16 day kitten, eyes not open
 

I have rescued an abandoned kitten. I am worried that the eyes are
not open yet at 16 days, even though her ears are up and she is
hearing. Her eyes show no sign of opening. I have had many litters
before and always the eyes are open by a week and a half. Does anyone
know the longest that it could take for eyes to open? My concern is
that the mother cat has had two litters in the past, by the same male,
that suffered birth defects. Any info you can give would be helpful.
Thanx so much.

On Mon, 9 Aug 2004 14:06:03 UTC, (Samantha G.)
wrote:

I have rescued an abandoned kitten. I am worried that the eyes are
not open yet at 16 days, even though her ears are up and she is
hearing. Her eyes show no sign of opening. I have had many litters
before and always the eyes are open by a week and a half. Does anyone
know the longest that it could take for eyes to open? My concern is
that the mother cat has had two litters in the past, by the same male,
that suffered birth defects. Any info you can give would be helpful.
Thanx so much.


Did you ask your Vet?

LT

On Mon, 9 Aug 2004 14:06:03 UTC, (Samantha G.)
wrote:

I have rescued an abandoned kitten. I am worried that the eyes are
not open yet at 16 days, even though her ears are up and she is
hearing. Her eyes show no sign of opening. I have had many litters
before and always the eyes are open by a week and a half. Does anyone
know the longest that it could take for eyes to open? My concern is
that the mother cat has had two litters in the past, by the same male,
that suffered birth defects. Any info you can give would be helpful.
Thanx so much.


Did you ask your Vet?

LT

Do the eyes appear stuck shut? Have you tried cleaning gently with a warm
wet washcloth?
If it were me I'd take her up to see the vet if the warm cloth didn't do the
trick.

W

I have tried the warm cloth, washing the eyes every time that I feed
her. As for the vet, he told me not to worry yet, that probably
nothing's wrong. He seems convinced that I have misjudged her age,
and I cannot make him understand that I really do know how old she is
because I found the litter the day after they were born.
Unfortunately, they had been out in the weather alone and the little
female is the only one who lived past the fourth day.
At any rate, I will continue to wipe her eyes a couple of times a day.

Also, she has started sucking at her front legs and paws. They are
beginning to look a little red in spots. Should I worry about this?
If so, how can I stop her?

Do the eyes appear stuck shut? Have you tried cleaning gently with a warm
wet washcloth?
If it were me I'd take her up to see the vet if the warm cloth didn't do the
trick.

W

I have tried the warm cloth, washing the eyes every time that I feed
her. As for the vet, he told me not to worry yet, that probably
nothing's wrong. He seems convinced that I have misjudged her age,
and I cannot make him understand that I really do know how old she is
because I found the litter the day after they were born.
Unfortunately, they had been out in the weather alone and the little
female is the only one who lived past the fourth day.
At any rate, I will continue to wipe her eyes a couple of times a day.

Also, she has started sucking at her front legs and paws. They are
beginning to look a little red in spots. Should I worry about this?
If so, how can I stop her?

Also, she has started sucking at her front legs and paws. They are
beginning to look a little red in spots. Should I worry about this?
If so, how can I stop her?

Oh yes, add a small stuffed animal for her to cuddle with.
A little larger than she is so it feels like "mom"

And I assume you've already got a heat pad for her under
a towel?

LT

Also, she has started sucking at her front legs and paws. They are
beginning to look a little red in spots. Should I worry about this?
If so, how can I stop her?

Oh yes, add a small stuffed animal for her to cuddle with.
A little larger than she is so it feels like "mom"

And I assume you've already got a heat pad for her under
a towel?

LT

Rhonda wrote in message ...
Of our recent batch of kittens, one had one eye that would not open. We
could see a brown crust, though. We soaked it for five minutes at a time
with a sterile water solution. Even after our kitten's eye opened, it
went shut again because of an infection he apparently got in the womb.
We went to the vet to antibiotic drops and that did the trick.

Is there anything odd-looking? Any crust, swelling, or sign of infection?

I'd get a second vet opinion on your kitten.

Rhonda



No, there is no sign of infection, the eyelids are clean and grey (she
is white & grey) I have been able to see a shadowy grey or blue
behind the white fur on her eyelids for a week or so, which is why I
expected her eyes to open.
Yes, she has a heating pad which I use at night and a heat lamp which
I use during the day, as it gets too warm with the pad. I also have a
stuffed goose toy and she loves to curl up between its wings. She
does not seem too stressed, she is calm when in her nest (until around
feeding time) and when I hold her, she purrs and rubs her head against
my hand and rolls around on her back, waving her paws in the air, so I
believe she is happy and healthy except for her eyes.
I am waiting for the vet to get in to his office, so hopefully, I will
be able to take her this morning. Pray for good news!

Rhonda wrote in message ...
Of our recent batch of kittens, one had one eye that would not open. We
could see a brown crust, though. We soaked it for five minutes at a time
with a sterile water solution. Even after our kitten's eye opened, it
went shut again because of an infection he apparently got in the womb.
We went to the vet to antibiotic drops and that did the trick.

Is there anything odd-looking? Any crust, swelling, or sign of infection?

I'd get a second vet opinion on your kitten.

Rhonda



No, there is no sign of infection, the eyelids are clean and grey (she
is white & grey) I have been able to see a shadowy grey or blue
behind the white fur on her eyelids for a week or so, which is why I
expected her eyes to open.
Yes, she has a heating pad which I use at night and a heat lamp which
I use during the day, as it gets too warm with the pad. I also have a
stuffed goose toy and she loves to curl up between its wings. She
does not seem too stressed, she is calm when in her nest (until around
feeding time) and when I hold her, she purrs and rubs her head against
my hand and rolls around on her back, waving her paws in the air, so I
believe she is happy and healthy except for her eyes.
I am waiting for the vet to get in to his office, so hopefully, I will
be able to take her this morning. Pray for good news!

the dormancy for most diseases, so there is only a small chance that
she has something. Although, I seem to remember reading about feline
panleukopenia, which can affect their eyes and/or nervous system and
you may not know until they turn up blind or unable to walk well.
Well, another round of the waiting game has begun....


Exposure to the distemper virus en utero can result in a kitten born with
cerebellar hypoplasia. Generally, the kitten has impaired coordination
but can also have other health problems. I didn't know about the
possibility of blindness, though I know of a woman who had a CH cat born
blind and unable to walk. It did fine until an incompetent vet allowed it
to fall from the exam table. Campus Cats has a cat (now 10 yrs old) with
severe CH. Tipsy is unable to take a single normal step but gets herself
to the litterpan, food dish and water dish on her own when she has to
(most of the time, she has me at her beck and call, of course).

Generally kittens found to have this condition are euthanized outright.
I just wanted to put the word in not to give up too easily on this kitten
if she is CH. CH is related to the distemper virus but is not contagious;
Tipsy has her shot every year, like every other cat in the household. I
don't expect her to live quite as long as a cat without CH, but she is
healthy now and I hope to have her a good long time.

Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats
Seattle