Well, I got muted on Facebook for saying something about crazy cat ladies. No swearing, not nasty, just a simple one liner that was funny. But the censor-bots on Facebook muted me for 24 hrs, I appealed, and lost...
So, like many things - I pick up the pieces and improve things. I hate the search algorithm on Facebook. I've written a lot of posts that I can hardly find. I have decided to copy those posts to here... It'll be a slow process but worth it in the end...
So your cat has eye goop and you want to get rid of it? How?
To clean the eyes:
Step 1: Use your fingernail to carefully flick off any dried chunks of crud. Flick away from the eye so on the lower lid, go down, upper lid go up, and in the crease by the nose, towards the nose. You can also use a flea comb to do this. Now, if you have a show persian, don't do this because it will pull some hairs out... I know sadly...
Step 2: Use a make-up pad or soft cloth, moistened with "something", and gently wipe the eyes, inner to outer. You may have to repeat this several times to loosen dried crud.
Now, I use those little round cotton make-up pads because they don't shed lint like a cottonball. (No sense in cleaning the eyes and putting more stuff into the eyes.) One (or half of one -- yes I cut them in half) per eye so you don't spread germs from one eye to the other. A soft cloth does work except it needs to be thoroughly rinsed between usages.
The moistening stuff... Well there are lots of options:
-- water -- if works just fine for general, low crud cleaning
-- salt water -- 1 tsp of salt in 1 cup of water, similar to natural tears, and is claimed to kill the yeast
-- saline solution -- preservative free, very convenient, in the contact lens section or order some online
-- Eye Envy solution -- the original version which must be refrigerated works better than the new, non-refridgerated version, it probably has an enzyme in it to remove stains and something to kill the yeast
-- boric acid solutioin -- you can buy it premade or make it yourself, my version is 1 cup boiling water, 1tsp boric acid, and 10 drops goldenseal, but the recipe does vary (Note: some cats have an issue with boric acid)
-- colloidal silver -- some people use this, I have not tried it for eye stains
and my favorite...
-- Bausch & Lomb ReNu contact solution -- basically a saline solution with a bit of boric acid, 1 bottle lasts many months even with show cats
Step 3: Dry the eyes and, if you screwed up and got stains, pack them. Packing eyes means to take powder and gently push it into the hairs using either a q-tip or a make-up brush where there is potential for staining. The idea is two fold -- one is the powder will absorb the tears and two is the powder often has something in it to kill yeast. I do this at night only.
So, things you can use:
-- cornstarch -- it works well
-- Eye Envy powder -- works better than cornstarch, but costs more
and my favorite...
-- Breeder-Care -- I really like it, but it ships from Indonesia so the shipping is high (and folks, it is SAFE... many show people use it, it's by a show person)
One thing I would not recommend is using bleach or a bleaching agent. If you google it, there are recipes for a bleach paste that some show people use. Don't! It can hurt the eye is you get it in one. Also, while it does work on removing the stain, it also does something to the hair which will cause more staining -- so it's a vicious circle.
Having said all this and having a plethora of eye staining products, prevention is best. When I got Charlie, my newest show cat, I learned a huge lesson -- if you clean the eyes 3 times a day, you rarely need anything other than ReNu solution and make-up pads. Tom Lukken, her breeder, told me that he didn't use powder at all or any of the other trips show people use, and her eyes were pristine when I picked her up. And he was right -- constant, gentle cleaning, prevents much of the problems. So, her eyes are wiped 3 times a day and there is no staining! (And thanks to him and Charlie, Peaches' eyes are cleaner too!) I use only the ReNu and make-up pads... The photo is of her at a recent show WITHOUT any powder at all. (Getting a white cat, or one with all white around the eyes, has sure made me more disciplined on the grooming!)
Are there other things that can be done to prevent eye staining and excess tearing? Yes, and I plan to discuss each of these individually:
-- trimming the eyes (tomorrow)
-- lysine
K.I.S.S. -- Keep It Simple Stupid
This principle suggests trying the simple solutions first and then moving to more complex solutions. For example, if a persian in Spring throws up. Most likely, it's a hairball, so try a hairball remedy.
Until you try that and it fails, there is no reason to suggest major things like pancreatitis, IBS, strictures, or cancer.
Here is a list of the basic medical supplies I keep on hand. While this is not for everyone (see below), this is the bare minimum any breeder or "high volume" rescue person should have on hand IMHO.
Amoxicillin
Clavamox
Baytril
Famciclovir
Colloidal silver
Goldenseal
NeoPolyBac
NeoPolyDex
Ofloxin
Gentimicin
Optixcare
GenTeal
Slippery elm bark
Cerenia
Enema kit (cat with megacolon)
Thermometer
Lactate ringers
Subq fluid sets
Syringes
Needles
Cones
I also have a close working relationship with my vet. She will prescribe drugs because I have said I need them - she trusts my judgement as to what it is and if I can deal with it.
I've posted a list like this before and have gotten negative comments, because of some of the items. But here's the truth - if you are going to be either in rescue or a breeder, then you have to know how to do basic medical things and have the supplies. If you are nervous about treating your cats, then go to a vet.
One thing that causes excess tearing is hair in their eyes. How do I know this? Well, when I got my first show persian, I was told to and shown how to trim the eyes thanks to Lynda Knight Peace. For show cats this is done to "open" the eyes - so no fur covers their eyes.
So, I went home and practiced on a couple of rescues. What I noticed is that the cats with trimmed eyes had less tearing in many cases.
In Wendy's case, it made a huge difference. If you look at the before photo you can see the eye lashes are long (over 1/4 inch) and over her eye.
So, after cleaning her eyes, I take my handy curved scissors and carefully trim the hair, starting from the outside working in. After much practice, I can get it evenly cut at about 1/32 of an inch. But if it's a bit longer, it still will help. You must hold their head steady and do the trimming carefully - you don't want to cut the eyelid or poke the eye.
But you can see in the comparison photo how open the right eye is compared to the left.
And in the top view, you can see how short the hair is. Ideally on a show cat, I would then come back with thinning shears or a grooming stone and carefully blend the cut area into the head hair.
The result is Wendy keeps her eyes open more, there's less tearing, and I got to practice!
For those interested in raw food, this is the recipe I've used for almost 20 yrs without any issues. Vets, including anti-raw vets, have analyzed it and have never found a flaw.
THE major heart problem for cats is HCM, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. For some purebreds, namely Maine coons and American shorthairs, there is a clear genetic component. With Maine coons, they ate looking for a second gene even. But it is a disease that can strike any cat from my posh persians to my moggies. And 50% of the time there are no symptoms.
For a thorough article on it, please read:
http://www.manhattancats.com/Articles/Hypertrophic_Cardiomyopathy.html
A handy table of antihistamines for cats. Some are OTC and others are by prescription.
Having just gone through several weeks of syringe feeding Gabby, I thought I would share some thoughts and advice on syringe feeding a cat. This usually arises when a cat stops eating usually because of illness and you have to get food into the cat. Many people, including vet techs, hate doing it, but I find it a time to bond with the cat. And actually, many of the cats, like Isabel, who were syringe fed for weeks to months, often come and want to be hand-fed when stressed. (I actually had to fight her off when I was syringe-feeding Gabby as Isabel wanted the syringe and my lap so badly!)
So here are some suggestions.
1. Time. Slow is better. I will take anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes to get the food into the cat. I only put a small amount in (maybe 1-2 ml) and I let the cat swallow and relax before the next mouthful. Because this takes time and because often the cat can't handle larger amounts, I break up the day's food into 3 or 4 meals.
2. Location. I syringe feed the cat in my lap or between my legs while sitting on the floor. I have the cat surrounded with my legs and arms, with my torso draped over the cat. I believe this makes the cat feel safer. Rarely do I have to 'towel' a cat to force feed it -- even with new arrivals.
3. Tools. I use a feeding syringe from FourPaws. It holds a nice amount and the tips can be cut off so that the food comes out quickly. I have tried regular syringes and I didn't like it. If the syringe is re-used, the plunger sticks due to the rubber o-ring. The tip is usually too small unless one uses the 50 ml size and then it's too big to easily handle. I usually preload 2 syringes, and then have the bowl with a spoon to refill them if needed.
Also have have moist paper towels, to clean up drips and splatters. Many cats do appreciate you cleaning off around their mouths.
4. Food. I know Science Diet A/D is considered a great force feeding food, but (a) I don't keep it on hand and (b) some of my cats hate it, so I just use my normal raw mixture thinned with water or other liquid. The food needs to be of the right consistency -- not runny, not thick, but something like cold gravy.
Now in the vet world, there is this 'argument' that you should not syringe feed the same food that you normally feed because the cat will develop food aversions. Bullshit! I have seen vet techs force-feed a cat with a syringe and watching them squirt 10 ml of canned food into the cat who started to choke on it... I have no doubts as to why that cat would be averse to that food, and it has nothing really to do with the food but how it was delivered. I have syringe fed many rescue cats and many of my own because of illness, and not one has become averse to my raw.
As for amounts, that is tricky. To keep a cat from going into hepatic lipidosis, they need a minimum of 3 tablespoons of food... not a lot to prevent it. With the raw, I shoot for a minimum of 60 -100 ml of food depending on the cat size. Often for the first 1-2 days, I only give 45 ml so not to overload the digestive tract if the cat has not been eating. (I know a vet once advised me to give 1.5 3.5 oz cans of A/D to a 3 lb cat...I looked at the vet and laughed -- an 8 lb adult would not be fed that much, let alone a very sick 3 lb cat.)
I usually add a bunch of things to the raw I syringe feed. The big things are probiotics (specifically PB8) and digestive enzymes -- both will help the digestive tract function better. Then depending on why the cat is being syringe fed, I may add milk thistle (liver issues), echinacea (infections), ginseng (general tonic), gingko (kidneys), etc...
5. Position of head. I try to keep the head level and squirt small amounts of the food ( like 1 ml) in the middle of the upper palate. This works better than what owners are told to do -- squirt it between cheek and teeth. I know vets and vet techs are afraid owners will choke the cat with the food, but if it's the proper consistency (not a liquid) and if it's small amounts, I've never had any problem.
One last thing, the alternative to syringe-feeding is having a tube placed and then feed via the tube. I've done that, and found it much harder to deal with -- tube kept getting clogged, easy to overfeed, annoying to cat, etc. Also, from an alternative medicine point of view, it is much better that food goes in the mouth so that the digestive system is properly triggered, than to suddenly bombard the cat's digestive tract with food in the middle of the digestive process.
