Runny eyes is prevalent in brachycephalic cats -- I wouldn't
say it's 'normal', because it is indicative of a structural problem.
Cats with flat faces, like Persians and Himmies have severely
malformed tear ducts.  A normal cat's skull looks like this
http://www.boneclones.com/BC-131.htm.

    Now imagine that nose being shoved back until the front of the
jaws are even with the eye sockets.  The tear ducts still exist, but
they have been squished and compacted so much that they are almost
totally closed off.  This is what causes the eyes running constantly.
This also often causes severe breathing problems, as the air passages
in the nose are also often almost totally closed.  This is why many
Persian-type cats breathe open-mouthed.  English Bulldogs have many of
the same problems that Persian cats do -- here's the skull of a normal
dog
http://www.skullsunlimited.com/domestic_dog_skull.html
and here's the skull of an English Bulldog
http://www.skullsunlimited.com/English_Bulldog.html.

   IMO, we need to get back to the original look of the Persian-type
cats -- a cat with a short, but still present muzzle that can breathe,
eat, and live normally.

Orchid
See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage
Want a Purebred Cat?  Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid