Cat eye boogers: Why felines get eye gunk and how to clean it | Explainer

Cat owners may find they have a lot of things in common with their beloved pets – such as a love for lazing around and being waited on hand and foot.

But one of the more unusual similarities cats share with their humans is one you barely think of: eye boogers.

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Just like their humans, cats are often the victim of crusties by their eyes.

Felines naturally emit liquid from their eyes that ends up drying as crust in the corners of their eyes.

“Cat eye boogers are a mixture of dried tears and mucus that accumulates in the corner of the eye. They are the same as human eye boogers that may be present in the morning,” Dr. Ray Spragley, a veterinarian at Zen Dog Vet told Yahoo.

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What is different about a cat’s crusties is they often have pigment in them, “which causes their eye boogers to be darker than the ones humans have.”

It’s quite ordinary for cats to develop eye boogers near their tear ducts, and since they are self-grooming they can often clean it from their eyes themselves.

Sometimes they can’t get everything out, and in this case it is fine to clean them for your cat by wetting a washcloth, cotton pad or tissue with warm water and wiping down their face. Be sure to avoid the actual eye, as a scratch can cause a corneal ulceration.

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If your cat isn’t the type to take being helped lying down and will most definitely scratch you up, you could try having one person wrap your pet in a towel so all their limbs are tucked away so another can clean their (likely hissing) face.

At times, cats’ eye boogers may be a sign of something wrong, with excessive or persistent discharge pointing to an underlying issue.

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If you notice a lot of tears and your cat rubbing its eyes a lot or even a change in colour of the discharge, it may indicate your cat has allergies, conjunctivitis, a feline upper respiratory infection, or even dry eye if there is not enough moisture – as well as even more serious ailments.

It is advised that you take your cat to the vet if you are seeing a persistent issue for them to find the cause and give a proper diagnosis.

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