Dog and cat tear stains and mouth stains are those lines that form from the eyes down the sides of your pets face and mouth, and are usually more apparent on those with lighter colored and longer, more hairier furs.
Caused by over activity of the tear glands, this is a not-so-uncommon problem in both dogs and cats.
There are four major factors that produce and excess of tears in dogs and cats; Heredity, Health, Hygiene and Happiness, or the Four H’s for short.
Both dogs and cats have been bred in captivity to live along side humans in companionship to control pests, protect, help in the hunt or simply act as friends for thousands of years.
Due to this proximity, humans have controlled their reproductive patterns to obtain more aesthetically pleasing pets, leading to a variety of genetic situations including very small tear ducts and overly watery eyes in many breeds, which can thus lead to hereditary tear stains in both dogs and cats alike.
Keeping your dog or cat healthy is just as important as keeping them clean and happy, and tear stains might be a sign that your pet has taken ill, especially if it is not a breed prone to tear stains.
Taking all the measures to make sure that you are feeding your pet properly, giving them the proper exercise and that your pet has no visible pain, such as tummy, ear, paw or tooth aches for example and just lookingfor unhealthy signs is an important procedure in determining the origin of tear stains.
Particles in the eyes, such as dust, grooming products, overgrown hair, fur or anything that can generally irritate a human into producing tears can do the same to our furry four-legged friends, thus hygiene goes beyond just taking a regular bath, make sure the eyes are clear and healthy looking without any unwanted irritants near the corners.
Keeping pets happy is the last of the four HS and also the most important one, as nothing can be more dangerous to your pets overall well-being than unhappiness, and if you have verified that your pet comes from breeds that shouldn’t tear up, he or she is always kept clean and healthy, then, perhaps it might be time to play with your pet or go outside together once in a while (try to think like your pet).
Nobody likes to be stressed out or unhappy, neither should dogs or cats and as we are responsible for their well-being, it is our duty to keep the four Hs in mind when analyzing our pets tear stains.
There is a great product on the market for tear and mouth stain prevention called Angel Eyes which was developed for both dogs and cats to eliminate tear stains AND mouth stains from the inside out, it doesn’t use food dyes or wheat.
You can also first try to remove tear stains from your dog or cat by warming some bottled spring water (to avoid harsh chemicals like chlorine) and dampen a clean cloth in the warm water to wipe away any tear stains (using petroleum jelly to keep rebellious hairs in place).
Bleaching can be done if really necessary, but should probably be avoided until only after 10 to 21 days of using a warm damp cloth and your pet has been accessed for the four Hs, in which case, if the problem doesnt correct itself, a blend of two or three percent hydrogen peroxide from the local pharmacy and some bleaching element like Magic Touch from Crown Royal in equal parts of no more than 1/8th of a cup each should do a good job of removing any of your dog or cats tear stains permanently.
Just remember to follow the directions if you do choose to use chemicals or bleaching element near or around your pets eyes and be as careful as possible, as you might run the risk of seriously damaging their eyes if it is toxic.
There are products that you can use to keep a dog or cat from crying excessively, but unless your pet is from a tear prone breed, there might be something that needs looking into, as tears in humans are a sign, so are they in dogs and cats, cat and dog tear stains are just more obvious.
