dirty face

[hatchytt]

Hades is adorable, except for one little thing. He gets tear stains and dark crusties in his nose. They're not runny, but I have to tackle him about once a week to scrub off some of the grime. I use plain water and q-tips, but when I'm done, it's better, but still stained around his eyes. Which is really noticeable with his white fur. Is there a better way? Can these stains be prevented?

 

[red top rescue]

There is a tear stain remover you can get at Petco or other good pet stores.  You can also order it online.  Just Google "cat tear stain remover" and you will find a lot of them for sale.  You may be able to compare them that way.  Persians often have tear stains because their flat faces do not allow the tear ducts to drain properly so the eyes run over.  If our cat has a lot of discharge, its possible either there was an earlier upper respiratory infection or there is a mild bacterial infection.  In those cases, we have found adding L-lysine and Lactoferrin to their food can stop the tearing and crusties.  You can find those on the internet or in health food stores too.

Here is a thread that discusses those supplements.  You can search "lysine and lactoferrin" in the search bar at the top of the page under the brown bar in order to find more threads about this if you like.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/267703/stubborn-herpes-infection-add-lactoferrin-in-addition-to-lysine

 

[margd]

I've seen this product (Eye Envy)  recommended:  http://eyeenvy.com/tear-stain-remover-for-cats/

Also, this thread has some info:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/26856/removing-tear-stains-from-persians

 

[hatchytt]

He's not a Persian. But, I'll still look into these products when I have some money.

 

[margd]

Hades is a complete cutie, eye stains and all.

  Some members have had success using Johnson's Baby Shampoo.  That might be a low cost way to go.  

 

[hatchytt]

Oh... That's an idea. Maybe if I dilute some baby shampoo in water and go at it with q-tips again.

 

[posiepurrs]

Try a contact lense cleaning solution. It breaks down the protein build up in the tears, just like it does on contacts. Just clean the fur

with it(not in the eyes!). I have used Eye Envy, but I really prefer not to use it due to it having antibiotics in the formula.

 

[mellee70]

My boys problem area isnt his eyes or nose its his chin. He has very white fur on his chin and it always seems to be yellowy brown staining of thr fur. Hes on dry food so dont think its food related, though he does have a sensitive tummy & vomits at leadt twice a week. Im raelly just looking for a safe way to get his lovely white chin back.

 

[posiepurrs]

If it is his chin area that is stained it is probably caused by your water in combination with the dry food. Water will sometimes discolor white fur which is why breeders of white cats teach the cat to drink from a water bottle similar to those used with hamsters. A whitening shampoo used on the area will help, but most of the time you just have to stop what ever is causing the staining and then let the coat grow out.

 

[janneb]

Posiepurrs is probably right about it being the water, however i do remember a chin issue with our kitty growing up. He got a chin infection, I don't really remember what it looked like but it was ugly. I found out it was bc he had a plastic bowl, and plastic collects bacteria. I put some antibiotic cream on his chin, changed his bowl, and it cleared up in a couple days. I doubt that's the problem with your kitty, but if he drinks out of plastic bowls, I would check to make sure it's not something more than a stain.