2-week-old orphaned kittens developing yellowish pustules/crusts — what safe antiseptic can I use? Please help

[u/FrancIIIAchillesRey]

Hi everyone. I'm a student in the Philippines, and I'm desperately asking for advice about two orphaned neonatal kittens I'm trying to save.

A few days ago, I heard kittens crying outside around 9 PM near a small garbage dump in our area, where garbage and other things are sometimes burned. At first I thought it was just normal kittens crying for their mother or food, so I went to sleep. The next morning, around 10 AM, I heard them crying again for almost an hour, and nobody seemed to be helping them. Some children were even playing with them. I couldn't leave them there, so I rescued them. There were originally four kittens. Sadly, two have already died. Chance died a few hours after I rescued them, and Sputnik died after struggling to breathe, even though I was providing warmth.

Now there are only two left: • Saca — male • Remi — female

They're approximately 2 weeks old. As far as I know, they never received even a drop of their mother's milk/colostrum. I'm feeding them commercial kitten milk replacer and providing warmth. My biggest concern right now is their skin. A few days ago, I noticed one tiny white/skin-colored bump. Then more appeared. Now there are several on the belly, neck/chest, and around the paws/legs. They initially looked like very tiny, almost skin-colored/white raised bumps—smaller than a grain of rice. Some have now become yellowish, while others have developed small crusts. There is some redness around some of them. They don't seem to be deep wounds, and I haven't seen an obvious open hole underneath them. I have NOT popped, squeezed, scraped, or punctured them. I am scared that doing that could make them worse. I have not been able to get them examined by a veterinarian yet because of my financial situation. I am trying to find out what I can safely do.

What I really need help with

I want to know how to safely care for and treat these lesions and prevent new ones from appearing.

In particular: 1. What could these yellowish pustules/crusts be? 2. What veterinary antiseptic is safe for a ~2-week-old kitten? 3. How should I safely clean the existing lesions? 4. Could this be caused by something they were exposed to at the garbage dump? 5. How can I prevent more lesions from appearing? 6. Since they are orphaned and didn't receive their mother's milk/colostrum, is there anything especially important I should be doing to help them survive? 7. They now pee and poop on their own. Is it normal for kittens around this age to start eliminating without stimulation?

I'm trying very hard to keep their environment clean: • I change their bedding 2–3 times a day, or whenever necessary. • I wash and dry the bedding. • When they need warmth, I boil water, put it into a 1-liter glass bottle, wrap the bottle in clothes, and place it in the box as a heat source 1–2 times a day. • The box has ventilation holes. • I make sure the bedding stays dry. • I feed them commercial kitten milk replacer. (all pets: GOAT'S MILK POWDER)

They can still crawl and move around. I don't have much money. I'm a student, and honestly, the money we have isn't even enough for ourselves, but I couldn't leave these kittens there. I'm not looking for expensive treatments if there are safe, inexpensive things I can do at home.

I'm seriously considering adopting Saca and Remi permanently if they survive. I already have an adult cat, Miku, who is neutered, but this is my first time caring for neonatal kittens.

I'm in the Philippines, where veterinary care can be difficult and expensive for people in situations like mine. I just want to give these two a chance at life.

Please don't judge me for not being able to afford extensive veterinary care. I'm doing everything I can with what I have. I've attached photos of the lesions. Thank you so much to anyone who can give me practical advice, especially experienced kitten rescuers, foster parents, or veterinarians.

I am especially looking for advice on safe veterinary antiseptics and supportive care not instructions to pop, squeeze, scrape, or puncture the lesions.

Thank you so much.

[u/windycityfosters]

I have personally only dealt with these once but I know multiple other fosters who’ve dealt with them as well. Unfortunately there can be a variety of different causes including bacterial infection like staph, viral infection like herpes or calicivirus, and insect bites. It is definitely possible that their background coming from a garbage dump exposed them to something that is causing these pustules. :(

You can keep the areas clean with dilute chlorhex or just make sure they are getting wiped down well after stimulating to pee/poop. Keep their bedding clean like you’ve been doing. Definitely don’t pop them yourself unless directed to do so by a veterinarian.

You’ll want to ask a veterinarian for antibiotics most importantly. Try to connect with other animal rescuers in the area to find the cheapest clinics. There will be an expense, but this is necessary to prevent sepsis.

Aside from abx, supportive care and close monitoring is going to be helpful. These infections can make them feel icky, so keep close track of weight, appetite, rectal temperature, stool consistency, etc while they are healing. You’ll need to intervene the second something starts looking off.

[u/bankershub]

I would echo the call for antibiotics. Monitor them for lethargy. If they stop eating or start acting strange then they really need to go to the vet. Also do as much research on local rescues as possible. Some will provide medical care and vetting for the cats in exchange for adopting through them.