Is it common that short-nose breed cats have more than average eye boogers?

missD

missD

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May 29, 2006
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#1
We got Baozi (Scottish Fold Straight ear) a month ago at 5 months old. He's such a sweetheart! Great gentle personality and very loving, but one thing that bugs me is he has a lot of eye boogers - not incredibly a lot but more than our non-breed cat!

Baozi's eyes are NOT all crusty and gross, but there's just a reddish / brown collection at the inside corner of both eyes and you see a little brown dry "eye booger" string by his eye and on his fur.

However, it's not super liquid-like that it's dripping down his eyes like I see in Persians. From what I gather, Scottish Folds are short-nosed breeds and these breeds tend to have issues with their tear production, hence produce for eye boogers?

He's completely healthy + eyes are nice and bright and not irritated, it's just can I eliminate this problem for good? I usually just take a soft facial tissue and wipe it off very gently.
 
#2
Yes, it is common for short nosed breeds to have more eye discharge. I had a British Shorthair with a very stubby little face and he required having his eyes wiped a couple of times a day. It was exactly the same kind of discharge you described in your post. The vet said it was not because of any problem, it was just the way the cat's face was formed and there really wasn't a way to change it. I found that it didn't take me long to not even give it a second thought about wiping his eyes - I just got used to it and kept his little eyes clean for 12 years. You'll get used to it, too! :smile:
 
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#3
Our cats are breed cousins! :smile:

Yes, I guess I'll get use to it! Do you notice that your cat sneezes more? Not like crazy sneezing but it feels like their noses get irritated easier than regular nose cats?
 
#4
I'm not sure this is the same thing, but with white-haired doggies, sometimes giving them filtered/purified water instead of tap helps. The red can be a bacteria (not health threatening).

Do you have pics of your babe?
 
#5
IMG00480-20100913-1437-1.jpg


:smile:
 
#8
Baozi is so handsome!

I have a Himalayan cat called Oscar who has the same - his eyes don't water but he always has little "crispies" in the inner corners! (We call them eye crispies, not eye boogers!!).
 
#9
My one kitty gets eye boogers all the time. She actually has herpes, which presents more like chronic upper respiratory infection in cats. She was on interferon for a while but it didn't really do much to help with her symptoms.

I found that using a kitty litter that is less dusty helps with the booger situation though. The things may be unrelated, but it might be worth a shot.

Oh and my kitty is pretty good about letting me clean her eyes and nose when it's needed.


 
#11
aklein said:
My one kitty gets eye boogers all the time. She actually has herpes, which presents more like chronic upper respiratory infection in cats. She was on interferon for a while but it didn't really do much to help with her symptoms.

I found that using a kitty litter that is less dusty helps with the booger situation though. The things may be unrelated, but it might be worth a shot.

Oh and my kitty is pretty good about letting me clean her eyes and nose when it's needed.
Click to expand...

I've noticed more eye boogers as well with my two males, and I'm thinking that herpes IS what they have (testing first round for it was pricey, 2nd round testing could still show negative ANd really be positive...) so until we see more symptoms I'm just going to keep a close eye on them.
 
#12
^My kitty has it and is fine -- just boogery. She was less boogery with the interferon, but it didn't really seem to completely make things better. After consulting my vet, we decided to discontinue the interferon and she is doing well.
The herpes infection doesn't really do anything to decrease her quality of life at all. I just wipe her eyes and nose with a warm wash cloth and she tolerates it.
 
#13
aklein said:
^My kitty has it and is fine -- just boogery. She was less boogery with the interferon, but it didn't really seem to completely make things better. After consulting my vet, we decided to discontinue the interferon and she is doing well.
The herpes infection doesn't really do anything to decrease her quality of life at all. I just wipe her eyes and nose with a warm wash cloth and she tolerates it.
Click to expand...
^/nods and agrees with you

yeah, we don't have nose issues, just eye issues in our house.
 
#14
You're lucky.
I guess the whole herpes virus infection falls into that fairly easy to manage category.

OP -- I don't think there is really anything to worry about. If you are concerned, take him into your vet. But I think it's just one of those things that you'll just have to wipe your kitty's eyes every so often.

 
#15
Thanks so much for the responses guys. We're getting Baozi neutered when he reaches 6 months so I'll discuss his with my vet. Never thought it could be herpes!

One great thing about Baozi is when I wipe his eyes, he purrrs and purrrrssss. I don't think he likes it, but he likes it when I talk to him softly and pet his head while I wipe!
 
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