I have a new 2-year-old American Shorthair Purbred female. My male before her didn't have this problem but she has tear staining (aka Epiphora) modestly in one eye and very minor in the other. The breeder I got her from is a retired veterinarian and said she just wiped her eyes clean every morning and it's nothing to worry about. Her eyes aren't watery or look irritated and she doesn't rub them. My understanding is it's just a genetic thing with her drainage ducts which is more common the flatter the breed's face. It seems to be a little worse some days than others. I bought the Eye Envy wash, stain remover, and powder off Amazon and a gazillion cotton rounds. I don't really use the powder as it seems contradictory to put something like that which can build up? It's a bit frustrating as I didn't have to deal with this with my previous American Shorthair. And I'm not convinced the expensive products do any better job than just using some warm distilled water on a cotton pad!
I know a lot of cat owner out there have dealt with this before especially Persian and Himalayan owners. Just wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks to minimize the necessary maintenance? Supposedly they can have surgery to open the ducts by my gut says it (a) ain't cheap and (b) may not guarantee the problem is completely fixed or eventually comes back? I'm assuming it's a minor nuisance you just have to live with it in the case there is no serious underlying cause.
The main thing that has me puzzled is why some days it's a little worse than others. If I knew why I was hoping then there's some action I can take to minimize the worse days as on those days I give her a second wipe down in the afternoon. I just don't like seeing the stains but my parents have had Persians and Himalayans where their eyes looked a little gunked up 90% of the time so I suppose you just get used to looking at it. (She's the more rare shaded American Shorthair (silver) so doesn't have the black stripes on her face and so the light colored facial hair shows the stains more easily.)
I know a lot of cat owner out there have dealt with this before especially Persian and Himalayan owners. Just wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks to minimize the necessary maintenance? Supposedly they can have surgery to open the ducts by my gut says it (a) ain't cheap and (b) may not guarantee the problem is completely fixed or eventually comes back? I'm assuming it's a minor nuisance you just have to live with it in the case there is no serious underlying cause.
The main thing that has me puzzled is why some days it's a little worse than others. If I knew why I was hoping then there's some action I can take to minimize the worse days as on those days I give her a second wipe down in the afternoon. I just don't like seeing the stains but my parents have had Persians and Himalayans where their eyes looked a little gunked up 90% of the time so I suppose you just get used to looking at it. (She's the more rare shaded American Shorthair (silver) so doesn't have the black stripes on her face and so the light colored facial hair shows the stains more easily.)
