Blocked Tear Ducts In Cats [UPDATED]

“Is it painful?” Sophie asked, stroking Mochi’s back as he purred on the exam table.

Mochi, unbothered, blinked slowly. His right eye was clear and bright, a perfect amber marble. But the left one wept a constant, silent tear that matted the white fur around it into a brownish crust. She’d wipe it away with a warm cloth, and within an hour, the stain would be back. blocked tear ducts in cats

The vet, Dr. Lian, explained it simply. “Blocked tear ducts. In flat-faced cats like your Mochi, the nasolacrimal duct—the tiny drainpipe that carries tears from the eye to the nose—sometimes gets kinked or clogged. The tears can’t drain, so they spill over.” “Is it painful

“There we go,” Dr. Lian said, smiling. “The pipe is open. Sometimes it’s just a little mucus plug or a bit of dust.” But the left one wept a constant, silent

And in a way, it was true. Mochi’s blocked tear ducts didn’t stop him from purring louder than any cat she’d known. They didn’t stop him from sprinting sideways across the living room at 3 a.m. They didn’t stop him from headbutting her coffee mug every single morning.