Tear stains on pets are typically caused by excessive tear production. This condition is known as Epiphora by veterinarians. While it's not usually anything to concern yourself about, tear stains are quite unsightly. If you're looking for some home remedies for cat tear stains, I'm sharing a few that I've tested myself.
There are commercial products designed to remove tear staining from your pet, but they are made with chemicals and harsh ingredients. They're also more expensive than the easy home remedies that I'm sharing in this article.
If your cat suffers from excessive tear staining or the condition starts suddenly, you should schedule an appointment with your veterinarian. This condition is typically the result of insufficient drainage of the tear film from the eye.
It could be linked to a blockage of the nasolacrimal ducts or reduced eyelid function due to a deformity. You probably have nothing to worry about, but you should mention any amount of tear staining to your veterinarian. They will give your cat's eyes a quick check-up to make sure everything is as it should be.
The environment, owner's actions (like smoking) or an underlying health condition could cause tear staining. It's best to mention it during a regular visit to the vet, just to be sure there's nothing wrong.
Home Remedies for Cat Tear Stains
Make sure to be gentle with your cat and especially careful around his eyes. Try to get someone else to hold your cat, if possible.
You can wrap him in a towel to prevent scratching. If you are by yourself, you can straddle your cat, but don’t put much weight on him – just enough to keep him in place.
If your cat has a mild case of tear staining, you can add a teaspoon of distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar to his water daily to increase the acidity of his body's pH. Not only will this take care of tear stains, the alkalinity of your cat’s body will help to prevent bacteria or yeast infections from recurring.
Adding vinegar to his water will help to prevent future tear staining, but you'll still need to get rid of the unsightly discoloration that is currently under your cat's eyes. Doing this is easy, but you'll need to be especially careful working around your cat's eyes.
Use a cotton ball or cotton round to clean away the tear stains. Dab the cotton in a solution made of one part hydrogen peroxide with 10 parts water. Wipe underneath the eye where the staining has occurred, but be careful not to get the solution in your pet's eye.
You could also use the same procedure above to clean our cat's tear stains with dry shampoo. Dab the cotton in a solution made of 1 part dry shampoo and 2 parts water. Use the same procedure as above, making sure to keep the solution out of the eye.
Grooming wipes may also work for moderate tear staining. There are commercial products available as well. You can check out my video review on one of the most popular tear stain products for pets from Eye Envy.
Remember, if your cat suffers from excessive tear staining or the condition starts suddenly, you should schedule an appointment with your veterinarian. Severe tear staining is typically the result of insufficient drainage of the tear film from the eye, and this condition will require medical attention.
