Kitten with leaky eye

Hello everyone! It's been awhile since I've been on TCS. Our last foster kittens went to loving homes, and we kept both mamas. I recently took in another mom cat and her 6 offspring, from a family who couldn't afford to raise a litter *sigh*. Mama and little ones are doing great, they've been with me since the kittens were a day old. Mama cat was just spayed and microchipped last week, she will soon return home to her rightful family, after the kittens go to their new homes (already screened the adoptive families).

To my knowledge, the father of this litter is a solid white, green eyed cat. Mama cat produced 2 solid white males, one is green eyed like the father, and the other one is a rare Heterochromia Iridis cat (odd-eyed). I've noticed for the past 2 weeks that his green eye is constantly "leaky" and crusty, while the blue eye is perfectly normal. There's no green pus, or redness. I haven't seen him itch it or be bothered by it at all really. I've just started using a feline saline solution eye-wash, hoping this helps. Since I first noticed it, I've also been constantly wiping his eye clean with a damp, warm cloth (always sanitized before use).

Any guesses as to what may be causing this? He's completely healthy and happy over all! Each of them are. I'll attach a picture!

Thank you for any help. This is my first time dealing with this kind of eye-irritation...

My (non-medical) guess is a mild case of Feline Herpes Virus. This can affect one eye and cause a sweepy eye.

You might consider trying him on some L-Lysine. It's a supplement that can be bought at many health food and vitamin shops. 250 mg twice daily is the dose my vet ophthalmologist suggests for young kittens.

Obviously if the eye doesn't improve or worsens he'll need to be seen by a vet.

Q quinnmcc

Gorgeous kitten!

He probably has no lacrimal (tear) duct on that side. So the eye "tears up" and then it gets crusty.

Believe it or not, it's not uncommon. I've had several cats with this issue in one or both eyes.

It means a lifetime of wiping. I was given cortisone opthalmic drops for one of my adult cats who had it. She was prone to eye infections (and UTIs), and it helped to keep her eye clear by putting drops in 1-2x/week.

The stains and crust obviously show more on a white kitten's face. [emoji]128528[/emoji]

CatPack said:

My (non-medical) guess is a mild case of Feline Herpes Virus. This can affect one eye and cause a sweepy eye.

You might consider trying him on some L-Lysine. It's a supplement that can be bought at many health food and vitamin shops. 250 mg twice daily is the dose my vet ophthalmologist suggests for young kittens.

Obviously if the eye doesn't improve or worsens he'll need to be seen by a vet.

Click to expand...

Thank you for your response.

I will definitely go pick that up and try it out.
He's scheduled next week for his neuter surgery/UTD vaccines (including Rabies vacs), and treatment for fleas/mites. Everything is done at our local Humane Society, through a stray cat and foster caregiver program. It's not much of a personal experience, as it would be to take your pet to the vet for neuter surgery etc, the circumstances are just different, but I will make a note of the leaky eye on his chart and hopefully they will administer some kind of medication or treatment. Should I state that this is believed to be Feline Herpes Virus? I believe each cat in the program is treated for that anyway.

Aw... no advice to give, but your little darling foster is on the front page every time I log in. He's so cute, wish I could steal him and sneak in another cat!