Urgent advice needed - Very young kitten with swollen eye

becky lewis

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I know the best solution is to visit a vet, BUT we are currently in Java Indonesia in a remote area and there are no vets here so I need to the best for this kitten at home, with what we can source here.

It is a very young kitten (around 1-2 weeks old) that we rescued from the side of the road. He had been thrown from a car in a plastic bag with 4 other kittens. By the time we saw them this little fella was the only one still alive.

We have had him now for around 3 days and he seems to be doing well, except one of his eyes has swollen considerably overnight and is getting bigger very quickly now and is red. He has not yet opened either of his eyes. In the last couple of hours discharge has started to appear on the inside corner (the side near it's nose) and I think the pressure needs to come out as the swelling must be putting huge pressure on his little eye. We are bathing it regularly with warm water and have also tried using some tea (have seen this suggested on some forums) but should we try to pry the eye open a little to get some of the discharge out?? We don't want to make it worse, but it seems like this is required.

It is still feeding normally and seems alert and active when awake. I have read that we could maybe try amoxicillin and I know it is not advisable to use this without a vets guidance, but I think without antibiotics this little guy will die. Does anybody know the correct dosage for a young kitten? I have sent messages to a number of vets surgeries back home in NZ and have contacted a few online vets that say they will respond within 24 hours. I know eye problems can be quite serious without fast treatment so I'm anxious to start treating this now.

Any advice appreciated.

(On a side note, we do not have goats milk so are using infant formula with an egg yolk. Feeding every 3 hours or so. Have been using this for 3 days and pee and poop is still regular and normal, with stimulation. We have a potential surrogate mum cat to try in a couple of days, but will now wait for the infection to clear up so the other kittens don't get it as well.)
 

StefanZ

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I know the best solution is to visit a vet, BUT we are currently in Java Indonesia in a remote area and there are no vets here so I need to the best for this kitten at home, with what we can source here.

It is a very young kitten (around 1-2 weeks old) that we rescued from the side of the road. He had been thrown from a car in a plastic bag with 4 other kittens. By the time we saw them this little fella was the only one still alive.

We have had him now for around 3 days and he seems to be doing well, except one of his eyes has swollen considerably overnight and is getting bigger very quickly now and is red. He has not yet opened either of his eyes. In the last couple of hours discharge has started to appear on the inside corner (the side near it's nose) and I think the pressure needs to come out as the swelling must be putting huge pressure on his little eye. We are bathing it regularly with warm water and have also tried using some tea (have seen this suggested on some forums) but should we try to pry the eye open a little to get some of the discharge out?? We don't want to make it worse, but it seems like this is required.

It is still feeding normally and seems alert and active when awake. I have read that we could maybe try amoxicillin and I know it is not advisable to use this without a vets guidance, but I think without antibiotics this little guy will die. Does anybody know the correct dosage for a young kitten? I have sent messages to a number of vets surgeries back home in NZ and have contacted a few online vets that say they will respond within 24 hours. I know eye problems can be quite serious without fast treatment so I'm anxious to start treating this now.

Any advice appreciated.

(On a side note, we do not have goats milk so are using infant formula with an egg yolk. Feeding every 3 hours or so. Have been using this for 3 days and pee and poop is still regular and normal, with stimulation. We have a potential surrogate mum cat to try in a couple of days, but will now wait for the infection to clear up so the other kittens don't get it as well.)
Looking and writing, hold on   @catwoman707   @Red Top Rescue

OK, DO you have this amoxicillin?  And or some other preparates?   In what form?   Something you can easily dose, or its a paste without practical possibilities to dosage?

Being desperate enough, I think its time to use it. Even if you dont know the exact dosages.   Sorry, I myself Im not expert on dosages.

I know somewhere online there is Merckx veterinary handbook, where you can find dosages, but I myself had never done this.  Sorry.

[Merck manual,   easy to google on.]

I think also, you should try and let the pressure out, as good you can.  Make sure the kitten doesnt get anything in the other eye too, Nor gets into the mouth... Tricky, I know.

As I understand it, you are doing and thinking exactly right, according to the best of manuals.

Re home remedies.

If you use warm water, add a little salt in it. Tears are salty so it wont harm. About 1,5 teaspoon of kitchen salt in a litre of water.

Weak tea, luke warm, should be useful yes.

Coldpressed  cocos oil of good quality, some say has some antibiotic properties.

Catwoman and Red Top Rescue, they are our most experienced rescues, both experienced also in field medicine and what is possible to do home, when you dont have any access to a vet...  I hope at least one of them can step in and add some useful proposals.

Tx a lot for caring and helping!

Good luck!
 
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StefanZ

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Merck veterinary manual,    :)

There is also Merck manual, but its for humans.    No x in Merck, as its otherwise easy to think.
 
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becky lewis

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Thank you StefanZ. We have been bathing it and a lot of gunk has come out of the small opening now and it is returning to it's normal size. Given the swelling is going down I am unsure whether to try the amoxicillin or to see if with regular bathing it resolves itself. We have amoxicillin in tablet form and I will take a look at the manual to get the dosage. 

Our friend who has the potential surrogate mum cat popped round recently and thinks the kitten is only a week or two younger than her kittens and they are just over a month old. This may put its age at closer to 3 weeks. I am now wondering if the eyes are late in opening and maybe this is a reason for the problem starting. I have attached an image of the kitten,with the swollen eye and also for a size perspective. (Damp head from the bathing.) If the eyes should be open already, will regular bathing help them to open or will this just happen in its own time?

 

StefanZ

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I think it has no real connection, the natural eyes opeing and the being closed by pus.  As both eyes are closed, the healthy(?) and the infected eye.

So this seems to be an late opener.

The only to say, IF they eye opens by itself, it will be easier to keep it clean, and putting in antibiotica.

Im glad it is a little better now, but as this is better now, it must have been really nasty before...

I wish you and this little one all Good luck!
 

catwoman707

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Thanks @StefanZ  for getting my attention.

First of all thank you so much for saving this little one.

SHAME on the person who would do such a heartless thing to those poor little innocent babies! Makes me shudder to think.........

Bacterial infections are very common in babies/kittens. Most will heal just fine with the commonly used eye antibiotic terramycin.

However I can't say whether or not this particular is available in Indonesia, but surely a good alternative is Erythromycin eye ointment will do the job too.

There are drops called   Pentamycetin if you can get this, especially since the eyes are not open, you can put a drop in the corner where it drains and hold the baby on it's back for a couple minutes to help give it a chance to soak in.

I know terramycin can be bought without a prescription but I don't know about the others, nor which will be available there.

Until you have a treatment, continue to clean the eye with very warm, soaking wet cloth, and any wiping you do, with a slight amt of pressure only, swiping from the outer corner to the inner corner, to cause the fluid buildup to be pushed towards the drain hole. This is a very gentle procedure! Excess pressure can cause that infectious fluid to be pushed back around the eye and absorbed rather than allowed to come out.

ASAP, as despite how common this is seen, an ongoing untreated eye infection can actually cause permanent damage, even loss of the eye itself.

Based on the picture, I held my hand the same way and imagined the baby in it, it looks to be about 10-12 days old, which explains the eyes not opening just yet, any day now they will.

You do not want to force baby eyes open until they are ready, but if you can continue to help the eye drain as much as you possibly can in that corner it drained before, that's a very good thing to continue doing.

The drops or the ointment are often times enough, but sometimes not and will need to help of an oral antibiotic as well, but the oral will take too long on it's own now to help, you really need a topical antibiotic at this point, asap too.

The infant formula with added egg youlk (never the white) is fine as long as the baby seems to do well on it.

Some do not, but after 3 days you should be noticing it is not doing okay with this so it seems to be fine.

Great job you're doing!!
 
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becky lewis

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Thanks @catwoman707

Luckily the eye started to open in the inner corner and we managed to drain all the pus out of the eye and it opened fuller a few hours later. His other eye opened the following day, so the timing was about right for it to open as I was slightly worried that it would cause damage if it had happened too early.

Once we initially drained the eye we continued to bath it regularly, but there was no more pus and we couldn't see any crustiness around the eye when he woke up, so it appears there was just an irritation to the eye rather than a full blown infection. We monitored it for a couple of days and continued with the bathing but as all appeared to be fine we took steps to introduce him to a surrogate mum and she has accepted him which is great. He's a little smaller than his new brothers and sisters but is still managing to get his share and the mum cat is doing a great job of giving him some extra special care. We're popping round a couple of times a day to make sure all is well with the little guy, but he seems healthy and happy at this stage.

Thank you so much @catwoman707  and @StefanZ. I was really scared when I first saw the swelling and wasn't sure where to turn, but being able to get in touch with you on here made me feel less alone with the situation and has also helped save the ltitle guys eye. Giving up your time to help and give advice in this forum is brilliant - you guys deserve a medal. 
 

catwoman707

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Oh my gosh how I LOVE this!! He's ALOT smaller actually, but has a [prime nipple despite his size!! How stinkin cute is that?!

I've used surrogates often, SO handy for sure.

Poor little baby sure got off to a rough start, and look at him now, I am all smiles!

Thanks so much for saying, it does us loads of good feelings to know we are able to help, even if/when it's only support, but that's why we're here and love what we do :)

Keep the updates coming if you will!
 
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