Very bad ongoing eye infection in kitten(s)

[Abraham204]

Hello! Second thread I've made on the site I believe, haven't been here since 2019 really.
This might end up being pretty long, so please bear with me...

We have 5 kittens right now, two of which are doing fine, save for being very small for their age. We have one that is half-blind due to an eye infection when it was younger, and one that is fully blind, due to that same infection but in both eyes. The last kitten has it the worst. It's the smallest, and has what we refer to as the 'pop-eye'. The infection in this kitten has persisted despite eye medicine, and caused a build up of pus behind the eye, pushing it nearly out of the socket. My mom had been the one cleaning the eye for several months, but recently I found the no one was actually draining behind the eye, which I have started to do myself. I've tried convincing my parents to take it to the vet to have the eye removed, because it is very much beyond saving, but they say the vet would just euthanize the kitten. I do not think that would happen, as the kitten is still doing it's best, it eats plenty, drinks, and uses the litterbox just fine. Even if euthanasia is what the vet decides, it's better than letting the kitten suffer. I'm not sure we even have the money for either of those things though, which makes the situation a bit more difficult. I'm just wondering if anyone has gone through something similar and has any advice? I'm going to keep draining behind the eye to see if it starts to get better, and if that does nothing, I'm going to call a vet myself and figure something else out.

 

[cat nap]

...I'm just wondering if anyone has gone through something similar and has any advice? I'm going to keep draining behind the eye to see if it starts to get better, and if that does nothing, I'm going to call a vet myself and figure something else out.

The only thing I did was get eye antibiotic drops called Terramycin from the Vet, for a previous kitten, I had.
(Her eye did not sound as bad as your poor kittens, though.
She had an eye infection with yellow/green discharge and could not open her small eyelid.)

If you can get to a Vet, and have them prescribe antibiotics for your kitten, it will probably save his eye.

Try calling all Vets, and ask about what you can do, and their costs, any payment plans,...or if any places have 'low cost vet clinics'...or 'cat rescue groups', humane society, or local cat shelters, too.

No Money For Vet Care? How To Find Help And Save Your Cat’s Life – TheCatSite Articles
21 Organizations That Help Pay Vet Bills!
Financial Aid for Pets

This video by Kitten Lady, might be useful:

 

[Norachan]

I've tried convincing my parents to take it to the vet to have the eye removed, because it is very much beyond saving, but they say the vet would just euthanize the kitten

Even if the eye is too far gone to save there is no need to have the kitten PTS. One of my cats had her eye removed last year because of cancer. Cats do fine with just one eye and the kitten would stand a much better chance of surviving if your parents do agree to let the surgery go ahead. Untreated eye infections are very painful and the infection could spread, which would mean the kitten could die.

If your parents can't afford the vet bill please consider surrendering the kittens to a shelter. There are some links below that might help.

Low cost vet care and help with paying for surgery here.

Veterinary Resources - Pasadena Humane

No kill shelters in your state here.

California No Kill Animal Shelters: Find one near me - The nOkill Network

If you type the name of your town and low cost vet into Google you'll find more. There are a lot of places that will do the surgery for free, take the kittens for rehoming or help you in other ways. You just have to mail and call a ton of places to find someone who can help, but please don't give up. The kittens are going to need to be spayed, neutered and vaccinated as well as treated for their eye problems, so they really need you look around for some help for them.

 

[Abraham204]

The only thing I did was get eye antibiotic drops called Terramycin from the Vet, for a previous kitten, I had.
(Her eye did not sound as bad as your poor kittens, though.
She had an eye infection with yellow/green discharge and could not open her small eyelid.)

If you can get to a Vet, and have them prescribe antibiotics for your kitten, it will probably save his eye.

Try calling all Vets, and ask about what you can do, and their costs, any payment plans,...or if any places have 'low cost vet clinics'...or 'cat rescue groups', humane society, or local cat shelters, too.

No Money For Vet Care? How To Find Help And Save Your Cat’s Life – TheCatSite Articles
21 Organizations That Help Pay Vet Bills!
Financial Aid for Pets

This video by Kitten Lady, might be useful:

We have used Terramycin for all the kittens, it worked for all except for the very ill one. Truly I don't plan on giving up, but it's entirely up to my parents what happens as I don't have a car or a job right now, so the most I can do is give them the information and hope they do something soon. No local shelters, or even the ones in towns nearby are taking cats due to the amount of animals abandoned over quarantine, which adds another layer of difficulty. Thank you for replying, I'll be calling some vets to speak with them about the issue.

 

[cat nap]

We have used Terramycin for all the kittens, it worked for all except for the very ill one. Truly I don't plan on giving up, but it's entirely up to my parents what happens as I don't have a car or a job right now, so the most I can do is give them the information and hope they do something soon. No local shelters, or even the ones in towns nearby are taking cats due to the amount of animals abandoned over quarantine, which adds another layer of difficulty. Thank you for replying, I'll be calling some vets to speak with them about the issue.

Hi Abraham204 ...is there any way that you can donate some time, and volunteer at any Vet places, near you,...or even some of those shelters in near by towns?
That way you might be able to come into contact with some folks, who can help your kittens, too.

And those towns near by, may even have shelters, that will help you...with more ideas of what to do next.

If there are any farm Vets near you, that might not necessarily work with cats or dogs, but they may be willing to offer you some advice, then contact them, too.

If you type the name of your town and low cost vet into Google you'll find more. There are a lot of places that will do the surgery for free, take the kittens for rehoming or help you in other ways. You just have to mail and call a ton of places to find someone who can help, but please don't give up. The kittens are going to need to be spayed, neutered and vaccinated as well as treated for their eye problems, so they really need you look around for some help for them.

Definitely getting the kittens spayed and neutered is a good step, since it will get them seen by a Vet, and looking into 'low cost...or no cost' places, like Norachan mentioned in the above post, is just going to cost you time, spent phoning, emailing, and searching the internet. Email everyone you can,..even places that you have phoned up, too.

Try to make the phone calls in the mornings, mid mornings, early afternoons,...since that is the time when more people are likely to have extra free time, to talk with you.
Afternoons are good too, but too late in the day, sometimes people are too tired, or just swamped with paperwork.

If you can do some extra chores, or some extra help around the home, for your parents, as well,...they might be more inclined to know that you are seriously willing to put in extra effort to get these kittens of yours some help.
Even offering to do some chores for some neighbors, might help in raising some cash.

Whatever you do, like you said, just don't give up, and leave it all up to your parents. They are probably too busy with their own stuff, and you're probably much better at looking stuff up, on the internet, and calling places, than they would be.

It's really good that you don't plan on giving up, since you sound like the type of person, that will find a way to help these kittens.