7 Reasons Why Cats Cry While Eating
Maybe many of us have seen on television, social media or even witnessed an incident where street cats or stray cats around us cry when given food. This unique incident then attracted the attention of those who witnessed it.
Various reactions arise from people who see it, ranging from being touched, happy, and thinking that a hungry cat seems to be crying happily when it finally gets food. Then is it true that cats cry happily when fed? Check out the answer to this in Angora's article below.
Why Do Cats Cry While Eating ?
Many of the netizens who witnessed it themselves or witnessed via video that the cat cries when being fed is a sign that the cat is crying happily. So is this really related to cat emotions? The answer is that this has absolutely nothing to do with emotion.
Cats can feel happy, sad, scared and various other emotions. But when a stray cat or a hungry cat is fed and cries, this has nothing to do with the cat's emotions. Experienced veterinarians say that cats cry not because they are feeling sad but rather because of an injury or disease related to the cat's eyes.
Therefore, people who are experts such as veterinarians when they see this even feel sorry for the condition of the cat.
What Causes Cats to Cry When Feeding ?
Well, as Anggora explained above that a cat that cries when it is fed is not because it cries happily but because of health problems in the cat's eyes. Here are some health problems that trigger cats to cry when fed :
1. Eye Irritation
Irritation is one of the causes that allow cats to cry while eating. Moments before we feed the cat, objects such as sand, earth, ash, gravel, sawdust and the like may have irritated the cat's eyes first. As a result, when a cat chews food, his eyes shed tears because the eyes are irritated.
Although this reason feels very coincidental, in the medical eye this is a common and natural thing to happen considering that stray cats live on the streets.
2. Conjunctivitis
The conjunctiva is a condition in which the pink part near the eye becomes inflamed. This condition can occur by viral, bacterial or environmental irritants. Conjunctivitis will cause various eye problems such as watery cat's eyes, cat's eyes discharge a lot of dirt, swollen eyes, red eyes and eyes become very sensitive when seeing light.
3. Eye Allergies
Not only the 2 things above, allergies can also trigger tears from the cat's eyes when the cat is eating. Generally, allergies to cat's eyes are caused by the following :
Dust
Certain chemicals
Perfume
Mold
Dust
Pollen
Drug
4. Exposed To Chili And The Like
Hot foods such as chilies can be one of the triggers for cats to cry while eating. As we know that stray cats are animals that like to scavenge trash in search of food. When looking for garbage, cats often touch leftover food spices or chilies.
Chilies or spices that are touched by the cat's hands then accidentally touch the cat's face and eyes when he is looking for food in the trash. As a result, the cat's eyes will feel hot and watery before and after meeting a good person who feeds him.
5. Injury Or Trauma
Eye injuries or trauma in the past can be the cause of a cat's eyes watering. This condition makes it appear as if the cat is crying. The level of injury and trauma is divided into 2, namely mild conditions and severe conditions.
Triggers for mild conditions are generally small objects that enter the eye such as soil or sand. While severe conditions are usually caused by cats falling, accidents, being hit by irresponsible people near the eyes or head and cat fights with same-sex or other animals.
Mild conditions can generally be treated with special cat eye drops, but for severe cases special treatment from experts such as doctors is needed. If your cat experiences watery eyes with this condition, you should immediately take it to the vet so that it can be treated immediately.
6. Epiphora
When a cat sheds a lot of tears, especially when the cat is eating, you have to be careful. This condition is probably called Epiphora. That is a condition in which the cat's eyes release excessive water.
Epiphora is a sign that the cat is suffering from serious eye problems. Generally a healthy cat will only shed tears when his eyes feel tired, dry eyes, eyes get dust and the like. When these tears come out, the excess tears will be drained in the nasolacrimal canal.
When the nasolacrimal duct is blocked, the tears cannot be absorbed and the eyes release excessive tears (epiphora). This condition will irritate the skin of the eyes, the eyelashes and the hair around the eyes are wet.
This condition not only makes us uncomfortable looking at it but cats also feel the same way. This condition can be treated by a veterinarian with certain medications and treatments. If the disease is severe, surgery may be carried out so that the cat's eyes heal and return to normal as usual.
7. Diseases Like Upper Respiratory Tract Infections
Watery cat eyes can also occur due to an infection in the respiratory tract. Diseases such as calici bordetella, herpes, chlamydophila felis and bronchiseptica may be the cause. This disease can affect kittens as well as adult cats.
Generally, the symptoms that arise in cats due to respiratory infections are sore throat, fever, sneezing and watery eyes. Proper medication can treat this disease. It's just that the cat will feel uncomfortable with this condition.
Therefore, when the cat is taken to the vet, it is not uncommon for the doctor to include eye drops, vitamins, antibiotics or anti-inflammatory drugs to relieve the above symptoms in cats suffering from this respiratory infection.
In addition, the doctor will also teach how to care for and handle cats with this condition. In healthy cats, vaccination is usually necessary to prevent this disease.
What Does It Mean When A Cat Cries While Eating ?
What is the sign of a cat crying? Cats cry in society are often associated with certain signs such as :
Bad omen
Sign of Disaster
Sign of Misfortune
Omen of Death
Sign of Fortune
Signs of Coming Disease
Birth Sign
All the signs above are purely myths or hoaxes. Because cats crying while eating is only a disease and not the result of emotions or certain signs. Angora confirmed that this was one hundred percent the result of illness and health problems.
Whatever is in people's beliefs, this is just a myth. Because as long as I keep a cat and the cat's eyes look like they cry when eating or in the middle of the night, nothing special will happen. What's special is that I clean the cat's eyes and try to treat it.
As religious people, we should not believe in myths that have no clear truth unless they are scientifically proven. Maybe that's all I can say about the causes why cats cry while eating and things related to this.
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