How I Cleared Up My Cat’s Tear Stains Naturally

Lili

Why Does My Cat Have Brown Tears?

Do your cat’s eyes ever water?  Or do you notice that your cat has tear stains in the corners of her eyes?  Perhaps you’ve never really given it much thought or just assumed some cats have this.  Just go buy some tear stain remover…after all, they make this product for both cats and dogs!  My cat Snowbear had allergies and the feline herpes virus, and his eyes watered a lot; certain times of the year were worse than others.  From time to time Lili’s eyes also watered a lot, especially when she would eat!  I just assumed this was natural, that she was really enjoying her food! 

Over the course of several months this year her eyes started watering more than normal.  In fact, her face would become so wet I’d have to use a tissue and wipe it.  There was no infection, no green stuff, no redness, so I assumed perhaps she had developed an allergy as well.  It wasn’t until I would wipe her eyes and noticed the tears now had a brownish-red color to it.  I tried an eye ointment for several days but nothing changed.  Frustrated that we weren’t making any progress I finally decided to take her to the vet and have her eyes checked.  Needless to say, she was NOT pleased about my plan and told me about it all the way to the clinic. 

The doctor didn’t find anything that pointed to something serious, so we opted to go with a different eye ointment that Lili muscle-tested well for.  We tried the new ointment for several days, but the brown stained tears kept coming.  Clearly we were missing something!  When all else fails go research on the internet!  I started with a homeopathic site, and it took me awhile to really narrow my search and find symptoms that matched Lili’s.  However, when I started looking up tear ducts and tear stains things started to open up. 

Epiphora in Cats

It turns out that eye discharge or overflow of tears in cats has a clinical name:  Epiphora.  Here’s what I found:

Epiphora means an overflow of tears from the eyes. It is a symptom rather than a specific disease and is associated with a variety of conditions. Normally, a thin film of tears is produced to lubricate the eyes and the excess fluid drains into the lacrimal or tear ducts, which are located in the medial canthus or corner of the eye next to the nose. The tear ducts drain tears into the back of the nose and the throat. Epiphora is most commonly associated with insufficient drainage of the tear film from the eye. The most common cause of insufficient tear drainage is a blockage of the lacrimal or tear ducts. Epiphora may also result from the excessive production of tears.

When I read the next part I knew I had nailed her condition:

The most common clinical signs associated with epiphora are dampness or wetness beneath the eyes, reddish-brown staining of the fur beneath the eyes, odor, skin irritation and skin infection. Many owners report that the cat’s face is constantly damp, and they may even see tears rolling off their pet’s face.

There are a variety of causes to this condition which include:

• Conjunctivitis (viral or bacterial)
• Allergies
• Eye injuries
• Abnormal eyelashes
• Corneal ulcers
• Eye infections
• Anatomical abnormalities
• Glaucoma
• Improper tear drainage caused by either inflammation, blockage by debris or foreign body in the tear ducts, or facial anatomy (squished face breeds like Persians)

To determine if there’s blockage a vet can do a a flourecein stain in the eye and observe how/if it drains.  If it is suspected to be blocked there’s a procedure that’s done under anesthesia that flushes the tear ducts.  To learn more about this condition you can read the entire article here. 

When I took Lili to the vet I recall the doctor saying that if the ointment doesn’t clear it up she would be happy to refer me to a specialist.  Uh oh…  Knowing what I know now I’m surprised the vet didn’t make the connection between Lili’s symptoms and tear stains like dogs and cats get. 

Addressing the cause

It was time to get to the bottom of this mystery and find the cause!  I muscle-tested Lili for every possible cause listed above; the ONLY thing that came up positive was inflammation…from something viral!  The next thing I did was pull out a few homeopathic products that work for inflammation, and the one that worked was Viru Chord by Energetix.

I started giving her 2 drops twice a day in her food or baby food treat.  It’s been almost two weeks now, and I’m so excited to tell you that Lili no longer has excessive tears or tear stains!  Apparently her body just needed some support to ward off whatever virus was causing these conditions!  I’ll continue her protocol until she doesn’t need it anymore.  Looking back now it’s possible that Lili contracted the feline herpes virus from Snowbear since they were very close, but it’s hard to tell without having her tested for it.  This just goes to show that just because your cat may have a condition that appears common in other cats (or dogs) doesn’t mean that it has to be the “new normal.”  There’s always a cause, but to find it you may have to do a little deeper digging!

What “normal” condition has your cat acquired that she didn’t used to have?  Have you taken any steps to determine a cause?  Leave a comment below!

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The information in this article is intended to educate and inform.  These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure.

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