homes? mothers included.