We have a joke around the cattery, all the cats vanish when I have my cleaning kit. At TES Cats we love clean eyes incorporating as a daily upkeep as a part of our routine. Starting this at a young age daily handling not only gets them accustom to “letting you do it” more importantly the fold of the face stay dry. Our Exotic shorter cats have flat-faces making it more difficult for delicate grooming between eyes and nose.
A saline dampened cotton round will generally wipe the tear, but if more is needed I use Vetericyn Plus All Animal Ophthalmic gel or wash purchased on Amazon.
Holding the kitten should be a light grasp keeping the thumb under the chin guiding the back of the head with rest of hand. Never cut off air with thumb that’s entirely to tight. No pressure, like holding a flower by the stem with into your hand, just loose hand hold making escape easy. If your kitten escapes let go and start over. The kitten will “let you do it”. If you have an older cat sitting on the floor allowing them to back into you.
Have the kitten in one hand, fold the damp round over your pointer finger, gently wipe along the inner tear line. With the flow of the hair off the side of the face picking up you finger to repeat as needed.
