My Kitty, Codiang: A Case of Eye Crusting in Kittens

My Siamese cat, Kooky, gave birth to six kittens last September 1. I was very confident that they'd grow as healthy and strong as Kooky's first litter. However, something went wrong -- very wrong.

The kittens started to develop crusting in their eyes.

No matter how diligent I was in wiping off the gunk from their eyes, the crusting just got worse. Soon enough, the kittens were dying one by one.

After the fifth kit passed on, I was desperate for a cure. I had to save the last one. The only problem was that I didn't have the time nor the money to bring the kit to a vet.

And thus, I went online for a fast and effective remedy.

I came upon this long thread dedicated to answering the same question I had about a low-cost cure for crusting in kittens' eyes.

The first answers were quite credible, although the very first one (apparently an answer from a veterinarian) was very insistent that whether the kitten owner likes it or not, the affected kittens should be brought to the vet because crusting could be an indication of complications, yadah, yadah, yadah...

The next answers were promising. One suggested tea cleansing (I didn't know tea had topical uses!), and apparently several of those in the thread swore by it. The procedure involves brewing a tea bag's worth of tea, then using a soft cloth to dunk into the tea and after which, to use for wiping the affected kitten's eyes.

The tea cleansing ritual seemed interesting, but I needed something more -- guaranteed.

There were also recommendations for salt cleansing, but I surmise that the pain it could cause would just be as much as rubbing salt onto a wound. Ouch, poor kitty.

And there were the more painful remedies like rubbing garlic into the kitten's eyes (Seriously?!), or using baby shampoo.

Finally, I made the ultimate choice.

Instead of experimenting with stuff to put in the kit's eyes and risk its health even more, I just went to
the nearest drugstore and purchased Terramycin Eye Ointment*.

Bought the small tube at a hefty price of P600.

Come to think of it, P600 is still cheap. If I went to a vet, the professional fee would have been pegged at around P300. Then the vet would be prescribing a barrage of medicines which, I'm sure, will amount to more than P300.

Besides, It's not just this kitten who will be benefiting from this wonder medicine. All other kittens who may develop eye crusting in the future will now have a medicine to keep the infection at bay.

That evening after purchasing the tube, I immediately used it on Codiang (our kitten).

The next morning, I woke up and the first thing I did was to look for Codiang and see if she wasn't bumping around because she couldn't see where she was going.

Miracle of miracles, Codiang's eyes were devoid of any crusting or yellow gunk!

I still proceeded to put an itsy-bitsy amount of the ointment into Codiang's eyes for several days more to make sure whatever bacteria invaded her system dies once and for all.

If before, she wasn't eating much and preferred sleeping  to playing (That's strange for a kitten of more than two months), Codiang now has a very healthy appetite and is playing with her elder siblings from Kooky's first litter. Lately, Codiang has learned to play with us humans, too. She has finally learned the bliss of belly rubs and back scratches.

Codiang's rehabilitation is still ongoing. If you notice her picture here, she's not yet at the peak of health. However, she is definitely on the road to recovery.

My only regret was that I wasn't able to get to her siblings soon enough.

Oh well, at least that's still one life saved.


*This is not meant to be a product endorsement.