How To Clean Persian Cat Eyes

Persians are not low maintenance cats. Besides their hair, the eyes are an important area that needs attention.

Why?

Persians are a brachycephalic breed. They have flat faces with a short nose and big round eyes. Their face structure causes them to have eye tearing and improper tear drainage.  Usually, eye drainage is more of an annoyance to the cat (and unsightly) rather than anything harmful.

The amount and frequency of care varies greatly from cat to cat. Depending on the size of their nose, flatness of their face and just the cat itself. Some will need to be cleaned several times a day and others once a week or not at all.

Bacteria causes the discharge to become rust-brown and can stain the face of white or light colored cats. To prevent infections and staining regular eye maintenance is necessary.

Cleaning the Eyes

Use a quilted cotton make-up pad. Do not use any that are too fluffy or cotton-like that soft fibers could get stuck in the eye.

how to clean persian cat eyes

Lightly dampen the pad with the solution of choice and gently wipe the discharge away from the eye to remove it. Never touch or put any solution directly on the eyes. Use a new pad on each eye to avoid cross-contamination.

You can use warm water or a Multi-Purpose Contact Solution. But again, do not put any solution in the cat’s eyes. The water or solution is to wet the cotton pad to wipe UNDER not on the eye.

An Eyebrow Comb + Brush works great if you need to comb the hair around the eyes.

brush for cleaning cat's face

Cornelius is a ‘doll faced’ Persian has a  longer nose. His eyes do not water. Therefore I rarely ever clean his eyes. He just has the very occasional ‘sleep crusties’ in his eye I  remove when they appear.

How to Clean Persian Cat Eyes

 

Elizabeth’s face is flatter than Cornelius’s. It isn’t an extremely flat face but her eyes do water.  So she is somewhere in between a doll-face and peeked face. I try to clean them once a day.

cleaning persian cat eyes

My cats do not have white hair so I don’t have to worry about staining. Although I think Elizabeth’s hair would stain if I wasn’t regularly cleaning the discharge.

For those of you with white cats and watery eyes. What do you use to prevent staining?

I have been recommended Eye Envy Cat Tear Stain Remover as the best product to remove  tear stains from white cats and dogs.  Do any of you use this? Or do you have a different favorite?

Please share in the comments how you keep your white cats and dogs faces clean.

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11 Comments

  1. July 27, 2017 / 7:04 pm

    I have two 4 month old Persians (sisters). (white & blue point)They love wet food but get the food all over there neck fur. I have tried a saucer, small bowl with low sides. They seem to lick the food that is furtherist away and this causes them to get the food all over their neck fur. I them have to wipe the neck with a wet wash cloth and this causes their fur to be wet. I hate to have them have wet fur. I will be starting work in Sept. and would like them to be able to eat on their own. Right now I hold a plastic spoon with the food on it for them to lick and continue doing this until they are done.
    HELP!

    • July 28, 2017 / 5:54 pm

      I understand your frustration! I have always found that they should grow out of this. Kittens can be very messy when eating. As they get older they will be more cautious. Adult cats hate being dirty and will do anything they can to avoid making their faces a mess. An small open saucer or low bowl is the best you can do. I would be careful of the serving size and not give them more than they can or should be eating to avoid excessive waste. I know its frustrating but enjoy watching those kittens grow and I am sure they will become cleaner eaters in a month or two maximum. Thank you for commenting!

  2. Lydia
    July 18, 2017 / 3:02 pm

    My teacup Himmie is named Charlotte and she is three years old. I have recently adopted her from my daughter whose husband has bad allergies. She is a cream/bluepoint and her eyes have to be cleaned at least once daily. I use Nutri Vet eye rinse for cats on a make up remover pad. She doesn’t seem to mind it although she infallibly grooms herself after the cleaning. I purchase this from Amazon .

  3. June 24, 2017 / 11:23 pm

    Thanks for the info! I also have a persian and came across this link.
    I would love to connect also to swap cat info :)
    @Rama.1008

  4. camilla jacob
    September 16, 2016 / 12:21 am

    Hi! Im from Norway. My little Bella is a white persian, she is 4 months. I ordered Eye envy tear stain remover and it is working very well. But it doesn´t stop staining. And it says I only can use it 2-3 days a week.. Should I cleanse the rest of the day with just water? I have searched very long on the internet but I can´t find so much information about it.. Hope you can help me with an answer :-) !

    • September 17, 2016 / 6:57 pm

      Hello! I would follow the directions and not use it more than 3 days a week. Yes the other days you can just use a damp cotton pad to clean the area. For cats with extreme flat faces we can never stop their eyes from tearing. The best you can do is clean daily. Congratulations on your new baby! I’d love to see a photo, could you tag me on instagram?

      • Camilla Jacob
        September 18, 2016 / 12:22 am

        Yes i can, whats your insta name?:-) thanks for the info btw!

        • Zachary Duke
          October 2, 2016 / 9:33 pm

          Hey Camilla and meowlifestyle, i too just got a Persian kitten the other day and would love to get in touch with other Persian kitten owners to compare notes. My Instagram is @zacharypuke.

          • October 2, 2016 / 10:03 pm

            Thanks for reaching out! Congrats on your new kitten! See you on Insta ;.)