Aa
Freak Accident
My kitten is about 4 months old. Earlier this evening she was standing in a kitchen doorway where there were small screw hooks screwed into the door jam. They had been there to hang a safety gate on at one time. They're the sort of hooks that some people use inside of kitchen cupboards to hang mugs on.
So my kitten suddenly turned as if she was going to dart from the kitchen, as she often does in a very playful manner. Only this time, she misjudged and bumped her face into the door jam where the lower screw hook was precisely even with her eye. Somehow, the hook went into her eye (this is pretty horrible, I warn you) and it curled up under her upper eye lid. She was hung. She yelled like I've never heard any cat yell and I've had hundreds of cats and kittens in my 50 years. Naturally she was panicked and pulled and pulled in attempts to free herself, which I suspect caused more severe trauma. As soon as I got my hands on her she began fighting me, a natural reaction. After maybe 10 seconds (seemed like hours!) she freed herself with me holding her as steady as possible. She appears to have slightly torn the edge of the lid, just at the top, center of the lid. Probably also scratched under the lid a good bit. Not to mention I have no idea how old the hook is or how many hands or animals have touched it. The eye bled a little and briefly. There's swelling and watering. It obviously is painful. But I see no apparent injury to the eyeball itself.
Now, I am in dire straites and cannot take her to the Veterenary ER ( It's Friday night; No vet offices will be open till Monday.) Please don't think I wouldn't if I possibly could. I am sick and have been for 10 days and haven't seen a doctor and don't have any plan to because I'm so broke. I have no car. There are no jobs here. It's all can do to keep a roof over my and my daughter's heads and keep electricity on. But this kitten was tossed from a truck on a mountain road as I watched from a nearby cemetary on July 4th. She was about 5 or 6 weeks old. She saw me and began crying and staring straight at me. I had to rescue her. She would have been either coyote food, hawk food or road kill before night fall. That's why I have her. I love her dearly and she loves me.
So, I administered 1/4 of a drop of Polymyxin B Sulfate and Trimethorprim into her eye. This is an antibiotic that was precribed for my daughter who is 8 for conjunctivitis. I also gave her .5 mg/ml Metacam suspension, a pain reliever that was given to her after she was spayed a couple of weeks ago. I have two syringes of this left over.
I want to know if anyone knows if I should patch/bandage her eye? I certainly know she should see a vet and it sickens me that I can't. This is why I'm trying to find out what I can on the internet about treating her myself.
Thank you
PS; The hooks are gone! I unscrewed them and threw them away. I just never really even noticed them or gave them any thought before.
So my kitten suddenly turned as if she was going to dart from the kitchen, as she often does in a very playful manner. Only this time, she misjudged and bumped her face into the door jam where the lower screw hook was precisely even with her eye. Somehow, the hook went into her eye (this is pretty horrible, I warn you) and it curled up under her upper eye lid. She was hung. She yelled like I've never heard any cat yell and I've had hundreds of cats and kittens in my 50 years. Naturally she was panicked and pulled and pulled in attempts to free herself, which I suspect caused more severe trauma. As soon as I got my hands on her she began fighting me, a natural reaction. After maybe 10 seconds (seemed like hours!) she freed herself with me holding her as steady as possible. She appears to have slightly torn the edge of the lid, just at the top, center of the lid. Probably also scratched under the lid a good bit. Not to mention I have no idea how old the hook is or how many hands or animals have touched it. The eye bled a little and briefly. There's swelling and watering. It obviously is painful. But I see no apparent injury to the eyeball itself.
Now, I am in dire straites and cannot take her to the Veterenary ER ( It's Friday night; No vet offices will be open till Monday.) Please don't think I wouldn't if I possibly could. I am sick and have been for 10 days and haven't seen a doctor and don't have any plan to because I'm so broke. I have no car. There are no jobs here. It's all can do to keep a roof over my and my daughter's heads and keep electricity on. But this kitten was tossed from a truck on a mountain road as I watched from a nearby cemetary on July 4th. She was about 5 or 6 weeks old. She saw me and began crying and staring straight at me. I had to rescue her. She would have been either coyote food, hawk food or road kill before night fall. That's why I have her. I love her dearly and she loves me.
So, I administered 1/4 of a drop of Polymyxin B Sulfate and Trimethorprim into her eye. This is an antibiotic that was precribed for my daughter who is 8 for conjunctivitis. I also gave her .5 mg/ml Metacam suspension, a pain reliever that was given to her after she was spayed a couple of weeks ago. I have two syringes of this left over.
I want to know if anyone knows if I should patch/bandage her eye? I certainly know she should see a vet and it sickens me that I can't. This is why I'm trying to find out what I can on the internet about treating her myself.
Thank you
PS; The hooks are gone! I unscrewed them and threw them away. I just never really even noticed them or gave them any thought before.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Bonniesmom...what a horrific accident. So glad to read kitty turned out to be okay. Yes, "whew"...what a relief!!
Diva2317...FYI for the future...I am so glad to hear your cat handled the tylenol without incident, however, I think you're playing with fire and should NEVER give tylenol to a cat. You may not know you "hurt" him until he's dead. Please don't do this again for kittys sake.
I googled "tylenol and cats" and all replies were the same. Here is just one of them:
"Cats should NOT be given acetaminophen at all. I is very toxic to them, since their bodies don't have the mechanism to metabolize it. While humans and dogs can eliminate acetaminophen fairly easily, cats will suffer a severe toxicosis if given more than 25 mg/lb. Since their livers cannot eliminate the acetaminophen, even a much smaller dose can kill them, if given repeatedly."
Diva2317...FYI for the future...I am so glad to hear your cat handled the tylenol without incident, however, I think you're playing with fire and should NEVER give tylenol to a cat. You may not know you "hurt" him until he's dead. Please don't do this again for kittys sake.
I googled "tylenol and cats" and all replies were the same. Here is just one of them:
"Cats should NOT be given acetaminophen at all. I is very toxic to them, since their bodies don't have the mechanism to metabolize it. While humans and dogs can eliminate acetaminophen fairly easily, cats will suffer a severe toxicosis if given more than 25 mg/lb. Since their livers cannot eliminate the acetaminophen, even a much smaller dose can kill them, if given repeatedly."
I gave my cat children's Tylenol and he was fine. He pulled a muscle in his leg when he was a baby. He was very wild and got hurt once in a while. The children's Tylenol didn't hurt him at all so im not surprised the antibiotics worked. I would still bring her in to see a vet to double check that everything is ok. You never know.
Today she is completely healed. As horrific as it was to see when the incident occurred it was hard to imagine that some really severe trauma hadn't occurred but apparently it was after all pretty minor. I administered the antibiotic drop again today just for good measure but there is no swelling at all now and no tearing or squinting. All I can say is "WHEW!!"
Yes, I am very glad to have found this community. I've had cat's/kittens all my life and currently have 4 and 1 doggy friend. It's really nice to have others with whom to share the trouble and joys and antics of them all.
I also have 5 bi-peds ( human children lol) I like to call my kitties and doggy my feline & canine quadraped children.lol They certainly all consider me Mommy! And I love them sooo much.
My oldest kitty is Isabella , Izzy for short. I got her when she was about 4 months; also a foundling. She is now 14. My doggy is a jack russell terrier who is as congenial with the cats as he is with us humans. His name is Calvin and they love him also, I adopted him when he was 6 weeks old. He's now about turn 14 and has recently really begun to show the signs of his years. I have reluctantly thought about the inevitible day when he passes and I just don't know how I can get through it. Same with Izzy. She is really beginning to slow and can no longer jump. I just don't know what I'll do when that fateful day arrives. That's the down side of loving these creatures. But, "it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved." And there will ALWAYS be more to love !
Thank you, Opus
Bonnie'smom
Yes, I am very glad to have found this community. I've had cat's/kittens all my life and currently have 4 and 1 doggy friend. It's really nice to have others with whom to share the trouble and joys and antics of them all.
I also have 5 bi-peds ( human children lol) I like to call my kitties and doggy my feline & canine quadraped children.lol They certainly all consider me Mommy! And I love them sooo much.
My oldest kitty is Isabella , Izzy for short. I got her when she was about 4 months; also a foundling. She is now 14. My doggy is a jack russell terrier who is as congenial with the cats as he is with us humans. His name is Calvin and they love him also, I adopted him when he was 6 weeks old. He's now about turn 14 and has recently really begun to show the signs of his years. I have reluctantly thought about the inevitible day when he passes and I just don't know how I can get through it. Same with Izzy. She is really beginning to slow and can no longer jump. I just don't know what I'll do when that fateful day arrives. That's the down side of loving these creatures. But, "it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved." And there will ALWAYS be more to love !
Thank you, Opus
Bonnie'smom
oh that is encouraging news for sure!!!...........I agree the important accomplishment was to be sure of no infection to protect the eye, keep the eye clean of any debris by the simple cleansing I mentioned, even squirting the contents of a 'cod liver oil' capsule is good, as long as the capsule contains pure vit A and D with no additives.
The shock is over now and as you say kitty doesn't sound as tho she is having pain. please do watch for excessive tearing or redness.
thats terrible the Vet clinic you called would give you simple information, you know I would call the pharmacy you got the drops from.....perhaps they would be more helpful.
please keep us posted, I'm so glad you're happy with the kitty community, please stay with us, we enjoying hearing and sharing info on our fur babies...
♥Opus
The shock is over now and as you say kitty doesn't sound as tho she is having pain. please do watch for excessive tearing or redness.
thats terrible the Vet clinic you called would give you simple information, you know I would call the pharmacy you got the drops from.....perhaps they would be more helpful.
please keep us posted, I'm so glad you're happy with the kitty community, please stay with us, we enjoying hearing and sharing info on our fur babies...
♥Opus
Thank you both very much for your advice and concern.
I did call the Emergency Veterenary clinic and talked with someone who wouldn't tell me if the antibiotic I have is ok or dangerous to a kitten since it's intended for humans. She said I probably should not cover or bandage the eye. I knew that the eyeball wasn't damaged. The damage was limited to the lid so antibiotic was the most important thing. I had to decide whether or not to give it to her. Not administering any antibiotic would allow infection to get hold and would certainly be very problematic as time went on while giving her the opthalmic antibiotic that was intended for my child could posssibly do harm. So I chose to do what could help but might harm rather than do nothing and allow infection to blind or posiibly kill her and certainly make her miserable. Well, the gods were on my side and she is 99% better today. The eye looks almost completely normal. There's still a slight amount of swelling that remains and occasionally a little watering but not enough to actually cause tearing. She still squints a little with the eye, but infrequently. She has all of her usual energy and appetite. I only gave one dose of the pain killer last night and she slept very well throughout the night, next to me on my pillow. Since she was very active and energetic and very interactive with the other cats and the dog and her appetite was normal I didn't feel any more pain meds were necessary. I tell you, I am so so very thankful! I believe her eye will back to 100% normal tomorrow. Thank you again. I'm so glad to have found this site.
I did call the Emergency Veterenary clinic and talked with someone who wouldn't tell me if the antibiotic I have is ok or dangerous to a kitten since it's intended for humans. She said I probably should not cover or bandage the eye. I knew that the eyeball wasn't damaged. The damage was limited to the lid so antibiotic was the most important thing. I had to decide whether or not to give it to her. Not administering any antibiotic would allow infection to get hold and would certainly be very problematic as time went on while giving her the opthalmic antibiotic that was intended for my child could posssibly do harm. So I chose to do what could help but might harm rather than do nothing and allow infection to blind or posiibly kill her and certainly make her miserable. Well, the gods were on my side and she is 99% better today. The eye looks almost completely normal. There's still a slight amount of swelling that remains and occasionally a little watering but not enough to actually cause tearing. She still squints a little with the eye, but infrequently. She has all of her usual energy and appetite. I only gave one dose of the pain killer last night and she slept very well throughout the night, next to me on my pillow. Since she was very active and energetic and very interactive with the other cats and the dog and her appetite was normal I didn't feel any more pain meds were necessary. I tell you, I am so so very thankful! I believe her eye will back to 100% normal tomorrow. Thank you again. I'm so glad to have found this site.
Oh I understand how bad you must feel and I too understand how sometimes money and other problems can be overwhelming.
I feel so bad for kitties injury, poor lilttle tyke.
Of course the best for kitty would be to see a Vet and get proper meds.
Could you do as previous poster said and just phone a Vet clinic, explain the situation and ask them if its safe to use the drops???...many medications are interchangeable between human and animals but you'll need to find that out and what dosage too.
If they do not recommend using than could you ask them to prescribe something....they should do this 'without' needing to see the kitty, therefore it would only be the cost of the antibiotic, which should be less than $20................is there some way you could do that?
We are not here to judge only to help when we can, we aren't Vets so I can't tell you if its safe to use these drops or not, I do think the possiblity of a serious infection is alot more of a risk.
keep her eye clean, juice from fresh cucumber is a good soothing eye wash....but this isn't an antibiotic only an eye wash.
please phone a Vet clinic there will be someone there even on a Sat that can answer a question at least for you.
the best to you and kittty ...please keep us posted.
♥Opus
I feel so bad for kitties injury, poor lilttle tyke.
Of course the best for kitty would be to see a Vet and get proper meds.
Could you do as previous poster said and just phone a Vet clinic, explain the situation and ask them if its safe to use the drops???...many medications are interchangeable between human and animals but you'll need to find that out and what dosage too.
If they do not recommend using than could you ask them to prescribe something....they should do this 'without' needing to see the kitty, therefore it would only be the cost of the antibiotic, which should be less than $20................is there some way you could do that?
We are not here to judge only to help when we can, we aren't Vets so I can't tell you if its safe to use these drops or not, I do think the possiblity of a serious infection is alot more of a risk.
keep her eye clean, juice from fresh cucumber is a good soothing eye wash....but this isn't an antibiotic only an eye wash.
please phone a Vet clinic there will be someone there even on a Sat that can answer a question at least for you.
the best to you and kittty ...please keep us posted.
♥Opus
You must get her to a vet ASAP. If you can't afford it, at least call one and see if there is any way they can help you with a payment plan.
What happened is not to be taken lightly How You should at least call a vet.
Keep us updated.
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