My kitten's eye is crusty. Is Terramycin okay and how often to use?

Coco is adorable! As long as the eye is improving, then I would continue using the medication. Normally, I have clients continue using eye ointment until I can examine the eye again to make sure that it is completely healed before stopping the medication. This often takes 7-14 days, but can take longer. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and answered your question. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Oh my goodness Oliver is adorable!! So happy you adopted him! Common eye issues in kittens are Herpes and Chlamydia. Cat herpes is responsible for most kitten eye infections. Cat chlamydia is close in the running for second place. Unlike human herpes, cat herpes is spread like the common cold and causes cold-like symptoms, including nasty-looking eye inflammation. Chlamydia is spread through close contact and causes cold-like symptoms and conjunctivitis. Neither are contagious to humans or any animals besides cats. Both have vaccines, but they don't necessarily stop infection but they can reduce severity. Most infections run their course (though kittens weakened by malnourishment, temperature extremes, injury, or other diseases do sometimes die from the added physical stress), but cats may have periodic outbreaks for the rest of their lives. Terramycin is the first line treatment for Chlamydia so if you are not seeing much improvement it could be that he has herpes virus and not Chlamydia. Of course he could have something else but those two diseases are the most common. My recommendation would be to give it the weekend since he seems otherwise happy and healthy and then take him in for a check-up at the beginning of next week. If you are applying the Terramycin twice a day I would recommend you increase to three or four times a day until the recheck appointment. I hope this helps. Best wishes to you and Oliver!

Terramycin is commonly prescribed in cats and kittens, but I cannot recommend its use for Snowball until she has been examined by a veterinarian to make sure that it is the appropriate medication for her eye problem.

Poor Snowball! Since she is still squinting with watery eye discharge after 6 days on Terramycin, you should take her to the vet now. The most common cause of recurrent eye issues and sneezing is due to viral infections (herpesvirus and calicivirus) that can cause both eye and upper respiratory signs when they shed intermittently. Signs typically resolve once the virus is done shedding, but many cats can also develop secondary bacterial infections which require antibiotics for treatment. In the long term, discuss using a Lysine supplement (Viralys is one example) for Snowball with her vet. I hope that all goes well for Snowball!

Whenever there is an injury to the eye it is very important to have your vet examine the eye to see if there is an abrasion or possibly even a rupture of the cornea. If this is the case, treatment options are very different as is the prognosis of saving the eye. If the Terramycin was from a previous injury it may or may not be appropriate to use this time. Also, if it has been more than 30 days since it was last used it should be discarded. Since the eye is such a delicate structure, I strongly recommend you take Thumper to your veterinarian for an examination.

I'm glad to hear that Bubu Kitty Mok has already been to her vet to address this eye issue and start a course of terramycin. Do not allow her to rub her eye, as this could cause a corneal ulcer or abrasion in addition to her existing conjunctivitis. Put an e-collar (cone) on her until this eye issue resolves to prevent further damage to the eye. If the redness in her eye continues despite medication, she will need to go back to her vet for further evaluation. Although uncommon, terramycin can be irritating to some cats. I hope that she's feeling better soon!

Brown discharge from the eye can indicate that the infection is improving. Yellow or green means that the infection is still present. As long as Cinnamon's actual eye looks better and she doesn't seem overly bothered by it, it is likely healing well. To verify, please feel free to repost your question to the forum with a photo of her eye. You generally see improvement with eyes 3-4 days after starting medication and complete resolve within 1-2 weeks. Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Take care.