Expert: Ali - 5/31/2009

Question
I have been taking care of a stray cat for a while she is very friendly and now has given birth to 3 kittens. She has brought them here, they seem to be eating well but I have noticed that there eyes look a little crusty. Can I clean them with warm water and a cotton ball..

Answer
Jeanmarie,

Crusty discharge from a cat's eyes is often an indication of an infection. Sometimes there can be serious underlying issues that go along with that infection, other times the cat/kitten just needs to be treated with the appropriate medicine. I do think that the mom and her kittens should be seen by a vet to ensure that nothing else is happening that could threaten the survival/health of this little family. For now you can certainly clean their eyes with a cotton ball moistened with warm distilled water or eye drops in a natural tears formula, I'd suggest cleaning the eyes as often as you see discharge. It's really important to have each kitten's eye infection treated promptly because allowing it to continue can cause lasting problems with a cat's sight. I'd highly suggest that you wash your hands thoroughly before caring for the kittens or administering any medicine to treat their infected eyes to avoid adding any bacteria to their eyes. I normally suggest washing your hands thoroughly in hot, soapy water or using a hand sanitizer between treating each kitten's eyes to avoid spreading any different bacteria that might be present in the eyes and causing the situation to get worse and require more vet care. Eye infections can be passed from cats to people so it's very important to wash your hands thoroughly before touching your face, this will help you avoid an eye infection.

Young kittens can be susceptible to upper respiratory infections caused by viruses or bacteria. If the kittens have any upper respiratory symptoms like nasal discharge, frequent sneezing/coughing, fever, lack of appetite, lethargy, etc they should be seen by a vet immediately to receive supportive treatment which may include a course of antibiotics to ensure that no secondary bacterial infections happen. If your kittens don't have an upper respiratory infection it's best to keep a close eye on them because eye infections and upper respiratory infections often go hand in hand. If your kittens have nasal discharge that crusts up around their nostrils it's important to clean it away using warm water and a moist cotton ball or face cloth.

If you're just dealing with kittens who have eye infections you can try a low cost home remedy if the kittens are older than 8 weeks - OTC Polysporin eye/ear drops at a dose of 1-2 drops twice daily for 5 days should do the job nicely. If you aren't noticing any improvement after a couple of days it's necessary to take the kittens to the vet to get stronger medicine to treat their infected eyes. If the kittens are younger than 8 weeks they should really be seen by a vet ASAP to be assessed, treated for any medical issues as well as treated for fleas, dewormed & vaccinated when they're feeling better to prevent serious viral infections like distemper which often proves fatal in young kittens.

I would suggest that you consider contacting a local chapter of Alley Cat Allies or another rescue organization that helps with the basic vet care (deworming, flea/tick treatments, vaccines, spay/neuter surgery, etc) for feral cats and facilitates the adoption of friendly strays. If possible I think that it would be best to bring mom and her babies into your home to help ensure that they're safe from predators, poisoning, acts of cruelty by people and other serious problems that a stray cat living on their own can face. A nursing mother and young kittens are quite vulnerable to predators, the elements and other factors if they stay outside without anyone to ensure their safety. A dog or free roaming intact tom cat can inflict serious injuries on the kittens or kill them, and most queens will fight to the death to protect their offspring. Having this young family indoors will also help you keep a close eye on the medical status of mom and provide the nursing care that her young kittens need. When caring for stray cats there's never a guarantee that you'll see them everyday since life on their own is quite difficult for cats. Another advantage of keeping this young family indoors is that you'll know fairly quickly whether or not everyone's getting enough food.

If taking mom and her kittens in to the vet all at once for treatment isn't financially possible my recommendation would be to contact a no kill shelter or charitable organization in your area to see if they'd be willing to help with the cost of medical care for these cats, if you're lucky they may be able to place mom and her kittens into loving forever families fairly soon. In most cases shelters, rescue groups, charities and other organizations are full at this time of year because it's kitten season, so if you don't find help from these types of animal welfare agencies don't lose heart.

In today's tough economic times money can be tight, I'm well aware that vet care can be expensive, especially when you need to take multiple cats to the doctor all at once. Some veterinarians are willing to offer payment plans, but it's not all that common. In some areas there are vet clinics that offer their services at a reduced rate, sometimes in exchange for volunteer hours other times these clinics are funded by donations from the public. I keep an ever expanding list of charities, shelters and other animal welfare type resources for much of Canada and the US and I provide the names and as much contact information as possible for these organizations so that pet parents can get the financial assistance they need in order to provide the best possible medical care for their own pets or rescued strays. Since my resource binder is filled to overflowing and providing every pet parent with every single resource would prevent me from helping the number of pet parents I'd like to all that I ask is for you to contact me again with information about the general area you're writing from - in the US the state or city is fine, in Canada the city or province you're writing from is sufficient.

It wouldn't be unusual to contact rescue organizations or animal shelters at this time of year and have them say that they're filled beyond capacity and unable to help with the cost of veterinary care, food, shelter or daily care for any other cats or kittens - unfortunately it's kitten season and shelters and animal welfare organizations are swamped with insane numbers of cats and kittens coming into their care. Many shelters won't turn anyone away, this often means that adult cats and young kittens are euthanized because there just aren't enough spaces to house them indefinitely until each cat/kitten's forever family comes along to take them home which is why I try to suggest alternative means of getting stray/feral cats and kittens the care they need. Sometimes there are situations where there just aren't any easy answers, and in these situations I try to help folks choose the best possible option for the long term wellbeing of the cat/kitten involved.

Since you're looking after a nursing mom and her babies I can also send some information about properly socializing the kittens, ensuring that everyone gets the best possible nutrition and the importance of keeping the kittens with mom until she weans them on her own. I normally recommend that kittens stay with their mother until they're 10 weeks old because they learn important skills and behaviors from their mother during those early weeks of life. A properly socialized cat/kitten that understands appropriate corrections when they're behaving badly is more likely to have a stable home throughout their lifetime. Please feel free to contact me again if you'd like me to send off some more information.