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This is something that's been going on with Christy for a while. It doesn't seem to bother her, so I think it's harmless, but I did want to ask.
About three years ago, she started squinting her left eye a little more than the right. Around the same time, she had an injury on her nose--a very superficial scratch that I didn't really think much about. I called the shelter (at the time she was still a foster because we were still hoping she was adoptable, but now that she is older I decided to adopt her and let the shelter spend their resources on less-shy cats and cute kittens). They said to wait and see and if it doesn't stop we'll get her a vet; by the end of a month, her tendency to squint had disappeared on its own. I can only occasionally see that she is squinting the eye a little more.
Since then, the only issue she has had with that eye is that occasionally, tears will drip from it, as though her nasolachrimal duct might be blocked (I know that's what they call it in humans--no idea if that is what it is in cats--it's the little tube that drains tears to the back of your nose). I had heard of this happening in Persians because of how short their faces are.
It doesn't seem to cause her any distress. She isn't cleaning her face any more than Tiny does. She can see just fine on that side. She doesn't have any problems with me touching the area (well, any more than she has problems with me touching her head in general--she is a little shy about that ever since the oh-so-terrifying Ear Drops). I will occasionally wipe her eye with a tissue if she's got gunk building up because of how the tears collect at the edge of the eyelid. I checked the eyelids and everything, and everything looks normal (i.e., like the other eye). If she sits someplace for a long time, there'll generally be one or two teardrops...
Here's a photo of her face (doesn't she have a pretty little face?). The eye in question is on the right side of the image. You can see how there's a bit more buildup on the edge of the eye, and the fur there is a bit wet. It looks wetter than it actually is, because of how her calico pattern gave her a darker patch there.
What I want to know is, basically--Was the shelter right in saying this isn't a problem? Was she injured, and the injury closed off the duct somehow? If this isn't a problem for Persians, beyond having to clean their fur, I don't think it's a problem for her... right?
About three years ago, she started squinting her left eye a little more than the right. Around the same time, she had an injury on her nose--a very superficial scratch that I didn't really think much about. I called the shelter (at the time she was still a foster because we were still hoping she was adoptable, but now that she is older I decided to adopt her and let the shelter spend their resources on less-shy cats and cute kittens). They said to wait and see and if it doesn't stop we'll get her a vet; by the end of a month, her tendency to squint had disappeared on its own. I can only occasionally see that she is squinting the eye a little more.
Since then, the only issue she has had with that eye is that occasionally, tears will drip from it, as though her nasolachrimal duct might be blocked (I know that's what they call it in humans--no idea if that is what it is in cats--it's the little tube that drains tears to the back of your nose). I had heard of this happening in Persians because of how short their faces are.
It doesn't seem to cause her any distress. She isn't cleaning her face any more than Tiny does. She can see just fine on that side. She doesn't have any problems with me touching the area (well, any more than she has problems with me touching her head in general--she is a little shy about that ever since the oh-so-terrifying Ear Drops). I will occasionally wipe her eye with a tissue if she's got gunk building up because of how the tears collect at the edge of the eyelid. I checked the eyelids and everything, and everything looks normal (i.e., like the other eye). If she sits someplace for a long time, there'll generally be one or two teardrops...
Here's a photo of her face (doesn't she have a pretty little face?). The eye in question is on the right side of the image. You can see how there's a bit more buildup on the edge of the eye, and the fur there is a bit wet. It looks wetter than it actually is, because of how her calico pattern gave her a darker patch there.
What I want to know is, basically--Was the shelter right in saying this isn't a problem? Was she injured, and the injury closed off the duct somehow? If this isn't a problem for Persians, beyond having to clean their fur, I don't think it's a problem for her... right?
