Tear stains in dogs and cats
Uncover your pet's beauty!
This unsightly staining can go away!
Owners of particular breeds of dogs and cats may know how annoying tear staining may be. This becomes especially an issue if your dog or cat's coat is on the lighter side, affecting esthetically the most, white coated pets.
Genetically predisposed breeds in dogs are Maltese, Bichon Frise', Shih-Tzu, Poodles and Lhasa Apso. In cats Persians, Himalayans and generally any cat breed with pushed in faces.
Common eye conditions causing tear staining are red yeast, bacterial infections, blocked tear ducts, irritations and allergies.
Sometimes though, when bought to the veterinarians attention, there may be nothing wrong at all with your pet's eyes. The vet may therefore, just advise to clean the area as much as possible.
Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning may help keep the area clean, but for how long? The tearing after all, never ends! The tears then stain the pet's coat making it very challenging to go back to its normal color
As an owner there are some things you can do at home to help relieve and thus prevent the constant tearing, however this must be done after the vet has ruled out any particular eye condition.
-Trimming carefully the hair around your pet's eyes may be helpful, since the hair gets wet from tears and this moisture attracts bacteria and may cause yeast infections.
-Even the water your pet drinks may causes excessive tear staining if it's mineral content is too high. You may want to give bottled water or filtered water as an alternative.
-Pet foods also may be a trigger with all the additives, preservatives and dyes present. You may want to try to find a dog food with the least amount of these harmful substances.
-You can try some special products available on line or at pet stores. Many have many good customer reviews and seem promising. Some of them just need sprinkled on the pet's food once a day and results may start showing up as early as a week.
Tear staining may be annoying but luckily it can be manageable. Once your dog or cat will no longer have those unsightly reddish brown stains it will start to show its real beauty and you will wish you uncovered it before, but as they say better late than never!
