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Lili
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.
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:
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. 
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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I find viru-chord helpful though not completely clearing up the conjunctivitis after a month. Any suggestions? Keep using? Something else?Thanks
If that’s the case it could be bacterial. If colloidal silver drops or OxyCat drops by Feline Essential don’t clear it up I recommend doing an optimal cat health analysis with me so we can get to the bottom of the issue. There may be environmental sensitivities involved as well.
Thank you so much for this helpful information. You mention that you give 2 drops twice a day. I want you make sure I’m giving the right dose. Does the dosage have to do with weight? My cat is a little guy, less than 10lbs. But his poor eye has me so worried! He won’t let me clean off the staining so it looks bad but it doesn’t seem to bother or hurt him. Any additional information about dosage would be greatly appreciated!
For a 10 lb cat use 2-3 drops twice a day. Since I wrote this article I have found another anti-viral product that you can also use called Vira X by Feline Essential.https://twocrazycatladies.com/shop/cat-health/vira-x/. (use as directed). It may be easier to source than Vira Chord by Energetix.
My 10 year old tabby girl has this. She gets goopy itchy eyes. I ordered Vira-X and Oxy Cat from the Crazy Cat Ladies to use on her. It clears up with Amoxicillin too (just took her to the Vet – Vet said kitty does not have an eye infection but would not say that she thinks she has a virus – was referred to a animal Ophthalmologist that I cant afford right now). I live in WA State and there are trees and pollen everywhere – so kitty is constantly exposed to allergens in the environment. I will save your post for future reference – and get some Viru-Chord too to keep on hand. Thanks!
Vira-X is an excellent product! If her condition is viral this should help. Consider using other immune boosting supplements like medicinal mushrooms, Ion Gut Health for Pets and probiotics to help strengthen her immune system, 70% of which is located in the gut. Homeopathy can also be a quick cure by matching her symptoms. Reach out if I can help further.
Hi Pam,
My cat has been getting tear stains from the last 2 months. Just got back from vet and the vet said my cat has nothing wrong with his cornea and no signs of glaucoma. Got tests done for both of them. Vet also mentioned there are no sigs of inflammation or irritation of the eye/near the eye.
I will go to opthamologist for further diagnosis but before that I want to try viruchord. Please can you let me know if energetix is the one to go for (considering my situation) or are there better variants in the same company?
Your input is very valuable to me, please let me know.
Little history about the symptoms: tear stains started for the first time two months ago when my cat started sneezing and had conjunctivitis. Both the sneezing and conjunctivitis went away and but the tear stains still has not. He gets them regularly since then(everyday). I give my cat viralys(l-lysine regularly to boost immune and was away his tear stains with cat eye wash)
You can also reply to me at sirish999@gmail.com
You need to know if there is a virus at the root of the issue before using Viru Chord. There may be inflammation in the tear ducts or environmental sensitivities. The best place to start would be an Optimal Cat Health Analysis where I use muscle testing with a photo of your cat to see what resonates as the root cause of the tear stains.
Thank you for your response. Is it a bad idea to give virchord energetix, when your not sure if virus is the root cause or not. I was thinking about trying this and if it did not work I could go to the ophthalmologist directly.
Please let me know if it is not a good idea to give this when I’m not sure about virus being the root cause.
Using homeopathy addresses the energetics of dis-ease in the body to bring it back into balance. It’s based on the principle of like cures like. Using the wrong remedy over time can actually cause aggravations or symptoms of a particular illness, etc, and cause more disharmony in the life force. Therefore, I suggest you be absolutely certain the condition is viral before adding this combination remedy. Plus, it would be a shame to waste time and money on something that isn’t beneficial to begin with. Rule out any environmental allergens (things in the air, indoors or outdoors) and research common feline viruses like Herpes, Calici, etc and see if any of those symptoms match those of your kitty. Lysine is very effective in reducing symptoms of Herpes; however, if you’re not seeing a difference within 2-4 weeks it may not be Herpes.
Where can I purchase Viru Chord?
Hi Ruth! You can find it online–just Google it and you’ll see lots of sites sell it directly.
Thank you…your article was very helpful. I am constantly looking for natural or homeopathic remedies for both myself and my pets. I found one article by Dr. Becker that said the brown staining could be red yeast and to try Collodial Silver as a wash around the eyes. After reading your article, I realize that if it is yeast, I should treat it from within also. So I will try giving the colonial silver by mouth as well.
Ginny,
You can use the CS as eye drops, too. Put a drop in twice a day. Pau d’Arco is an herb that works well against yeast, so if you think it may be red yeast you can try adding this supplement, too. Muscle testing would be the easiest way to determine which modality of treatment/s the body needs.