Two week old kittens

Question
Hi Savannah,

About two weeks ago we had a stray give birth on our back porch. After about a week,she moved the kittens away but we noticed this morning that she was slowly moving her litter of 3 back to our porch. Since they are about two weeks old,they are starting to open their eyes. However,one of the kittens can only open 1 eye...his right eye is still shut and it looks really crusty. I was wondering what we can do if anything to help because I feel really bad for him! Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Jackie K.

Answer
Jackie,

I would take him to the vet.  If you can get all the kittens rounded up, they should all be seen by a vet to ensure their health, but if that's not possible, then try to just get this kitten in.  He likely has an eye infection, and there are some eye infections that are passed from mom to her babies during birth.  They can only be treated with antibx.  If you're noticing crust on the eye, then there is a good chance there is an infection of some sort.  

Also, I would strongly recommend you taking all the kittens in if possible to the vet to be spayed when they're around 6-7 wks.  If they are left unspayed and unneutered, they will undoubtedly impregnate their sisters and/or other neighborhood cats. The mother got pregnant because no one bothered to get her spayed, or she was born to a stray cat whom no one bothered to get fixed.  The cycle just repeats itself.  You can get kittens spayed and neutered as young as 6 wks by a competent vet.  Look for low cost spay and neuter clinics, which can charge as little as $50/kitten.  Or, you can capture all of the kittens and mother cat and take them to a shelter where they may be able to get good homes.  

Good luck.

Savannah