Expert: Jessica - 11/11/2009

Question
QUESTION: my 6 month old kitten has 2 booger eyes and will not eat or drink from his mother he just sleeps

ANSWER: Hi Stephanie.  Your kitten definitely needs to see a vet.  It sounds like he has an upper respiratory infection.  Many of them begin as viral infections, but later, the cats develop secondary bacterial infections.  Most vets will prescribe an antibiotic for kittens with symptoms this severe, and cats with eye discharge definitely need an antibiotic eye ointment.  Without it, they can get corneal ulcers, inner eye infections or their eyelids can form adhesions that can lead to serious complications, including blindness.

If your little one is actually 6 months old, he won't need to be eating from his mother anymore.  Kittens should be weaned by 3 months of age.  It can be unhealthy for both the kitten and the mom for him to nurse longer.  If he is six WEEKS, then he still has several weeks to be weaned healthily.  But kittens become quickly dehydrated and malnourished, especially those who are very young (in case he is only 6 weeks).  So you should get him to the vet tomorrow to get him treated. In the meantime, try to get him to eat and drink anything meat-based that you can (make sure there are no onion or garlic ingredients).  Try some boiled chicken breast, stage one meat baby foods and even some tuna, just to keep his appetite active.  Your vet can give you a prescription food with a strong aroma and high caloric value, such as Hill's a/d or Royal Canin's Recovery RS to help him through his illness when you bring him in for his exam.

I hope he feels much better soon!

Jessica



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: do the vets charge you for the medicine or do they give it to you and if they do charge you how much will it be

Answer
The vets do charge you for the medicine.  The cost will all depend on which medicines your vet prescribes and where you are located in the country, since prices vary.  However, if you let your vet know you're on a budget, they can give you the least expensive medications that should be effective.  For an oral medication to control his upper respiratory infection, the least expensive is usually plain amoxicillin (NOT Clavamox, which is quite expensive), and in my area, it runs around $13 for a bottle.  For his eye infection, there are a number of eye ointments.  Erythromycin is very inexpensive, running around $6 per tube, but not all vets carry it.  Most vets carry Vetropolycin (also called Trioptic), and at my vet, this is around $10 a tube.  To be sure, ask your vet what the costs of any medications he gives will be before he dispenses them.