RE: My cat has sores on her nose!

[Guest guest]

wrote:

> Hi,

> Frisky, my 11 year old female indoor cat,

> has developed a series of small sores on

> her nose.

> Ideas appreciated,

>

I suggest a bit of Neosporin. It has a couple

of antibiotics, neomycin and polymyxin, and a

pain reliever, pramoxine. It really helps to

heal sores on humans.

Clay

[Guest guest]

Klein danced around singing:

>The patches are little bald spots with small scabs on them. She does

>not appear to be in pain or itchy there; she shows no abnormal reaction

>when I gently pet her nose (she is not fond of being touched that close

>to her eyes generally, although sometimes, if she is in the mood, she

>likes to be gently stroked from her nose to her forehead). I have not

>seen her scratching at or otherwise favoring the affected area.

>

>I took a digital photo and uploaded it to the following URL:

>

>http://home.att.net/~ascaris1/nose.jpg

One thing it might be is eosinophilic granuloma complex -- an allergy to

something in her environment (fleas, mites, etc) or an ingredient in her

food. Website on it here: http://www.fabcats.org/is45.html

If you scroll down on that page you get this pic, which to me looks a lot

like the photo you uploaded.

http://www.fabcats.org/images/EOS4.JPEG

What do you think?

[Guest guest]

,

It looks like it could be ringworm, which is a fungus, mostly caused by the fugi

" microsporum canis " . It can spread to the other cat- and to you. You need to

take care of it ASAP. I know vets are expensive, but why take the risk that you

may have something contagious lurking around that you and your other cat could

get?

Ringworm on cats is a bald spot that sometimes scabs. Your vet will be able to

tell- ringworm will flouresce under UV light.

http://www.pressenter.com/~dvmvis/ringworm.htm

Treatment is pretty straightforward, and involves a topical anti-fungal thing.

But it can be hard to get rid of as fungi are tougher than bacteria, and can

withstand more stuff. It takes a long time to get rid of ringworm and patience.

In order for them to be sure of what it is, they need to do a skin scraping and

look at it under a microscope, do tests. And if it IS a mosquito bite, and it

IS spreading- that is a sign of a bacterial infection, and mosquitoes carry all

sorts of diseases, including heartworm of both cats and dogs.

If I were you I'd get her into the vet ASAP.

Jeanette

My cat has sores on her nose!

Hi,

Frisky, my 11 year old female indoor cat, has developed a series of

small sores on her nose. They are scabbed, and have progressed from the

area between her nose proper and her forehead, and are now going toward

her lips. I called the vet, and after I described the problem in

detail, she suggested that they are mosquito bites ( " I'd put money on

it, " she said)... we do have a lot of mosquitoes here, but I do not

think that is it. I have been watching this to see if it was getting

better, but it is not... it is spreading. The spots are enlarging

slowly, but more importantly, more keep appearing around the edges of

the cluster. Soon her whole whisker area will be affected if I do not

stop it.

The patches are little bald spots with small scabs on them. She does

not appear to be in pain or itchy there; she shows no abnormal reaction

when I gently pet her nose (she is not fond of being touched that close

to her eyes generally, although sometimes, if she is in the mood, she

likes to be gently stroked from her nose to her forehead). I have not

seen her scratching at or otherwise favoring the affected area.

I took a digital photo and uploaded it to the following URL:

http://home.att.net/~ascaris1/nose.jpg

The spots appear more brilliant looking than they really are because of

the flash, and the image is a little blurry. Unfortunately, my digital

camera cannot take really close-up pictures as it has only a fixed-focus

lens. I tried taking a whole series of photos at differing distances,

and this one was the one that showed the problem the best. The ones

that were in focus didn't show the spots much at all.

I have one other cat in the house, and he is not affected. It seems to

be some sort of parasite, but I do not know where she would have picked

it up. She does not have contact with any outside animals. Both cats

get to go out onto the second-floor patio whenever they want (the glass

door is kept open a bit to let them in and out), which they enjoy

greatly, and they know better than to jump all the way down (it's too

far) and they have never attempted it. I don't see how any non-flying

animals would be able to get up there from the ground; there is no fence

or anything like that below which would allow an animal to get closer to

the patio before attempting a jump, and the supports are made of smooth

metal and cannot be climbed by any animal that uses only claws to

support its weight when climbing. Birds could land on the patio, but

they usually don't, certainly not with the cats there and the door open.

Ideas appreciated,

[Guest guest]

Okay, I don't know what Frisky has,

whether or Jeanette is right,

but I still think it needs an anti-

biotic, such as Neosporin. It's a

cream that comes in a small tube,

not very expensive, and I'd bet it

clears it up.

Clay

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

" There are two means of refuge from the

miseries of life: music and cats. "

............Albert Schweitzer...........

> I suggest a bit of Neosporin. It has

> a couple of antibiotics, neomycin and

> polymyxin, and a pain reliever, pramoxine.

> It really helps to heal sores on humans.

>

> Clay

[Guest guest]

My thought is have you changed the dishes she is eating off? Or what you

use to wash them? It does look like an environmental allergy. Either way,

I think a vet trip is in order. Do you have vets there that give free

consults if no treatment is needed? Or vets that give pension discounts?

Or a vet teaching hospital nearby that would examine frisky more cheaply. I

know how expensive vet visits can be...

good luck

sandi

(Taryn's photos at http://community.webshots.com/album/86715447nibgNT

older photos can still be accessed by clicking on one of 'songshirah's

albums' on the left of the screen.

My cat has sores on her nose!

>

> Hi,

>

> Frisky, my 11 year old female indoor cat, has developed a series of

> small sores on her nose. They are scabbed, and have progressed from the

> area between her nose proper and her forehead, and are now going toward

> her lips. I called the vet, and after I described the problem in

> detail, she suggested that they are mosquito bites ( " I'd put money on

> it, " she said)... we do have a lot of mosquitoes here, but I do not

> think that is it. I have been watching this to see if it was getting

> better, but it is not... it is spreading. The spots are enlarging

> slowly, but more importantly, more keep appearing around the edges of

> the cluster. Soon her whole whisker area will be affected if I do not

> stop it.

>

> The patches are little bald spots with small scabs on them. She does

> not appear to be in pain or itchy there; she shows no abnormal reaction

> when I gently pet her nose (she is not fond of being touched that close

> to her eyes generally, although sometimes, if she is in the mood, she

> likes to be gently stroked from her nose to her forehead). I have not

> seen her scratching at or otherwise favoring the affected area.

>

> I took a digital photo and uploaded it to the following URL:

>

> http://home.att.net/~ascaris1/nose.jpg

>

> The spots appear more brilliant looking than they really are because of

> the flash, and the image is a little blurry. Unfortunately, my digital

> camera cannot take really close-up pictures as it has only a fixed-focus

> lens. I tried taking a whole series of photos at differing distances,

> and this one was the one that showed the problem the best. The ones

> that were in focus didn't show the spots much at all.

>

> I have one other cat in the house, and he is not affected. It seems to

> be some sort of parasite, but I do not know where she would have picked

> it up. She does not have contact with any outside animals. Both cats

> get to go out onto the second-floor patio whenever they want (the glass

> door is kept open a bit to let them in and out), which they enjoy

> greatly, and they know better than to jump all the way down (it's too

> far) and they have never attempted it. I don't see how any non-flying

> animals would be able to get up there from the ground; there is no fence

> or anything like that below which would allow an animal to get closer to

> the patio before attempting a jump, and the supports are made of smooth

> metal and cannot be climbed by any animal that uses only claws to

> support its weight when climbing. Birds could land on the patio, but

> they usually don't, certainly not with the cats there and the door open.

>

> Ideas appreciated,

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Clay,

Neosporin is only effective against bacteria on the surface of the skin. It is

designed to kill bacteria that may come in contact with an open wound, for

example.

But if the cat is having an allergic reaction, that won't halt it.

Clearly if that is it, she has been in contact with mosquitoes before- so this

could be a new kind of mosquito and may be carrying something weird. Neosporin

MAY help the wounds heal by killing bacteria, but the allergic reaction will

continue, so the sores will continue to develop.

And if it's ringworm, Neosporin won't do anything to it.

I always take my cat to the vet when things are wrong so they can rule things

out. There are only a few that I trust, and I like to do my own thing, but I

want to double check things just in case.

For example, Mr. Buttonium had an upper respiratory thing that the foster

kittens and everyone else had. But he had open- mouth breathing, which is

serious for a cat. I took him to the emergency and they found nothing. They

suggested I take him to my usual vet- they found nothing- just a URI. They took

x-rays to make sure he had no pneumonia, etc. I also found out he doesn't have

arthritis, which helps me.

When I took him home he was STILL doing the open mouth breathing- I felt better

because they told me part of the problem was that he was Persian, so his colds

would look worse than other kitties, since he has a flattened face. But I

didn't like the way it looked, so I kept an eye on him.

Of course, $350 later, soon after I came home from my vet, silly Buttons sneezed

up a HUGE blade of grass- out of his nose! I had to pull it out! That silly cat

had thrown up a bundle of grass a couple of days before- and I guess one big

blade got up there and stayed there- that's why he couldn't breathe!

Was the trip to the vet wasted? Not to me - it gave me piece of mind and some

additional information I needed to know and could use in the future. And I was

relieved to know he didn't have pneumonia.

Now I mow the lawns and trim as much long grass as I can.

My cats are like my kids. I've rushed Espresso to the emergency when he had a

bump on his back- what if it was a spider bite that was bad? Turns out he was

just having a site reaction to his shot he had a week before. It doesn't

matter- I felt better knowing what was wrong.

The only crucial thing is that you have a vet who respects you and that you can

TRUST- they are hard to find.

There is also financial assistance to people who can't afford their vet bills.

Some animal rights groups help out with that.

I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Jeanette

Re: My cat has sores on her nose!

Okay, I don't know what Frisky has,

whether or Jeanette is right,

but I still think it needs an anti-

biotic, such as Neosporin. It's a

cream that comes in a small tube,

not very expensive, and I'd bet it

clears it up.

Clay

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

" There are two means of refuge from the

miseries of life: music and cats. "

...........Albert Schweitzer...........

> I suggest a bit of Neosporin. It has

> a couple of antibiotics, neomycin and

> polymyxin, and a pain reliever, pramoxine.

> It really helps to heal sores on humans.

>

> Clay

[Guest guest]

Jeanette wrote:

> The only crucial thing is that you have a vet who respects you and

> that you can TRUST- they are hard to find.

The one I have been using just quit the animal hospital close to me and

moved her practice to a new office that is quite some distance away.

Aargh... I liked her, but I don't want to drive that far, and the animal

hospital I have been using has a 24-hour emergency department, and I

like to have an open relationship with them in case I ever need to use

them after hours for an emergency.

> There is also financial assistance to people who can't afford their

> vet bills. Some animal rights groups help out with that.

It's not the expense that worries me the most... she hates being

transported anywhere, but she'll just have to deal with it.

[Guest guest]

DeGraf wrote:

> One thing it might be is eosinophilic granuloma complex -- an allergy

> to something in her environment (fleas, mites, etc) or an ingredient

> in her food. Website on it here: http://www.fabcats.org/is45.html

>

> If you scroll down on that page you get this pic, which to me looks a

> lot like the photo you uploaded.

> http://www.fabcats.org/images/EOS4.JPEG

>

> What do you think?

It does seem like it is mosquito bite sensitivity. I got several

replies on rec.pets.cats, and one of the responders was someone whose

cat has the same problem... and it is mosquito bites. He writes:

>One of my cats gets the same thing on nose and ears every summer. This

>year it started in May, and it cleared up last month. None of the other

>local cats are affected.

>

>http://home.teleport.com/~guynoir/webimages/livestock/crop1.jpg

>http://home.teleport.com/~guynoir/webimages/livestock/crop2.jpg

>

>Here's how I figured out it was mosquito bites:

>

>http://www.vet.cornell.edu/consultant/Consult.asp?Fun=Cause_2324 & spc=Feline & dxk\

w= & sxkw= & signs=0-A121-S861-S67

>

>

When I saw that, I checked her ears, and sure enough, her left ear has a

scab on it, and you can see a bald spot on the edge of her right ear in

the image too.

The cat on that fabcats site looks just like Frisky. It is interesting

that all of these cats are black. Given that the fabcats and cornell

sites list mosquito bites as the cause of the nose problems in their

respective examples, and that this person who posted the above images

has the same problem, and that the vet I called said so too, it really

seems to be mosquito sensitivity.

The mosquitoes here are stealth mosquitoes. In Illinois, you would

often feel the itch as they were biting you, and you would slap at them,

and half of the time you would get the little parasite. Here, you don't

feel the mosquito bite until the mosquito is gone. I have been bitten

dozens of times this monsoon season, many more than ever before, and not

once have I caught a mosquito while biting me. I feel it after they are

gone.

Now, the question becomes one of how to stop it. The vet suggested

using children's OFF to keep the bugs off Frisky. I would put

hydrocortisone cream on her nose, as it is an antihistamine, but I do

not know if it is safe for a cat's physiology.

Thanks for the info everyone,

[Guest guest]

You have one of two possibilities: she was sprayed with mace, or

she has impetigo. If it keeps spreading, she has impetigo and

should be prescribed an antibiotic/antibacterial cream. Yes, cats

can get impetigo, my daughter had impetigo once and our cat got

it from her. If your other cat does not have any open sores, he

is not likely to get infected, since impetigo gets in through

open wounds.

Whatever you find out, please post a follow-up for us.

Louis

In my house, " normal " is only a setting on the dryer.

From: Klein

Hi,

Frisky, my 11 year old female indoor cat, has developed a

series of

small sores on her nose. They are scabbed, and have progressed

from the

area between her nose proper and her forehead, and are now

going toward

her lips. I called the vet, and after I described the problem

in

detail, she suggested that they are mosquito bites ( " I'd put

money on

it, " she said)... we do have a lot of mosquitoes here, but I do

not

think that is it. I have been watching this to see if it was

getting

better, but it is not... it is spreading. The spots are

enlarging

slowly, but more importantly, more keep appearing around the

edges of

the cluster. Soon her whole whisker area will be affected if I

do not

stop it.

The patches are little bald spots with small scabs on them.

She does

not appear to be in pain or itchy there; she shows no abnormal

reaction

when I gently pet her nose (she is not fond of being touched

that close

to her eyes generally, although sometimes, if she is in the

mood, she

likes to be gently stroked from her nose to her forehead). I

have not

seen her scratching at or otherwise favoring the affected area.

I took a digital photo and uploaded it to the following URL:

http://home.att.net/~ascaris1/nose.jpg

The spots appear more brilliant looking than they really are

because of

the flash, and the image is a little blurry. Unfortunately, my

digital

camera cannot take really close-up pictures as it has only a

fixed-focus

lens. I tried taking a whole series of photos at differing

distances,

and this one was the one that showed the problem the best. The

ones

that were in focus didn't show the spots much at all.

I have one other cat in the house, and he is not affected. It

seems to

be some sort of parasite, but I do not know where she would

have picked

it up. She does not have contact with any outside animals.

Both cats

get to go out onto the second-floor patio whenever they want

(the glass

door is kept open a bit to let them in and out), which they

enjoy

greatly, and they know better than to jump all the way down

(it's too

far) and they have never attempted it. I don't see how any

non-flying

animals would be able to get up there from the ground; there is

no fence

or anything like that below which would allow an animal to get

closer to

the patio before attempting a jump, and the supports are made

of smooth

metal and cannot be climbed by any animal that uses only claws

to

support its weight when climbing. Birds could land on the

patio, but

they usually don't, certainly not with the cats there and the

door open.

Ideas appreciated,