eye watering in my kitten

Question
I have become the new owner of a 6 month old kitten who has the markings of a Siamese and beautiful blue eyes.  I have an appointment this week to get medicine for fleas and also we are certain that she has a tapeworm as I have found little golden things around her butt that look like sesame seeds.  I was wondering if you know why her eyes would be watering and when I wipe them, the liquid is a rust colour.  I wondered if she has an eye infection and if her eyes are bleeding.  She came from a neglected home.  Thank you.

Answer
Hi Keri.  Tears naturally contain a pigment called porphyrin, which in Greek means purple.  Eye discharge often is tinted red because of this and it's normal, but many people do mistake it for blood.  Most of the time, this won't indicate an eye infection, which usually causes thick yellow or green eye discharge.  It could indicate allergies, blocked tear ducts or an upper respiratory infection called calici virus, which causes watery eyes and sneezing.  But your vet will definitely be the one to consult on all of this.  

Porphyrin easily stains the fur surrounding the eyes, so if you want to prevent a permanent dirty, orange ring beneath his eyes, you should use a tear stain remover.  There are some commercially available ones you can find at pet stores, but my experience has been that most breeders with show cats use a little bit of Johnson's Baby Shampoo on a cotton swab to clean tears off daily.  Although the shampoo is non-irritating, you should be careful to avoid eye contact.

Enjoy your girl.  She sounds like a beauty!