My Cat Has Tear Stains—What Now? A Simple Guide to Causes & Cleaning

Hey, observed your cat’s bought these cussed tear stains beneath their eyes? Just wiping ’em off once in a whilst isn’t gonna reduce it. Let’s destroy down why they manifest and how to really get rid of them—no fancy stuff, just straight talk.

First, what even are tear stains?

They’re these crusty reddish-brown marks underneath your cat’s eyes. Here’s the deal: when tears sit on their fur too long, the stuff in tears (like this thing called porphyrin) changes colour as soon as it hits air. It’s not just a beauty thing—if the area stays wet all the time, the fur gets excellent dark, or your cat’s pawing at their eyes nonstop, that’s when it’s a problem.

Why does my cat have them? five main reasons

Breed: Flat-faced kitties like Persians or Himalayans are complete repeat offenders. Their face form just makes it tough for tears to drain right—so they stop up dribbling down their cheeks instead.

Eye infection: If your cat’s eyes are red, oozing yellow/green goop, or they’re squinting a lot, they might have something like conjunctivitis. Infections make eyes water way more than usual.

Blocked tear duct: There’s a tiny tube that’s supposed to drain tears away. If it gets clogged, tears have nowhere to go but down their face. You would possibly note it’s worse in one eye, too.

Ear problems: Weird, right? But an ear infection or even ear mites can worm your cat so a whole lot that it makes their eyes water more. Fix the ears, and the tearing may calm down.

Food: If their food’s too salty or has certain ingredients, it can make them produce more tears. If they’ve additionally obtained stinky breath, food could be the offender here.

How to easy them properly in 3 steps

1. Soften and wipe: Grab a smooth material or cotton pad, dampen it with warm water. Hold it gently on the stain for a few seconds to loosen up the gunk—don’t rub! Then, wipe away from the eye (you don’t wanna get grime in there). For surely difficult stains, use a pet-specific eye cleaner—human stuff can irritate their eyes.

2. Fix the root cause: This is the huge one—you can’t just clean stains continuously if you don’t handle why they’re happening.

For breed-related issues or moderate duct blockages: Ask your vet about an eye wash to keep the area easy and assist tears drain better.

For eye infections: See your vet. They’ll provide you the right meds, like antibiotic drops—don’t strive to wager what to use at home.

For ear issues: Get those ears dealt with first! Once the ear problem’s gone, the excessive tearing may stop on its own.

For meals issues: Try switching to a one of a kind cat food—look for one with lower salt. And make positive your cat’s ingesting lots of water, too.

3. Daily habits to help: Keep it simple! Gently dab the corners of their eyes with a dry tissue each day to catch tears earlier than they stain. Trim the fur round their eyes brief (so tears don’t get trapped as easily). And a cleaner house with less dust? That helps preserve their eyes from getting annoyed in the first place.

Quick note: If the tearing starts suddenly, is definitely bad, or your cat’s eye appears harm (swollen, cloudy, etc.), don’t wait—head to the vet right away.