Everybody knows how cats constantly groom themselves. They make sure their fur is untangled, smooth, and clean all the time. You must have noticed their very interesting and unique process of cleaning themselves. For hard to reach places they use their tongue and paws like we use our hands. They usually lick the back of their paw and then rub their face, head, and ears with it.
Even though they are thorough 99.9% of the time, they sometimes miss some important and at the same time vulnerable to infection spots like inside their ears or around their eyes. To avoid that you must keep an eye on your kitty’s grooming process and read about how to clean the cat’s eyes, ears, or other vulnerable places.
But before you start throwing your cat into the bathtub, which he/she will absolutely hate, keep reading for information on some special cleaning techniques and products to save your pet the discomfort and pain of getting sick.
What to do to clean your cat’s eyes easily
Cats are independent creatures with strong personalities. They normally don’t like being touched when/where they don’t want to, therefore when you want to clean a certain area you should remember to be gentle but quick at the same time.
How to do it fast at home
Because visits to the vet, especially the transportation part, can be very stressful as well, it could be a great idea to do it straight from the comfort of your couch if you can. Read on to find some home remedies that you can use on your kitty’s eyes.
1. Use a soft piece of fabric and lukewarm water for regular cleaning. First, submerge it in water and bring it to a boil in order to get rid of all the harmful bacteria. Before it completely dries, wrap it around your finger and gently start the process from the inside corner next to the nose. Move the cloth gently and in one direction (from left to right) all the way to the other corner to wipe off all the discharge and dirt.
2. Use sterilized water on make-up removal cotton discs
This method is recommended especially if your feline has developed crusty discharge around the eyes. There are a lot of reasons why this may happen but usually, the crust is an indication of upcoming eye disease, so it’s good to clean it up as soon as you notice it.
If you see no improvements in the next 2-3 days, or if your cat’s eyes get even worse, then you may want to just contact your vet for treatment. At this point, your pet is losing the fight against harmful microorganisms and you should help him/her overcome it with proper medication.
Because eye diseases spread from one eye to the other, only one of your kitty’s eyes may be affected therefore it’s really important to not wipe both eyes with the same cotton ball. This way you can prevent illness like conjunctivitis to spread to both eyes.
3. Use tea for extra care
Another efficient method to diminish harmful bacteria is using the anti-bacterial, anti-fungal properties of tea. Simply make some herbal or calming chamomile tea, let it cool off, and softly apply it on your feline’s eyes. This will ensure extra protection and care, and even though your furry friend may protest a bit he/she will thank you later.
Last tips and thoughts
Even though your kitty is most likely the expert when to comes to cleaning and grooming him/herself, they sometimes need help to deal with more difficult situations like thoroughly cleaning the eyes of dust and debris that can cause irritations and disease.
Before you do anything, you must not forget to wash your hands thoroughly with soap. This way you can be reassured you won’t aggravate the eyes’ problems. Also, don’t forget to use separate tools for each eye in order to avoid spreading infections or other diseases from one eye to the other.
If your cat is especially active and has access to the outside world, you should pay special attention to any change in look or behavior as your kitty is more prone to contracting something from other cats or animals.
It’s also good to know that some debris around the eyes is normal as the eyes clean themselves from dust and bacteria through the tear discharge. This is especially normal in kittens.
Once my kitten picked up something. And the rims around the eyes were red. We just applied the used tea bags to the eyes, swelling passed the very next day!
At the expense of tea bags, good advice. The main thing is that there should not be any irritants, such as bergamot. It affects cats badly