new kitten concerns

Question
Hi, I know you're not a vet, but I thought you might have some idea as to what to do until I can get to one. My cat, Basket, had kittens 12 days ago. There are 4 of them, and I'm a little worried. One of them has his eyes open, and two more are getting there, but one seems to have his eyes crusted shut. His left eye in particular is worrisome. It looks like he has an odd brown scab right on the line where his eyelids would open. His other eye looks like it's closed with a thin clearish crust. I'm worried that it could be an infection that could spread to the others. I don't like the idea of taking him away from his mother for a few hours, nor the idea of moving the whole lot to the vet. Do you know if this is an infection or if there's anything I could do for him? I'm hesitant to act because I don't want to make it worse. He doesn't seem bothered by it. Thanks

Answer
Emily,

It is VERY important that you get a soft rag or towel, soak in warm water and gently keep rubbing the eye until it softens enough to open and let any pus out. Do that every time you see the eye closed, especially after they just wake up.

I have 2 kittens from a feral whose eyes weren't gotten to in time and the pus ate the eyeballs behind the sealed eye! The vet will give you ointment (usually tetramyiacin) that will clear it up. The kittens will be fine if taken care of. I have also found in my experience with the eye infections that the cats grow up with a strong immune system.

To take them to the vet, take the whole family, mom an kittens so you are not separating them and stressing the mom which could affect her milk.

Carol