New Kitten, runny eye.

Hello, I'm new to this website! My name is Jackie and I currently have 2 cats. One domestic shorthair (grey) that is 2.5 years old, and a new kitten that is 11 weeks old (not entirely sure on breed, domestic longhair maybe). I am an animal lover, and I absolutely adore our two cats <3. 

Now to why I am posting. We just got our kitten TODAY, and we noticed that his eye has been running A LOT. We keep cleaning it up every so often but I'm wondering if maybe he has an eye infection? The house we got him from was rather run down and dirty. We had to give him a bath and clean him up as soon as we got him home. 

He does have a vet appointment on tuesday for his shots and deworming (they are going to check him i suppose), and I know they will probably tell me what is going on with his eye. I've been reading through the forum and everyone seems very kind and knowledgable so I was just wondering if someone could ease my mind and maybe tell me what it could be. I will be linking pictures of his eye below.

To everyone that does respond, Thank you!  

Looks to me like possibly an Upper Respiratory Infection.  That can cause runny eyes.  My kitty Sawyer had one as well when I got him and a runny eye was the first thing I noticed.  I just took him into the vet I work at and gave him some antibiotics and eye medication for a couple weeks and it cleared right up.  They may want to hold off on the vaccines until it is cleared up..  Only way to know for sure what it is is for the vet to look at it though.  

Thank you so much for responding. We are keeping his eye as clean as we can, and I have been noticing a few sneezes here and there. Poor lil guy.  

I'll update you once we see the vet on tuesday! Thanks again. 

Agreed, he probably needs some antibiotic eye ointment like Terramycin. Until he sees the vet, just be sure that it doesn't get crusted closed. Keep the eye wiped with warm water. He's so cute!

We're keeping his eye VERY clean.

I agree with everything that's been said so far. Poor little thing. 

It's probably cat flu - many kittens get it particularly if they and the mother have not been too well cared for. I see a lot of it in kittens rescued from feral colonies.

If it is only affecting his eye, the vet may prescribe an eye ointment and trust that good food and plenty of TLC will do the rest.

But as he is sneezing he will probably need antibiotics. It would be wrong to vaccinate him in this condition. Better to leave it a couple of months until he is really fit. You will have to keep him indoors until then. So long as your other cats have been vaccinated, there is little chance that they will catch this virus. 

I hope you only get this answer once - it is very windy here in Germany today and my Internet connection keeps breaking down. Happy Easter  

He hasn't sneezed at all today so far. I'm keeping a close eye on him. His eye is also doing better today, less watery for sure. I only had to wipe it off once in the morning. Looks like getting him all cleaned up may have helped but i'll definitely bring it to the vets attention. 

The house he was living in was FILTHY and he was covered in dirt. Since we gave him a warm bath and cleaned him up, he seems so much happier than where we got him from. He is such a sweetheart. <3

When my cat Casey was adopted at 7 weeks old he came home with a URI but did not show any symptoms for about a week.  The goopy watery eyes were the first symptom that showed up.  He did not start sneezing right away.  I had his first vet appointment scheduled a couple days after the goopy eyes showed up.  I did call the vets office and they told us how to keep his eyes cleaned up until his appointment.  The vet did go ahead and treat him for a URI because he was sneezing a little bit at his appointment. The vet agreed with us to put off his vaccines until he was completely over the eye infection and URI.  Casey was given an ointment for his eye and an antibiotic.  His issues were minor and he was completely healthy in about a week.

Well, I think he's doing very well. He may not need antibiotics at all. So long as the kitten has a good immune system and there are no secondary infections, a virus will usually clear up on its own accord. Still, a visit to the vet is always advisable when you take on a new cat.

I admire you for giving him a bath. This side of the Atlantic I rarely hear about people giving cats a bath. I tried it once - but had to give up. I finished giving the large black tom a rather wet wash with a face cloth. I treated one dirty female from a shelter to a dry shampoo and a good brush down. At least she smelt better afterwards.  Depending how friendly they are, recently castrated toms are subjected to a radical face cloth treatment or a more gentle rub down twice a day until they lose their tomcat odour.

Well done!

I'm hoping he can fight it all on his own but of course the vet will tell us for sure. 

I give my older cat baths every month or two. I rescued her from a shelter and she was pretty comfortable with the idea of a bath to begin with. She doesn't love them but she also doesn't fight me when I do bathe her. I want to get the kitten comfortable with baths as well He also didn't fight me. He just sat there and let me wash him. 

I just got back from the vet and I just wanted to say that Meko was very brave and talkative. We found out that Meko is female and is 8 weeks old. When we got her we were TOLD that she was a male and 11 weeks old. That's fine though.

The vet also told us that Meko has the FHV-1 virus (also known as FVR I think). This is very sad to hear, but considering her living conditions prior to our home that could explain a lot. The vet also told us that it means she is more prone to upper respiratory infections and that explains the sneezing and running eye.The vet didn't do any tests to establish this, she just took a heart rate reading. FHV-1 is contagious, but because our other cat, Mew, is vaccinated she is at less of a risk of contracting it from Meko. I feel so bad for Meko, and I wish there was something else I could do but unfortunately there is not. 

With that said, she has been dewormed, tested negative for feline leukemia, was given one vaccination for FVRCP, and has another appointment in 3 weeks for more boosters.

We've had Meko for 4 days and I can't believe how attached I am to her already. <3  

Well, at least you now know what you're up against! I'm surprised MEGO was given her first shots in spite of the vet suspecting FHV-1, so she must be in a good condition after being with you just 4 days. 

Enjoy your new little baby girl - our Mowgli was 10 months before we found he was a she (Mogi)! 

It's been almost a year but I just wanted to add a little update. Ever since Meko's runny eye incident, it hasn't happened again.

She has gotten BIG and she is very healthy. Here is a NEW picture: 


Thank you to everyone that shared their experiences, and advice! It was greatly appreciated.  

He's huge now!  Great to have an update.