Not the nicest way to introduce myself. I found this forum to find help with my new Persian kitten. Tomorrow I will find out the results of some tests I had ordered. Feline herpes? UTI? I will know tomorrow.

In the meantime, has anyone had their Persian's fur come out from around their eyes when wiping them?
I have had Birmans and Siamese, but not Persians. I understand from my neighbour that they need eye care. I have been wiping his eyes with saliene solution and recently bought an eye care product from the vet. I noticed the hair loss this morning and have discontinued the new product.

I use 100% cotton pads or Kleenex from time to time if his eyes are weepy. I am just sick about this. I wiped his eyes with water this evening and a tiny clump of black fur came off. I am very gentle with this little angel. I can't sleep over this.

Please advise.
That is Michelangelo in my avatar. Isn't he brilliant.
Thanks in advance.
Sleepless in British Columbia, Canada

Paula, I don't have any advice for you , but I am sure one of our members will have some experience that they can share. You've come to the right place. Your little Michaelangelo is indeed brilliant!! Good luck with your boy!

You sound like a very caring pet owner, but honesty- this is no big deal. The solution you were using may have been to harsh, but more than likely, the fur was just clumped with dried tearing and when you wiped it, the fur came off. It happens all the time. The best thing to use to wipe eyes on a dark cat like yours and simply Multi Purpose NO RUB Contact Solution and a round cotton makeup pad remover like Swissors. You can ask your vet to prescribe you some antibiotic eye drops if you think your kitten is tearing excessively, and that will help reduce it. If your kitten has herpes, this can be easily treated. Most cats have been exposed to this virus and they recover. You can give her a suppliment called L-Lysine sprinkled ontop of her soft food at a dosage of 550 mg per day and that prevents the virus from reproducing itself. If your cat has a Urinary Tract Infection, that will require antibiotics...don't wipe your kitten's eyes with plain water, it's too harsh.

Caring yes, borderlining on paranoid with this kitten. I have not been happy with the health of this little guy. I paid good money for him and I have spent hundreds more on vet care.

I was worrying about some horrible disease and was even starting to be scared to wipe his eyes at all. Your comments have really helped settle my angst and I appreciate that you are drawing from your experience as a breeder.

I will post what the vet says when he phones today.
By the way, what is a Multipurpose no rub contact solution? Is Saliene solution acceptable? This little guy came with no instructions.....from a 'so-called' small breeder.

Thank you both your comments.
Paula

Welcome, Paula and Michelangelo!

Michelangelo is precious. I'm glad that you found this site. I don't have any advice for you I'm glad that Tracy has posted to help you out. I learn so much from what I read here.

I hope that Michelangelo gets good test results today. I'll be watching for an update after you hear from the vet.

Hi and welcome. I had not heard that water is not good to wipe the eyes, that's all I use I have a Himmie with a mask so you don't see the stains so much but she has a lot of tearing as she has Herpes. I wash her face with a warm washrag 2-3x a day when her eyes bother her. In fact I wrap it around her little face and head like a turban It must feel good, she sits there with her little nose in the air and mews when she has had enough

Your baby is adorable, I hope you find a solution and good luck on the tests.

Hi there and welcome to the site. I have a herpes cat too and feel your pain, bought her from a breeder and the morning after I got her home she was all teary wet face and sneezing and has been sick ever since. We went through eye ulcers and whatnot but seem to have things stabilized now...I keep an eye on her eyes and use warm water also to clean them off...she never likes being tended to but does not fight it too bad when I put the warm compress on so it must feel sort of good.

Hi I too am new and came looking for advice on my little Dutchess. I hope your kitty is ok! I would be so worried and upset too!

Tracy's probably right about the fur coming off in clumps caused by either dried tears or too harsh of a cleaner. As for tap water, I don't use it because we have very high mineral content and it seemed to bother Isabel's eyes. It probably depends on mineral content, chlorine levels, and sensitivity of the cat.

I'm sorry to hear about the overall health of your cat. I've been going through major health problems with a new cat and all I can suggest is that you hug and love Michelangelo everyday. He looks wonderful!!!

I heart you guys, thanks for all your support and encouragement.

IT WAS CHLAMYDIA!!!!!!
I am so sad and frustrated at the so called 'small breeder'. This took me 3 weeks and hundreds of dollars to figure out. Meanwhile my other 3 cats were exposed to this highly contagious disease.

Can someone tell me if a 'small breeder' had chlamydia in her litter, would she know? Did I purchase a kitten from a woman who potentially KNEW she was handing me a kitten with Chlamydia? I seriuosly want to send her my vet bills. Nasty!

Thankfully, kitty Chlamydia is curable. He had his first dose of liver flavoured docycycline sp? Does that sound appropriate, to anyone who has experience with this?

And one more question.....is MY eye swollen because I have been snuggling with this little guy and wiping his tears multiple times a day?

sigh,
feeling exhausted and very, very sorry for my little guy.
Paula