kitten concerns - help

[claymatized]

Almost 2 weeks ago, a stray cat had kittens under our shed. We got them out and put them in our bathroom... with mom of course. Mom had 4 kittens. I'm having concerns about 2 of the kittens...

First concern---
One of them opened it's eyes last Tuesday. Friday morning both of it's eyes were crusted shut. I took some warm water and a wash cloth and gently rubbed it's eyes. The crust stuff came off of one of them but has since crusted shut again. I'm not sure what to do.... I don't want to further irritate the eyes by rubbing them again. Any ideas???

Second concern---
One of the other kittens makes weird sounds/squeaks.... when he is nursing, crawling, and even when you pick it up. He'll try to meow but nothing comes out. The weird sounds he makes almost sound like he is congested or has asthma. Is this normal??? Other than the congested type sounds he makes, he is very healthy..... eats well and everything.

[Jade]

They probably have an upper respiratory infection. Do you have other cats? If you do, make sure you keep them separated and that your current pets are up to date on their shots.

You will want to take them to the vet on Monday and get them checked out, probably put on anti-biotics. The kittens are probably not old enough, but I would take the mother in and get her combo tested for FIV/FeLV. Clean the eyes frequently with warm water in the meantime.

[Chrisanne]

ditto what Jade said.

[Lor]

I agree, it's always a good idea to get any stray you bring in checked out at the vet just incase.

[SharonM]

When we found my cat Lizzie and her siblings, the vet said that no matter what, the crust needed to be cleaned off so that the pus wouldn't eat away the eyeballs. Unfortunately, we didn't find Lizzie until 3 days after the others and it was too late for her one eye ...
I agree - you need to get them to the vet and on some meds.

[Pigsterz]

Oh poor little kitties. Yes, do take them to the vet. I hope and pray it is nothing serious and that they'll be fine.

[claymatized]

Thanks for all the advice. I really appreciate it!

I bring the kitty with the crusty eyes to the vet on Monday. The other squeaky kitty is no longer squeaky. This same kitten was the first one to find its purr. I wonder if those squeaks he was making were the beginnings of his motor starting?

[lixx]

How are they doing?

[claymatized]

Well I brought 3 of the 4 kittens to the vet on Monday. Left the healthiest one with Mommy so she wouldn't freak too bad. I brought the one with the crusty eyes (which we call Baby Mommy cuz it looks just like mom). I also brought Screamer (has quite a set of lungs!) cuz one of it's eyes suffers from the crusties now too. And I brought Cute Face... (that's the one with the squeaky breathing). Brought that one cuz it started making those funny squeaks again.

So the vet complimented me on keeping the eyes of the 2 kittens clean. Said they actually looked pretty good since I wiped them so often! He gave me a triple antibiotic ointment for the eyes and wow, it only took me applying it ONCE to clear up the crusty problem! Woohoo! Baby Mommy can see now! No more crusties!!!

The vet wasn't sure about Cute Face's squeaks. He gave me an antibiotic to see if that would help.

So I have been having a hard time trying to figure the sex of these kittens. When I was little I was good at deciphering but these 4 have had me stumped! They all look the same! So I asked the vet to PLEASE tell me the sexes and wouldn't you know it.... they are ALL boys! No wonder I was stumped! I was kinda taken aback...... how was I gonna tell my kids that Baby Mommy was a BOY??!!?? LOL! My son solved the prob.... he calls him Mama's Boy now... very creative!

The kittens are now 3 weeks old and getting very active. I think they are driving Mommy nuts! She wants out a lot more than she did before! I can't blame her though!

Thank you everyone for all your advice and suggestions!