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My stray kitten has shut, infected eyes. What's wrong and what to do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | unneutered | 4 lbs

Hi, there's been a few stray kittens hanging around my house and there's one in particular with messed up eyes. I believe he's completely blind in them, I've gained his trust and he lets me pet him now but I haven't seen a mother cat around at all so I've just been placing cat food outside for them. Can you tell me what's wrong with his eyes? They're completely shut you can't see the color of them or anything. Is this a disease? What's wrong?

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Published on June 3rd, 2017

Those eyes appear to be severely infected. This cat requires veterinary attention immediately. Once the surfaces are cleaned, it may be possible to assess the eyes themselves. It is possible he may lose or has lost vision already.

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    Answered By Emily, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    This could be a case of severe conjunctivitis (usually a bacterial infection) but cat Herpes virus can cause this too. If possibly you can try to clean the eyes off using a warm wet washcloth. this may allow the kitten to open his eyes and you could tell if the eyes are affected or just the conjunctiva. If the eyes are affected I would be more worried about herpes as well as permanent blindness.

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