Found kittens ointment?

cerastes

I discovered some kittens in my garden as I was clearing some stuff.
They were sheltered in a space that had some material which they seem to have made a home on.
The mother is with them now, but scarpered initially after scaring me as she bolted out of nowhere.
I had a look and there are 4 kittens, the largest mostly seems ok, next one down in size has a badly swollen eye with pus in it but moves about on its own, the other two move a lot less but seem ok, but are much smaller. The smaller ones seem not to have opened their eyes? and one of them seems it might be infected in the eyes too, the smallest seem to barely move on their own as they dont look to be walking yet.

The difference in size suprises me, as the larger two appear like they were born earlier? have eyes (aside from the swollen one) open and move about.

Is there any ointment I can get to put in their eyes?
Could I give them a drop for fleas/mites or spray the bedding material with anything?
Ive put food out for the mother, but another small cat comes up to them all and seems to eat most of it.

aonb

Poor little kittens. Sounds like eye infections. This seems to be a common problem with underfed/feral/uncared kittens from what Ive seen (Im no cat expert!) I have absolutely no idea what you can do, other than try to start handling them, get them used to you, then get them into a carrier and get to a vet. The problem I would be afraid of, but again, this is guessing, Im sure a cat-expert will reply to you soon, would be that if you take them to the vet that the mother might abandon them if shes feral... Did she let you approach her at all? The cat who's eating the food might be an offspring of the mother from the previous litter? The little ones who are smaller and not moving could be ill and not feeding. If you are prepared to take the litter on, you could get some kitten milk and try to feed the tiny ones? Has the mother cat come back? If you can get decent food into her she might produce more milk and feed them better?
As I say, someone with more knowlege of cats will hopefully be along with some real advise...

cerastes

The mother is back, but one got out from where the others were when the mother was gone, I could hear it calling, he/she was still out on its own when I looked and the mother was with the others but didn't didn't bring it back.

intheclouds

You could ask a vet if there is any kind of antibiotic powder that could be mixed with food for them that wouldnt harm any other random cat that happens upon it.

But realistically your best bet is to try and capture the kittens with Mamma and get the lot of them to a rescue.

aonb

OP, I would call around local vets, see if any of them can tell you what to do/advise. Also, there are various TNR organisations you could contact (Trap, Neuter, Release) - google them - have a look on here for some info/pointers (we are not allowed to name organisations):

http://www.thejournal.ie/campaign-cats-neutered-spayed-stray-1614857-Aug2014/

I would also contact the various rescues in your area, but you need to get those kittens seen to - apart from their medical problems, the younger they can be handled, the better chance of rehoming. Well done to you for your concern for these poor creatures - good luck! Keep us posted

taytobreath

leave food for the mother cat, i say that because she might try to move her kittens to somewhere she perceives as a safer place.

jenn1984

I've had the same problem with a stray mammy cat/kittens that we're looking after. Mammy cat has cat flu/eye infection which was passed onto kittens. As a result their eyes were crusted over/closing up with gunk. We consulted a vet and got a gel to put on their eyes and we're also dabbing their eyes with cotton balls soaked in warm water. If they're living outside all the time, they would be better with some shelter/security - maybe a rescue or a shed?