# Black stuff in Fern's nose



## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

Every now and then I notice black stuff in Fern's nose - looks a little like crusty snot, but it's black. It will only appear on one side at a time, and I'll see it build up for a week, maybe two, and then it's gone. I've tried to use the edge of my fingernail to gently pull at the edge of the stuff (yes, I have a problem, I pick my cat's nose!) but it seems sticky and hard, and it doesn't come out until it's ready. She doesn't seem to even know it's there, so I've never worried about it, but I really wonder what it is. I used to see it more often when the girls were eating poor quality food, but since I switched to good food I only see this crusty stuff maybe once a month. I seriously wondered for a while if she was sniffing her poop too closely and getting some in her nose, but then I remembered that no, Fergie is the not-so-smart kitty in the house, and HER nose has never had this black stuff. Any ideas?


----------



## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

No way it's poop. Does she clean her face normally? I would think that would take care of nose crusties. I've never seen anything like this, and really have no ideas, but there is no WAY it's poop.


----------



## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

Oh, I very quickly realized it's not poop, but it was hard to tell the first few months when she wasn't wanting to be held or be close to us. She does clean herself very well, and I watch that cute pink tongue go over and over her nose after she eats, but the black stuff is still there. 

She won't let me take a picture of her nose right now, of course, but I can use a close-up I already have of her and explain where this stuff is. In this picture, the part of her inner nose that is shaded by the pink upper part of her nostril is exactly the area where the stuff shows up. I'll see just a few bits of black at first, and over a few days it will become a chunk of black, and it will build up in there for a few more days and then disappear. Maybe at that point it gets thick enough that her tongue pulls it out, but I'm not sure. If I see bits working their way down the fur of her lower nose I can get them, but the stuff that's in there will be stuck.


----------



## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Our orange kitties Marmalade, BooBoo and Reilly would get the black nose-crusties. I haven't noticed them on Floofy yet, but I wonder if it is just something with "orange" kitties? I can't say I've ever noticed them on any of the other kitties, even the ones with pink noses...just the orange kitties.


----------



## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

Heidi n Q said:


> I wonder if it is just something with "orange" kitties?


That seems absolutely bizarre, but then again, I never would have believed that cats can get sunburned if I hadn't seen it on Fern! So maybe there's something to your theory. At the very least, I'm glad Fern's not the only one with these!


----------



## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

Well it was time for the girls' annual checkup and rabies shot anyway, so we stressed our way to the vet this morning.... Go figure, he has no idea what the black stuff is or is caused by, but agrees with my line of thinking that if it's not bothering her and there's no discharge it's not anything to worry about. So I'm not going to worry about it unless she ever seems bothered by it!


----------



## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

I wonder if that's just the nose version of that eye-crusty sleep stuff that Murphy gets. Almost every day after he has slept, there's a marroonish/blackish sleep buildup under his eyes. You can kind of see it here:


----------



## Jeckel (Aug 11, 2009)

Its not just the orange kitties! Jeckel gets them too!

I think its just dried up snot?


----------

