Effective Medications for Cat's Excessive Tears and Eye

Recently, a pet owner asked us on the backend, "Why does my cat have excessive tears and eye boogers? What medication should I use?"

Firstly, if your cat is experiencing a lot of tears and eye boogers, it could be due to heat stroke or a sign of eye inflammation, such as conjunctivitis or keratitis. If your cat shows additional symptoms like red eyes, frequent blinking, or aversion to light, it's crucial to be vigilant.

What Causes Excessive Tears and Eye Boogers in Cats?

1. Heat Stroke in Cats

Heat stroke can lead to symptoms like excessive eye boogers, watery eyes, and tear stains around the eyes, with a slight reddening but no other eye abnormalities. In severe cases, some cats may also exhibit symptoms like bad breath, constipation, or diarrhea.

2. Eye Inflammation

Eye inflammation in cats can be caused by mechanical irritation, allergies, viruses, or infections from nearby organs. Common conditions include conjunctivitis and keratitis.

Conjunctivitis symptoms: Excessive eye boogers, which may be puslike or serous, frequent tearing, red and swollen eyes that may not open wide.

Keratitis symptoms: Cloudy cornea,充血 around the cornea, photophobia, excessive tearing, and an abundance of eye discharge.

3. Entropion or Ectropion

Entropion or ectropion are abnormalities in the eyelid structure, more common in dogs but can also occur in cats. They are characterized by excessive tearing, eye boogers, conjunctival congestion, cloudy cornea, and exposed conjunctiva.

What Medication Should Be Used for Excessive Tears and Eye Boogers in Cats?

Before using any eye drops, make sure to clean your cat's eye discharge with sterile saline solution to prevent bacterial growth.

If your cat is scratching its eyes, it's also important to fit it with an Elizabethan collar to prevent excessive scratching and potential secondary injury or infection.

1. Shan Jing (Jin Hua Clean Eye Solution)

Used for daily eye care and cleaning, this solution contains ingredients like honeysuckle, bilberry, and lutein, which can soothe your cat's eyes from heat stroke, dryness, excessive eye boogers, and tearing, as well as reduce tear stains.

If your cat's heat stroke symptoms are severe, be sure to adjust its diet accordingly. Avoid feeding your cat highsodium foods and increase its water intake with wet food.

2. Bai Lang Ming (Neomycin Sulfate Eye Drops)

Primarily used for bacterial infections such as conjunctivitis and keratitis. Neomycin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic with strong antibacterial activity against gramnegative bacilli like Escherichia coli, Proteus, and Salmonella, and it is also sensitive to Staphylococcus aureus.

3. Ganciclovir Eye Drops

Used for conjunctivitis and keratitis caused by herpesvirus infections. Ganciclovir can inhibit the replication and spread of the virus, alleviate symptoms, shorten the duration of the disease, and promote the repair of ocular tissue. Similar eye drops include Acyclovir Eye Drops, Valacyclovir Eye Drops, and Ribavirin Eye Drops.

If your cat is confirmed to have a herpesvirus infection, it's essential to combine other medications, such as interferon, Kenojia (Amoxicillin Clavulanate Potassium), LLysine tablets, and lactoferrin.

For severe keratitis, it is generally not recommended to selfmedicate at home, as this may worsen the condition. Additionally, cats with excessive tears and eye boogers due to entropion or ectropion may require surgical treatment.