Dealing with Those Pesky Persian Eye Boogers
Alright, let’s talk about Persian cats and their eyes. If you have one, you know the drill. Those cute, flat faces often come with weepy eyes and the lovely little crusts we call eye boogers. I’ve been dealing with this with my own fluffball for ages, so here’s what I actually do.
So, the other day, I noticed my Persian, let’s call him Prince Fluffernutter (because why not?), had more gunk than usual. Not like, emergency levels, but definitely noticeable dark crusts building up in the corners of his eyes. First thing I always do is just observe for a second. Is the discharge clear? Yellowish? Greenish? Is the eye red or swollen? These things matter. His looked like the usual dark tear stains, just a bit more pronounced.
Getting Down to Cleaning
Okay, cleaning time. Here’s my super simple routine:
- I grab some cotton balls. Some people use pads, whatever works. I find balls are soft.
- Warm water. Not hot, not cold. Just comfortably warm on your own skin.
- I get Prince Fluffernutter settled. Sometimes this requires strategic treat placement or just catching him when he’s sleepy.
- Dip a cotton ball in the warm water, squeeze out the excess so it’s damp, not soaking.
- Gently, and I mean gently, wipe from the inside corner of the eye (near the nose) outwards. Never wipe towards the eye.
- Use a fresh, damp cotton ball for the other eye. Super important – don’t use the same one, you might spread stuff if there’s an issue brewing.
- If the gunk is really dried on, I might hold the damp cotton ball on it for a few seconds to soften it first. Don’t rub hard! Their little faces are sensitive.
That’s basically it for the cleaning part. Takes like, two minutes once you get the hang of it and the cat accepts its fate.
Watching and Waiting (The Important Part)
After I clean ’em up, I don’t just forget about it. I keep an eye on him for the rest of the day and the next. Did the gunk come right back? Is it looking worse? Is he squinting or pawing at his eye?
Here’s my rule of thumb, kinda lines up with what vets suggest too: if the discharge keeps coming back thick and fast, or if it changes color (yellow/green is a bad sign), or if the eye looks irritated, red, or swollen, even after cleaning, for more than maybe 24 hours? Then I stop messing around myself. That’s when I make a call to the vet. Constant discharge isn’t just ‘a Persian thing’ sometimes; it can mean an infection, or maybe something irritating the eye like an eyelash or dust. You don’t want to let that go.
Luckily, this time with Prince Fluffernutter, the cleanup did the trick. The extra gunk was gone, and it went back to the normal, manageable level of tear staining. Just needed that little bit of maintenance. It’s often just part of the deal with these flat-faced breeds. Staying consistent with gentle cleaning is usually the key for the everyday stuff.
