# Painful, raw nose, Social cat becomes reclusive.



## straymute (Jul 30, 2004)

Fellow cat lovers,

We have a 1.25 year orange tabby. This morning, he was underneath our bed (only goes under the bed when he's not feeling well, which is usually only after he goes to the vet). He wouldn't come out from under the bed so we finally moved the bed and picked him up. He had what appeared to be a slight fever. He ate heartily and drank plenty of water after coming down stairs, but was unwilling to play (which, again, is out of character). We took him to the vet, who ran the full gamut of tests on him, and he tested negative for all the major bugs. They stuck some hydrating fluid in him (subcutaneously), and said that they would start antibiotics tomorrow if things dont get better. While in the doctors office it became apparent that his nose was becoming discolored. He has a light pink nose, which had turned a shade or two darker, but the bottom part of his little nose was turning brownish, and the link from his mouth to his nose very pink. The vet said she had never seen that type of discoloration before. Once back from the vet, he again ate and drank water and is now hiding once again beneath the bed. 

Let me also say this, we recently had brought a second kitten (6 weeks old), into the house from a non-profit adoption agency. This little kitten was very skinny and, while eating heartily, took a turn for the worse one morning and passed away at the vets office just 3 days ago. The vet had said that the kitten was severely underdeveloped for its size and that was the likely reason for the kitty's passing. 

We're hoping and praying that this cat didn't contract anything from the other cat, and of course we disclosed all the information regarding the other cat to the vet, who, after running the tests, said that it didn't appear that the older cat got infected with anything from the baby cat. 

Does anyone have any ideas? 
Thanks in advance,
Stray


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## tanyuh (Jun 7, 2003)

I'm sorry :/ I don't have any advice for you... but your little kitty will be in my thoughts. Maybe Dr Jean can offer some help?

Keep us posted. Best wishes,
~Tanya


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## straymute (Jul 30, 2004)

Now, the cat's nose is more chapped looking, with some of the skin obviously injured from his constant licking. Does anyone have experience with chapped noses and some sort of petroleum jelly type relief?

By the way, he's also grooming himself often. Which is apparently not a bad sign.


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## catgirl83 (Jul 29, 2004)

8O 
This sounds similar to the strange disease that overtook my baby, Gizmo. I hope I'm wrong. Is there a way you can put a picture online? Our vet had never seen anything like it either.


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## straymute (Jul 30, 2004)

catgirl, I read through your post on gizmo and your new kitty, and I certainly hope that we get to the bottom of both our our cats issues sooner rather than later. If I find out anything I'll let you know....

Unfortunately, I don't have a digital camera, but if you think of his nose as looking like |.\/.|, its the bottom part of the \/ that is inflamed, brownish red, and the skin has been rubbed off by his constant licking. We can't get him to stop licking at it and we are just hoping it will scab up soon... At this point, he doesn't want to eat because it hurts his upper lip/nose. He tries to, but once he picks up the food he spits it out like it has stung him, shaking his head and wincing in the process. We're taking him back to the vet first thing in the morning, as long as the inflammation doesn't get any worse (if it gets worse, we'll do the 24 hour care thing).

At this point, we kind of think it may have been a spider or other type of insect bite (maybe ant), that got him while he was playing with it or trying to eat it. Does anyone have any experience here?

Thanks again,
Stray


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## catgirl83 (Jul 29, 2004)

With Giz it was his nostril that started it. And it seemed at first that he was opening the wounds himself from licking, but eventually it became clear it was the disease that was eating his skin. He ate normally right up til the end, though, until most of his mouth was gone.  
I certainly hope this is not the same thing. Good luck and keep us updated!


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## straymute (Jul 30, 2004)

Well, this morning his nose was much worse. It had spread from the lower part of the nose up into the upper part (but not onto the hair-covered bridge). I spent a good part of last night combing the web trying to determine what it was that was afflicting him and the closest I got was a strain of Feline Calicivirus. Here are some pictures of cats who have been similarly affected:

http://www.cvm.okstate.edu/~groups/stud ... septum.jpg

http://www.vet.ohio-state.edu/docs/lapd ... virus.html



We took printouts of these pictures to the vet this morning and showed them to her and after she spent some time doing her own research she of course said it could be calicivirus but the only way to tell for sure is to do some sort of viral analysis which would take time and be expensive. We opted to not do that, so now he's just on antibiotic and eating food that we mush up for him (so that he can just lick it up and not chew). 

The interesting thing that I found out about the Calicivirus is that there are so many different strains and that it can affect cats in very different ways. Sometimes they sneeze, get pneumonia, or get ulcers inside of their mouth but our cat shows none of these signs. He's also been vaccinated about a year ago for calicivirus but I guess that doesn't rule out the possibility of infection. 

Anyway, just thought I'd share my experience with you folks in case you ever run across something similar. I'll update this message if anything changes....

Thanks
-Stray


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## MA (Mar 30, 2004)

Oh gosh. How sad for the kitty you just lost. I hope your orange tabby gets well really soon. Let us know the status when you are able.


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## AddFran (Jul 10, 2004)

It sounds a lot like a "rodent ulcer", which typically are along the upper lip but can form on areas as well. Also, it may have started on the lip with out being noticed and then spread to the nose from the cat constantly licking. 
From what I've read this seems be linked to allergic conditions of some sort and sometimes being exposed to fleas. I'm also reading about prozac being helpful in aiding these types of sores, but I'm not sure if that's just because it helps calm the cat and keeps it from the contstant licking?? Something to inquire about though. Have you changed the cats diet at all? You may want to look into getting porcelain or stainless bowls as well. 

Another thought is that it could be a mouth infection that has spread. A tooth absess, perhaps? Which would also be more reason why your cat wouldn't eat and the foul smell. And could probably be the cause for a fever as well. 

Good Luck. 




:?:


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## drjean (Jan 6, 2004)

Calici virus is a very likely suspect. It can be very erosive and cause ulcers in the skin and mucus membranes. There's no treatment for viruses other than generally supporting the immune system with a good diet, antioxidants, etc. (see http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?a ... atsanddogs)

Re the vaccine for upper respiratory viruses (herpes and calici): the vaccine is not even intended to prevent these diseases, only to make them less severe if (or *when*) the cat does come down with them.

Hopefully time and his own immune system will take care of the problem.

Cheers,
Dr. Jean


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