Eye Boogers

Carpinus

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I have a red point Siamese cat that always has brown, hard boogers in the corners of his eyes. I need to clean them off every day or two. They are very crusty and I am unable to wash them off - I need to pick them off. I have occasionally see the discharge before it hardens, and it is also brown. Can this be eliminated? What can a Veterinarian do?
 

Furballsmom

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Hi!
Be really careful when you pick those crusts off - try to get them before they get so hard, so that you can very gently wipe them off with warm-ish water. You don't want to damage the skin by pulling it along with the crustiness, or by rubbing too hard either.

Is your litter dusty?

Is it dusty where you live? obviously there might not be much you can do about that unless you can obtain an air cleaner, and maybe when it's dustiest keep him in a room with the air cleaner where you can close the windows and doors.

Do you have cleaning solutions you use frequently? Strong smelling candles, perfumes, laundry soap or dryer sheets, air freshening diffusers or sprays? lawn weed killer? These are all eye irritants (as well as airway irritants too).

A vet would check his health, the health of his eyes and might give you something to put in his eyes if it's determined a medicine might help.

This article doesn't really address your situation but I thought I'd post it in case there is something in it for you, other readers or other lurkers.

Eye Problems In Cats: What Every Owner Needs To Know
 
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Carpinus

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Thank you Furballsmom. I don't like scented anything so don't have scented candles or diffusers. But the litter box is close to some household cleaning supplies. Thank you for mentioning those - I can't smell them because the lids are on tight, but will move them farther away from his litter boxes. His eyes never appear to be irritated, though. No squinting or rubbing or tearing.
I (actually, the cat!) use a low dust clay clumping litter but it's not totally dust free. I like a clumping litter and would like one that one with as low "tracking through the house" problems as possible. Any recommendations for a type of dust free litter? (Not brands, since I'm in Canada). About 2 months ago we tried a grain litter but the chemical smell was overwhelming so I threw it out.
And yes, I'm super careful cleaning his eyes, but, even though I do it pretty much every day, the boogers are always hard and crusty.
 

Furballsmom

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Hi - there might be something in this article, including in the comments section;
Tear Stains In Cats (including 5 Actionable Treatment Tips)

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/angels-eyes-natural-tear-stain-remover-for-cats?

Take a look through this thread, there are a number of comments so you'll want to read the entire thread to be sure you have all the info:
Extreme Persian Eye Maintaince

I don't know that there is a clumping clay litter that's completely dust free - I'm combining a clay litter with littermaid's walnut (the best walnut litter on the market in my opinion but I realize you might not be able to get it where you are).

Maybe you can find comparable litters? Precious Cat litter, Arm and Hammer fragrance free and Fresh Step unscented have been mentioned by members just lately as being nearly dust free. I'm just now trying Tidy cat again - partly to find out if it's dust free, and to see if it doesn't stick to his feet. The litter is little granules but I don't yet know if those disintegrate.
 
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danteshuman

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Hi one of my cats got crusty buggers occassionaly (not all the time like your cat.) I would take him to the vet.

To loser my cat’s eye boogers I would put a very small dab of of Vaseline on the booger (making sure not to get it the eye, using a q-tip) then 10-15 minutes wiping it off (away from the eye.) That way seemed to annoy my cats the least. Have you ever tried to hold a cotton square wet down with warm water over a cat’s eye? Near impossible!
 

Furballsmom

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LOL
I usually use a q-tip that I've held in warm water. My boy's eye drainage doesn't get crusty but I figure the warm q-tip is more comfortable than a dry one.
 

Burts

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My Allie is a white persian girl that I call flat head, she has huge marble eyes that I clean Daily...

I just wet a napkin or cotton squares with filtered water and wipe it down..

If I use eye envy liquid and then do the powder it slows down all eye boogers/discharge dramatically..

However, I stopped using eye envy a long time ago and just wipe it with a wet napkin these days..

You need to be on top of it and not let it be dirty for long or it gets hard and dont all come out...If thats the case I dont force it if a moistened cu tip dont remove it ill try again next time as it will be softened by then
 
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