Kittens Eye Keeps Sticking Shut

[carla]

Hi again.

I'm such a concerned grandma !

Right - my latest question. All of my kittens eyes have opened now, but the smallest kitten only has one eye open most of the time. The other one keeps sticking shut. It doesn't look infected or anything, it just gets a little bit crusty !

I've been bathing it with warm water and then mother cat licks it. This works but the next day it's eye is closed again. This has been going on for about 4 days now.

Should I be concerned and take her to the vet or am I worrying about nothing ?

 

[gayef]

Keep bathing it with the warm water unless you see green gunk in it. If it is green, you'll need an antibiotic eye ointment.

 

[cjandbilly]

Well, my cat's eyes did that. It turns out that she has a type of herpes, that is not contractable to humans, nor harmful to the cat. Every now and then, CJ will get an eye infection. Her mom's baby kitten had the same problem you described. The vet prescribed anti-biotics and an eye ointment and it all cleard up in a couple of days. Maybe your kitty has the same problem?

 

[fiery]

It sounds like it could be a form of kitten conjunctivitus. Sometimes bacteria gets beneath the eyelids and causes an infection in young kittens before their eyes open, so when they do finally begin to open, one gets crusted over. If this is accompanied by big droplets of yellow pus, make sure you clean the kitten's eye at the very least twice a day. I'd also recommend seeing a vet, as they could give you some antibiotics to put in the kitten's eye. Two of my babies have it too, we're going to see the vet later tonight.

 

[gayef]

While both of the other posters have brought forward valid points, based on my experience, it seems most likely that kitten's eye is sticking shut because the little ones vie for position on the "buffet" (Mom's nipples) and frequently hook someone else's little eye in the process.

As Carla points out in her post, it doesn't look infected at all, it just gets a little crusty and sticks. It normally passes within several days, but if it doesn't, then you can consider other possibilities.

 

[carla]

Hello Again, just to let you all know, I bathed it again last night and her eye was still open this morning. hooray ! It looks a little sore but there's no pus or anything. I think it's ok now. Thanks for the help !

 

[cjandbilly]

Originally Posted by Carla

Hello Again, just to let you all know, I bathed it again last night and her eye was still open this morning. hooray ! It looks a little sore but there's no pus or anything. I think it's ok now. Thanks for the help !

Yay for the kitty! And very good to the meowmy for keeping it clean!!!