kitten with infected eye

[cat help]

is there anything i can do to try and get rid of this i want to avoid taking to the vets if possible and one of my older cats has one aswell i noticed it yesterday so cleaned with cold tea and salt water and its worse today so i am still cleaning it evry so often which he hates

so do i seperate them from the other cats and kittens is there something else i could use would the pet shop be able to give me something for it i am really stuck for money as OH is not working due to depression didnt expect this can take them o the vets when i get paid but not til end of the month

sorry i know i shouldnt have cats if i cant afford them its just this month but the girls were meant to be neutered and when i took them in they were pregnant

thanks

[gwenoakes]

OP - Could poss be conjunctivitis. If it is you will need antibiotic drops from the vet. Do you have a vet that does PDSA that you could go to? Best of luck.

[karen]

the medicine which your vet will give you contains the same ingredients as most human treatments for conjuctivitis which is exactly what it sounds like look for a neomycin product the ingredient is neomycin sulphate i think or chloramphenicol. Brolene is also safe available from any good chemists hope this helps! don't use salt water just cold tea! I cannot promise those ingredients are safe for queens though

good luck

[sulasmum]

Try Golden Eye ointment. You may be able to get this over the counter at the chemists

[blue]

thanks for your help cleaning it quite often the big cat seems to be clearing up but will keep them in the spare room away from others don't want them

its just chaos here 10 cats 6 of them kittens and i cant find loving homes yet local ads paper you cant get one for under £25.00 but will have to sort their eyes to before any of them can go x

[varkie]

I'm hoping this is a troll thread - I'm really hoping!!!

But in case its not, here is my advice - but you won't like it.

If you have kittens with persistantly runny eyes, then they really do need to see a vet. Especially as you have more than one cat/kitten with runny eyes. The reason for this is that runny eyes can be a sign of cat flu - cat flu in kittens can be fatal - if they have cat flu, and you don't get them treated by a vet, they could die. Are your older cats vaccinated?

Your kittens also need worming & de-fleaing if they aren't already done - both of these things can also kill kittens if left untreated.

If your cats were pregnant when you took them in to be speyed, did you not consider having them done anyway? Although this is a horrid thing to do, it isn't any better to bring yet more unwanted cats into the world who will probably end up having yet more kittens & probably be put down by vets anyway later in life due to being unwanted.

Were the cats allowed out before their neutering? If so, in future, I'd suggest that this is a bad idea - keep them in until after neutering.

Your cats really DO need to see a vet. Please either take them to the PDSA, or find the money for a private vet. If you can't do either, then do your cats a favour & take them to a rehoming centre, where they can be treated by a vet & then rehomed where their owner can afford treatment.

[ktk]

You do need to take the cats to the vets, and as soon as possible. Vets are very accomodating when it comes to paying for treatment, and will sort out a payment plan for you. Phone the vet in the morning and get it sorted, better that then waiting and putting all your cats at risk of catching this infection (I really do hope it is not cat flu).

Any eye infection in any animal/human should be treated asap as infections can travel so very quickly to the brain.

[blue]

what???

it only started yesterday yes the other cats are vaccinated and the older cat is clearing up the eye infection

its not a troll thread and yes it is a horrid thing to ask the to spay when they were pregnant its very cruel actually and i have to take responsibilty for they dont have flea none of my cats have ever had fleas and they checked on a regular basis and they have also been wormed already

for god sake its just one month ever had a really bad month yourself financially ? next month will be fine and continuing months will also be fine and to be honest i did explain that my oh has no job because he was ill is ok and seeking another job

not giving them over to a re-homing centre sorry have been to those places and the animals are not as well looked after as people think, i hate the thought of them in one of those places ok i cant take them to the vets straight away as soon as i get paid it will be sorted until then i will continue to clean it and he is staying in my bedroom dont worry will have a litter tray water and food

sorry but i dont think that i need to run to the vets at abit of an eye infection bet your one of those people that calls the vet at every cut nick stratch my vet hates those people. i have actually called rspca and they said unless i am on benefits (which i am not) then they cant do anything and said it will be ok if i continue to clean but if it gets worse then i should take it to a vets

thanks for that you have really opened my eyes

[sarah1765]

i know wot its like 2 hav a bad month, ive had several. do as others suggested and get ointment from chemist. keep observing the kitten if it gets snuffly/runny nose GET IT TO A VET i work at a vet (kennel assistant) and ive seen kittens wit flu that survived. if the older cat doesnt have it and the kitten hasnt been in contact with anyone that has, hopefully its not flu. get ointment and try that - no salt water, tea might help a bit. obviouslt in a perfect world take it to the vet, but use ur common sense, if worst comes to worst get it to vets asap and some private vets send out a bill which u can pay next month with interest. but i do think u shud get the cats spayed in future to avoid unwanted pregnancy.

[meg]

Oh please try to get them checked by a vet. I took on a pregnant cat that I thought seemed healthy although heavely pregnant. The kittens all developed runny eyes. The vet confirmed cat flue(they didnt sneeze or seem lethargic). It was touch and go with one of the kittens as to weither it would be blind, but thankfully it pulled through. They all have good homes now but if I had left it a few weeks I dread to think what they (and I) would have faced.

[varkie]

the older cat is clearing up the eye infection
Not sure how I'm supposed to know this? In your original post you state its getting worse. My comments are based on what you originally state.

it only started yesterday
Cat flu can come on very fast.

it is a horrid thing to ask the to spay when they were pregnant
Yes, it is. I've had to assist at quite a few ops where this is done when I was a vet nurse, and I hated it.

its very cruel actually...to spay when they were pregnant
Maybe. But it'll be a damn sight crueller when someone has to put those kittens down when they're older because they're unwanted.

for god sake its just one month ever had a really bad month yourself financially?
Yes, I have. Bad to the extent that I had to chose whether I ate or my cats ate. And my cats ate.

next month will be fine and continuing months will also be fine
That's great, and I'm pleased for you & your family, but can your cats wait that long? I hope it is nothing more serious than a minor infection - that could be the case, but if it isn't, they can't wait.

i did explain that my oh has no job because he was ill is ok and seeking another job
I'm sorry to hear this. I have been in similar circumstances, and know how hard this is, but this has absolutely no bearing on whether your cats receive treatment or not - whatever your situation, if they need treatment, they need treatment.

not giving them over to a re-homing centre sorry have been to those places and the animals are not as well looked after as people think, i hate the thought of them in one of those places
Don't tar all centres with the same brush. There are bad centres, and there are good centres.

i dont think that i need to run to the vets at a bit of an eye infection
If it is purely a very minor bit of an eye infection, then no, you might be able to treat it yourself, but a major infection (which can start small) or cat flu really does need treatment. Are you experienced enough to know the difference? If you are that experienced, then why do you need to ask advice on this?

bet your one of those people that calls the vet at every cut nick stratch
Bet it all you like. You'd lose. No, I don't call the vet for any little thing. I used to be a vet nurse, so have a little experience. However if I am ever unsure, then yes, I do go to see the vet - and that is as it should be. In the last year, I have been to our small animal vets only twice, outside of routine treatment. The sort of person I actually am is someone who acts on a regular basis as a fosterer for cats who have been abandoned, left feral, kittens who are unwanted, cats carrying litters of kittens etc. I spend hours crawling under barns, catching kittens & cats, trapping cats so they can be neutered & rehomed, trying to reassure cats who have been neglected or badly treated that the human race is ok really, watching cats who are barely adult themselves struggling to give birth & be mothers to kittens only months younger than themselves, screening people to be prospective owners to these cats, generally dealing with unwanted cats & kittens because people irresponsibly didn't get them neutered, watching cat & kittens die of cat flu/enteritis/aids/leukeamia because they were unvaccinated or left untreated.

thanks for that you have really opened my eyes
If only that were true.

[blue]

what an awful person you are varkie

i am relly stunned at your first post and reply

[gwenoakes]

How is the cat and kitten today op?

[Karon]

I'll probably get jumped on for this, but it's far more cruel to not get the cats spayed - pregnant or not - and leave the kittens without vet treatment. Yes it's horrible to get a pregnant cat spayed - I know, I've had to have it done many times with farm cats when I've been the only one bothered enough to take action. But better that than letting them have kittens then get cat flu or chlamydia.

I've got one cat who is the result of kittens getting flu and being left untreated (he turned up in my stable aged 6 weeks with raging flu) - he lost one eye and the other isn't much use either. I've also got 2 rescue cats that I had as kittens - they had chlamydia as tiny kikttens and could both have lost sight from that.

And yes, I've also had bad months. To the extent I've had to ask the vet if I can pay at the end of the month for treatment, when it's been needed. I've also had to make the choice between me and my OH eating, or the cats eating - the cats always win, we live on baked beans.

I too am not one of those people who goes to the vet for every little thing, but having seen the end results of flu (including kittens dying of it, despite treatment as soon as I found them - now THAT is horrible) I wouldn't risk leaving it to see if it clears up.

Varkie sounds as if she could be me (except I want to be a vet nurse, haven't been one!) - I've done much the same trying to catch cats for spaying, and ill kittens, dealing with unwanted farm cats etc. It's cost me a fortune over the years and that's without taking my own cats into it.

I probably sound harsh, but I too have seen too much of the end result of people "waiting to see" or just not bothering. If it's a bad month, explain that to your vet. Most vets are understanding, and if they are anything like mine will probably discount the fees as well as letting you pay at the end of the month.

[ktk]

Of for goodness sake OP. Why not just pick up the phone and call the vet, so long as your honest about the symptoms the vet can then decide whether they think its necessary for you to take your cats in.