Kitten brown eye crust

I adopted a 4 month old Maine Coon-ish kitten a few weeks ago, and he came to me with no reported health issues, but I did note brown crust outside the inner corners of his eyes. I cleaned it off with a wet cloth and figured it wasn't a big deal.

However, it seems that the crust sort of builds back up (and then I clean it off) again and again. It becomes pretty thick and black and sort of flakes off in a chunk if I wipe it, and it seems that the fur there is stained (but it might be his coloring...hard to tell since I've never seen him without the goopy eyes!).

He does sneeze very occasionally and I had written this off, but since I cleaned off that chunk of black crust this morning I noticed that he has brown goop in the corners again. And he sneezed while I was holding him, contemplating the goop - as if to say, "yes, maybe there is a problem."

He also seems a little more "wet" than my other older kitten...like when he rubs his face against you it's very...wet. I don't know how to explain it! Like a person wiping a runny nose against your hand.

I should add that his eyes are clear.

The vet just checked him over a few days after I adopted him (my vet, not the shelter vet) and gave him a clean bill of health, but then perhaps the crusties are normal?

Thoughts? Things to look for?

It's most likely just airborne allergens since he's not got any colored discharge.  You might try adding l-lysine to his wet food to see if that helps clear it up.  I would give him 500 mg once a day divided into 2 doses.  You can get lysine at the health food store or in the supplement section at the pharmacy.  You can crush tablets between 2 spoons, add a bit of water to the wet food, stir and serve.  You can also purchase the powdered variety if you plan to use it long term.  I buy mine on Amazon, either the NOW brand or the VitaCost brand depending on which is cheaper at the time I order. 

If you notice any discolored discharge from the eyes or nose, then take him to the vet.  It's very common for a newly adopted kitty to come down with an upper respiratory infection about 2 weeks after coming home due to all the stress and "newness" of its new home.  Also, any change in appetite, play, or litter box habits should be addressed by a vet as well.

My Gadget gets these same crusts on his eyes and nose. Doesn't help when he rolls in litter to dust himself, LOL! I chalk it up to allergies/exposure.

Hmmm ok...I noticed today that he has more brown eye mucus near his eye - there are definitely a lot of places to get into dust and such in the apartment; I had been using WBCL but have switched over to Feline Pine - today is the first exclusive day of it - which is working well and I'm hoping the lower amount of dust will be beneficial to everyone involved.

L-lysine sounds like a great, "can't hurt" approach. I think I'll pick some up. Thanks!