Siamese with chronic black eye goo

[BewareOfCat]

My otherwise healthy seven year old female siamese has been producing some black eye goo in her right eye for a couple of months now. I've been waiting to see if the problem would alleviate itself but I'm beginning to think that veterinary intervention may be in order. The goo is different from the light golden crust I very occasionally see in my boy siamese- it's black, sort of slimy with a tendency to partially crust over, almost scab like. She doesn't seem to have a problem with the eye; no squinting and she doesn't paw at it. In fact the only time it bothers her is when I remove it: the material is stubborn, and once dislodged she squints that eye until the crust begins to rebuild later in the day. Is this a common problem? Is there anything that can be done at home or will the problem require a trip to the doc?  Any input is greatly appreciated.

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

It would not hurt to have her eyes checked, and have some tests performed. A slightly dry eye (KCS) in cats can be a secondary sequellae to a Herpes infection.  Herpes infections are very common upper respiratory and eye infections in cats.

Mild dehydration may also cause a tear problem.  The dehydration can be sub-clinical i,e, may not even show up in blood or urine tests, and can be caused by a diet that includes dry food.  Feline diets should be all wet or canned diets that are grain free.

[BewareOfCat]

Thank you for the information. We'll be visiting the vet in the morning and the local pet health store in the meantime. My siamese eat a can of wet food each per day supplemented with dry food, dry food to be eliminated. Lately the female in question has been drinking noticeably more water than the male (who is nearly twice her size), seeming to indicate that she isn't getting enough water from her food.