19/09/2025
Tear Staining
Tear stains are those reddish-brown marks that can appear on the fur around your pet’s eyes. These stains can be unsightly and noticeable, especially on pale fur. Dog and cat tears naturally contain high amounts of porphyrins – these are iron containing compounds derived from red blood cell breakdown in the body. When tears sit on the skin the porphyrin staining will intensify in the presence of light.
Not only that, when tears sit on the skin around the eye, they make it damp which favours local bacterial growth – some bacteria can produce their own porphyrins therefore contributing to tear staining. Tear staining is more likely to occur in certain breeds where tears find their way onto the face more easily, rather than draining normally down the tear ducts. For instance, this may be due to the shape of the face, abnormalities of the tear ducts, or small hairs around the corners of the eye that wick tears onto the face. In most cases tear staining is largely a cosmetic problem and your pet will lead an otherwise normal life, however some patients with tear stains may have underlying eye problems which mean they overproduce tears due to ocular irritation. These tears can then spill over onto the face resulting in tear staining. It is important to ensure underlying reasons for tear staining have been ruled out by a vet as, if ignored, the underlying problem may progress and be harder to treat.