My foster cat gave birth to a litter of 6. They are now 5 weeks old.
2 weeks ago, I noticed one kitten that had only one open eye, so I kept a close watch on that kitty. A few days later the second eye was still only half open and I saw a clear yellow (beige) mucus in there, so I started cleaning the eye twice daily.
I'm using a Q-tip, that I drown in artificial tears (I wear contact lenses so I have plenty), then I stretch the lid open, I gently wipe the corner to get the mucus, and all the mucus comes at once. I then clean the border of the pauper the same way. Then I pour a generous quantity of artificial tears in the eye.
After cleaning, the kitten eye is much more open, and the kitten wobbles about eagerly. But a few hours later the eye is closed again, the lids sealed together by crusts and mucus. And then I clean again…
The kitten does not seem in pain at any point, although having only one eye seems bothersome. He. She doesn't like the cleaning process that much, but comes snuggling on my laps right after it so I guess it's not that bad.
The other kittens don't have the problem. 4 of them have perfectly clean eyes, 1 has sometimes light crusts on the sides of the eyelids, that I clean as well, maybe once every 3 or 4 days, but no mucus.
Any idea what this discharge might be and how to treat it other than cleaning? The vet is not an option, I foster within a private initiative (a group of people trying to save some cats that dwell around a group of farms).
Added (1). I forgot to mention the artificial tears I'm using do not contain anything wrong or irritating to the cat. I am allergic to the artificial tears you can purchase on the market, for the very reason these artificial tears contain a lot of preservative and antibiotics, so I make my own artificial tears: there is only salt (ultra-pure) in distilled water. I'm a chemist and have access to an analytical lab, that helps.
There is also no pinkness in or on the eye. Indeed the eye seem fine, except for the discharge and for being only half open.
I repeat: vet is NOT an option. I spent too much of my money caring for the mother cat (she came in with all possible species of parasites and had to be treated for them all), I can't afford more, vets are just too damn expensive around here.
The mother cat was caught on a farm. There was another pregnant cat that could not be taken in. That one gave birth to a litter of 4. 2 are dead already, the remaining 2 will be placed if they surv
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