Can Cats Cry Tears?

You spot a wet streak running down your cat’s cheek and your heart sinks a little. Is she sad? Did you hurt her feelings when you moved her off the keyboard?

Here’s the good news: cats can make tears, but they don’t cry them out of sadness. When a cat’s eyes are watering, the cause is physical, things like dust, an infection, or a blocked tear duct. Your cat still has feelings, of course. She just shows them in other ways.

Can Cats Cry Tears?

Yes, cats produce real tears to keep their eyes clean and moist. No, cats don’t shed emotional tears. Veterinarians agree that humans appear to be the only animals that cry for emotional reasons, so a teary cat usually has an eye problem worth checking.

Below, we’ll cover how cat tears work, how cats really show their emotions, what watery eyes can mean, and when it’s time to call your vet.

How Cat Tears Actually Work

Cats have tear glands and tear ducts much like ours, and they make tears all day long without you ever noticing. According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, the tear gland sits at the top outer edge of each eye and makes the watery part of the tear film.

Here’s the journey a single tear takes:

1. Made: The tear gland releases fluid onto the eye.
2. Spread: Every blink sweeps that fluid across the surface, washing away dust and keeping the eye moist.
3. Drained: Tears flow into tiny openings near the inner corner of the eye.
4. Gone: They travel down the nasolacrimal duct and empty quietly into the nose.

When this system runs smoothly, you never see a drop. You only notice tears when the eye makes too much fluid or the drainage path gets blocked, so the extra spills onto the fur. Vets call this overflow epiphora.

What tears do for your cat

• Lubricate the eye so blinking stays smooth and comfortable
• Flush out dust, litter particles, and stray hairs
• Protect against germs with natural antibacterial proteins
• Feed the clear cornea, which has no blood vessels of its own

So tears are a normal, healthy part of cat life. It’s the visible tears that deserve a closer look.

Do Cats Cry When They’re Sad?

Not with tears. Cats feel fear, stress, frustration, and loneliness, but their tear glands don’t respond to those feelings the way ours do. As emergency vet Dr. Carly Fox explained to Chewy’s pet education team, cats may “cry” from stress, pain, or loneliness, yet they don’t produce tears in the human sense.

When people say a cat is “crying,” they almost always mean the sound: a long, mournful meow or yowl. That vocal crying is very real and worth paying attention to.

How a sad or stressed cat shows it

Watch for changes from your cat’s normal routine:

• Hiding more than usual, under beds or in closets
• Vocal changes, like extra yowling at night or going unusually quiet
• Appetite shifts, eating much less or sometimes more
• Grooming changes, either a messy coat or over-licking bald patches
• Litter box slips, peeing or pooping outside the box
• Less play and cuddling, or sleeping far more than normal
• Tail and posture cues, such as a tucked tail, crouched body, or a tail lashing back and forth

How to read pain on your cat’s face

Cats are masters at hiding pain. Researchers at the Université de Montréal built the Feline Grimace Scale to help vets spot it from facial expressions alone. Squinting is one of its signs, which is another reason not to confuse a teary, squinty cat with a sad one.

Feature	Relaxed cat	Cat in pain
Ears	Facing forward	Flattened and rotated outward
Eyes	Open and round	Squinted or partly closed
Muzzle	Soft and rounded	Tense and tight
Whiskers	Loose and curved	Straight and pushed forward
Head	Above shoulder line	Hanging low

If your cat shows several pain signs at once, call your vet. The AVMA notes that on this scale, a total score of 4 or more out of 10 means the cat needs pain relief.

Why Is My Cat’s Eye Watering? 8 Common Causes

Watery eyes come down to two problems: the eye is making too many tears, or the tears can’t drain away. PetMD points to viral infection, often feline herpesvirus, as the most common cause in cats.

Cause	What you might notice	What to do
Feline herpesvirus or calicivirus	Sneezing, runny nose, goopy eyes, often both eyes	Vet visit; keep sick cats apart from others
Conjunctivitis (pink eye)	Red, puffy eyelid lining, squinting, discharge	Vet visit for drops or ointment
Allergies	Clear tears, itchy face, seasonal flare-ups	Reduce triggers; ask your vet about relief
Irritants	Clear tears after dust, smoke, sprays, or scented litter	Remove the irritant; watch for 24 hours
Something in the eye	Pawing at one eye, sudden tearing, blinking	Same-day vet visit; don’t try to remove it yourself
Scratched cornea or eye injury	Squinting, one eye shut, cloudy spot	Same-day vet visit
Blocked tear duct	Constant clear tears, brown staining, cat seems fine	Mention it at your next checkup
Flat-faced anatomy	Lifelong mild tearing in Persians, Himalayans, and similar breeds	Daily gentle wiping

Infections top the list for good reason. The Cornell Feline Health Center calls conjunctivitis the most common eye disorder in cats and says many cats will have at least a mild bout during their lives. It shows up most in young cats and in cats whose immune systems are weakened by FIV or FeLV.

Normal Eye Gunk vs. a Vet Visit

A tiny bit of dark crust in the eye corner after a nap is usually nothing to stress about. Color, amount, and your cat’s behavior tell you the rest.

Eye discharge color guide

Discharge	What it often means	How urgent
Small dry brown or black crust	Normal dried tears	No worry; wipe away
Clear and watery, both eyes	Irritants, allergies, or early viral infection	Watch for 24 to 48 hours
Clear and constant, cat acts normal	Blocked duct or breed anatomy	Bring it up at the next checkup
Yellow or green	Bacterial infection, often after a virus	Book a vet visit soon
Thick, sticky, or gluing the eye shut	Infection or more serious eye disease	Book a vet visit soon
Red or bloody	Injury or underlying illness	Same day

Call your vet the same day if you see:

• Squinting or an eye held shut
• Pawing or rubbing at the face
• A cloudy, blue, or white spot on the eye
• Pupils of different sizes
• The third eyelid (a pale membrane) covering part of the eye
• Swelling around the eye
• Tearing plus not eating, hiding, or fever

One more tip from vets: don’t reach for human eye drops unless your vet tells you to. Some ingredients that are fine for people can hurt cats’ eyes.

Cat Breeds That Tear Up More Often

Some cats look teary their whole lives thanks to the shape of their face. Flat-faced (brachycephalic) breeds have shallow eye sockets, prominent eyes, and squished tear ducts that drain poorly. The Merck Veterinary Manual notes that tear overflow from a blocked duct is more common in Persians and Himalayans, and in most cases it causes no medical problems.

Breeds that often deal with tearing and tear stains:

• Persian
• Himalayan
• Exotic Shorthair
• British Shorthair (some lines with shorter faces)
• Scottish Fold

What about those rusty tear stains?

The reddish-brown streaks under some cats’ eyes come from pigments in tears that tint the fur as it stays damp. They show up most on white, cream, and silver coats. Vetster also flags long-haired cats as more likely to have ongoing discharge, since stray hairs can poke the eye. Stains on their own are a cosmetic issue, though a sudden increase is worth a vet check.

How to Clean Your Cat’s Eyes Safely

For everyday crust or mild breed-related tearing, a quick wipe keeps your cat comfortable and stops stains from setting in. PetMD suggests gentle, unscented, pet-safe wipes for cats with long-term watery eyes.

You’ll need: cotton pads or a soft cloth, warm water (or a vet-approved eye wipe), a towel, and treats.

1. Pick a calm moment. Right after a meal or a nap works great.
2. Get cozy. Sit your cat on your lap or wrap her loosely in a towel if she wiggles.
3. Dampen a cotton pad with warm water. Never use soap, tea, saline you made yourself, or human eye drops.
4. Wipe outward. Start at the inner corner and move away from the eye, never across the eyeball.
5. Use a fresh pad for each eye so you don’t spread germs from one side to the other.
6. Pat the fur dry to slow staining.
7. Reward her. A treat makes next time a lot easier.

If the gunk comes back within a day, changes color, or your cat fights the wipe because her eye hurts, skip the home care and see your vet.

FAQs About Cats and Crying