Eye infection and runny nose in kitten...

[Cali Mae]

One of the cats at the barn I ride at had kittens about five to six weeks ago. Last week, they were all doing fine and figuring things out. Tonight, I noticed that one of them is considerably smaller than the others and his/her eyes are sealed shut with yellow discharge and it's also on the nostrils. My instructor only bothers vetting the horses, her indoor cats and her two dogs... so I'm hoping someone here has some advice or is able to tell me if there is a way to treat something like this by yourself or if it'd require antibiotics. I'm assuming the lateral but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Thanks!

 

[stardogs]

Probably a URI (upper respiratory infection). Especially with eyes involved it's a "vet needed" situation, but in the mean time, warm compresses can help loosen the gunk and allow the kitten to see. If this is left untreated it can cause major issues.

 

[Cali Mae]

I took a warm, wet ball on toilet paper (as good as I could do at the barn before a lesson) and just gently cleaned around the eyes. The left eye opened up a bit but the third eyelid was covering the majority of what was visible. I was going to clean around the eye again afterwards but I couldn't find him/her. One of the littermates was hanging around the kitten, who was just sleeping with the mom, and the littermate was at least double its size.

It's been awhile since I've seen any kittens get an infection, but that's likely because this was the first litter in awhile. Prior to new cats being dumped there, a local rescue paid to get all the barn cats fixed, so litters weren't an issue for numerous months. I'm going to try bringing clean cotton balls or swabs to clean it next Tuesday and Wednesday... although I might make a special trip up on Saturday to work with the new project pony just so that I can clean the kitten's eye.