Nose Problem

[unclev]

Hello all,
This nose issue started with our female, then the male got it 3 weeks later. It started on one side of the bottom of the nose then the other side then a little on the top. The vet has tried antihistamines, clavamox, L-Lysine and now drugs for a bacterial infection. NOTHING is helping. They are indoor cats (no other pets in house) and they do not eat from plastic dishes. They also have not been burned by anything or rub their noses on anything excessively to cause this. I am hoping some one here has seen this before and can help determine what the root cause of this issue may be. I have seen some past threads on other forums as well about this (same symptoms in pictures) but they never came back to post the outcome or resolution. I am posting a picture and will let everyone know what the cause is when we find out. Thank you!

photo(2).JPG

• unclev
• Dec 30, 2013

 

[stephanietx]

Sorry I can't help, but that is a very interesting situation.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

This is a  new one to me too.  Hoping by bumping this up, someone else will recognize it.  Did the Vet do any sort of skin scraping or anything like that? 

 

[cprcheetah]

Did they recently get vaccinated with a nasal vaccination?  That same type of thing happened to my boy after his Fvrcp vaccine that he had intranasaly.  He got sores like that on his nose.  Has the vet done a skin scraping to check for mites?  Black light test to check for ringworm?

 

[mservant]

Sorry, not seen anything like this, and other than things your vet has tried or thoughts about skinscraping to check for any mites can't think where the vet would go next. Plants or other things that the cats might have been investigating around the house recently? Flowers or plants that you were maybe given over the last few weeks?  Must be very worrying when both your cats are now affected.

 

[stephenq]

While it doesn't look like ringworm, and yet since it has gone cat to cat, i trust your vet did a ringworm culture just in case....?

 

[white shadow]

Hi unclev and welcome to the forum!

I have a sneaky suspicion that what you're seeing is a fairly common condition - seen frequently enough in cats that this Vet should have - at the very least - brought it up to you as a possibility. I think s/he may have suspected what it is, though, because of trying the antihistimine.

I'm certain (or, at I'd wager a good bet) that a competent feline Veterinarian would have fingered it immediately.

That might (I'd say should) give you cause to find yourself a cat-only Veterinarian - it's very early in your kittens' lives to strike out, especially with something like this (presuming it is what I'm suggesting). Those of us who regularly participate in cat discussion forms such as TCS quickly come to the conclusion that general practice Vets, sadly most of the time, are better left for the dogs. If you need help finding one, post back. Remember: cat-only, not cat friendly....

OK, first the Wiki version (Wiki wouldn't usually be my first choice, but, in this case they're spot on AND have pictures, too)

 The least common form of EGC is atypical eosinophilic dermatitis. It is unique in that it is caused by mosquito bite allergy and the lesions form on the parts of the body with the least hair affording easy access to feeding mosquitoes. This includes the bridge of the nose, the outer tips of the ears and the skin around the pads of the feet. The lesions are red bumps, shallow ulcers and crusts.

View media item 195151http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eosinophilic_granuloma

So, basically you're looking at the result of the body's immune system responding to something, perhaps an actual allergen, or perhaps no allergen at all - it 'simply' thinks it's being attacked.

My favourite reference for this condition - because it is a reputable Veterinary site is this: Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex - MarVistaVet

There are many variations of this condition, though, so it may turn out not to be this atypical version - or, necessarily caused by a mosquito bite.

Interestingly, there's another current thread on this topic, more focused on alternative treatments, though:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/270206/eosinophillic-granuloma-help

So, that's my theory - make sure you do post back.......or, we'll hunt you down!

 

 

[peppermintplant]

It didn't look exactly the same - not as dark, plus she was losing the hair wherever it hit within days - but my cat Klio had a fungal infection on her nose that was brownish like that. The vet gave me an anti-fungal ointment and some Panolog to put on it, one once a day and one morning and night, and it cleared up pretty quickly. This was several years ago, unfortunately, and I don't remember the name of the fungus or what the anti-fungal ointment was called. I know Panolog went under, but there are similar products on the market I believe. It may be something to check for?

 

[unclev]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I am going to suggest to the doctor to consider taking a sample from the females face since hers is the worst. The male has just a small mark on the top abovef the nose. Nothing as remarkable underneath the nostrils like hers.

 

[mservant]

I hope your vet manages to find the answer to this and finds something to help them soon.  

 

[white shadow]

 
I think I am going to suggest to the doctor to consider taking a sample from the females face since hers is the worst

Remember, that will mean a minor surgery - anesthesia, biopsy. An alternative might be a shot of Depo and monitor closely.

 .Nothing as remarkable underneath the nostrils like hers.

Read that Wiki quote again: "The lesions are red bumps, shallow ulcers and crusts".....three different manifestations with the same etiology.   The cat in the Wiki picture has red bumps on the nose (which is what you are focusing on)......your cat has a shallow ulcer and, what looks like a tiny crust. (I think!)

 The male has just a small mark on the top above the nose.

Is it a red bump or a dark crust (scab-like)...or neither of those?

 

[white shadow]

 
Quote:

 
I think I am going to suggest to the doctor to consider taking a sample from the females face since hers is the worst

Remember, that will mean a minor surgery - anesthesia, biopsy. An alternative might be a shot of Depo and monitor closely.

'Just remembered something this morning....

You probably know that there's another current thread on EGC running here.

There's a story in that thread that might be meaningful to you...I think you'll find it  reminiscent of one of your own personal experiences with misdiagnosis....consider this:

 Originally Posted by Sarah Ann  

My cat has a suspected granuloma on her tongue. It was huge! The first vet who looked at it swore it was cancer and told me to take her to the university (which would cost thousands). I took her to a second vet, who looked at her and said "lets try depo shots every 2 weeks".  She is due on Thursday for her second shot and I am hopeful as the lump is now 1/2 the size it was.  It is shrinking!

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/270206/eosinophillic-granuloma-help#post_3467324

 

[unclev]

It has been quite a while since the original post but I promised I would post the resolution if one occurred. It has. This past winter we purhased a while house humidifier and ever since the nose issue has been resolved. We also now control the hvac humidity in the summer and so far so good. Thanks again for all helped in trying to solve this mysterious nose issue.

 

[mservant]

Thank you for the update.  I'm really glad things have improved.  This is useful for other people to know too.