- Joined
- Jul 25, 2012
- Messages
- 4
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Hello everyone. I'm brand new to this site, and I hope to find some helpful input on my dear kitten's problem.
Some background: Cookie is a 15 year old short hair male. I've had him since I was 5, and he is my baby. We allow him to romp around in our backyard for a few hours a day, but he never spends the night out, nor does he leave the backyard. He rarely comes in contact with other cats.
So here's the issue. Since about December (2011), he has had issues with some nasal discharge. At first, it was clear with just a hint of blood. We thought he possibly got into something and didn't think much of it. As we got further into winter, it seemed like it was getting worse. About once a week he would have a great sneeze that would cause his nose to bleed. Our vet suspected he had a bad tooth, so she gave him an antibiotic shot and sent us on our way. That seemed to help for about three weeks. Then the sneezing and bloody nose returned. In early spring, we took him to see a different vet in the same practice. This vet said it could be feline herpes, nasal polyps, or cancer. We decided against having him put under for a scope procedure to look up his nose. He is old and he has never had surgery before. We were too scared that something would go wrong, so our vet told us just to keep an eye on him for a while. He eats like a piggy and is playful. Well, we started doing a little home improvement to see if we could get rid of some of the things that could possibly irritating his nose. We had him sleep in our basement because he would romp around at night and slide his paws under everyone's doors. Most of the sneezing/nosebleeds seemed to happen in the morning, so I suggested we stop having him sleep in the basement. That seemed to work wonders. His nose bleeds were less severe after sneezing, and he just seemed to be better. However, the clear drainage from his nose continued.
Now it is summer, and we have had very minimal problems with the nose bleeds. He still has clear drainage from his nose constantly and he sneezes quite a few times a day. However, the nosebleeds are happening a little more frequently. They are nowhere near as severe as they were in winter when he slept in the basement, but it's still troublesome. We have provided our vet with pictures of what his nose looks like after a sneeze, and she has stated that, however troublesome it is to look at, it's not a significant amount. I've done so much research on nasal polyps, cancer, tumors, and the like. I've almost chalked it up to just being he's an old cat who suffers from allergies. It seems like the days my family suffers worst from their allergies (stuffy, bloody noses and headaches), my cat's stuffy nose is just that way too. Could it be possible that dry, dusty air just bothers my cats nose? I live in Ohio, and the heat wave/drought has been miserable.
I guess I'm just looking for anyone's input on what could be up. Apart from his runny nose, sneezing, and occasional nosebleed, he has no symptoms of being ill.
Some background: Cookie is a 15 year old short hair male. I've had him since I was 5, and he is my baby. We allow him to romp around in our backyard for a few hours a day, but he never spends the night out, nor does he leave the backyard. He rarely comes in contact with other cats.
So here's the issue. Since about December (2011), he has had issues with some nasal discharge. At first, it was clear with just a hint of blood. We thought he possibly got into something and didn't think much of it. As we got further into winter, it seemed like it was getting worse. About once a week he would have a great sneeze that would cause his nose to bleed. Our vet suspected he had a bad tooth, so she gave him an antibiotic shot and sent us on our way. That seemed to help for about three weeks. Then the sneezing and bloody nose returned. In early spring, we took him to see a different vet in the same practice. This vet said it could be feline herpes, nasal polyps, or cancer. We decided against having him put under for a scope procedure to look up his nose. He is old and he has never had surgery before. We were too scared that something would go wrong, so our vet told us just to keep an eye on him for a while. He eats like a piggy and is playful. Well, we started doing a little home improvement to see if we could get rid of some of the things that could possibly irritating his nose. We had him sleep in our basement because he would romp around at night and slide his paws under everyone's doors. Most of the sneezing/nosebleeds seemed to happen in the morning, so I suggested we stop having him sleep in the basement. That seemed to work wonders. His nose bleeds were less severe after sneezing, and he just seemed to be better. However, the clear drainage from his nose continued.
Now it is summer, and we have had very minimal problems with the nose bleeds. He still has clear drainage from his nose constantly and he sneezes quite a few times a day. However, the nosebleeds are happening a little more frequently. They are nowhere near as severe as they were in winter when he slept in the basement, but it's still troublesome. We have provided our vet with pictures of what his nose looks like after a sneeze, and she has stated that, however troublesome it is to look at, it's not a significant amount. I've done so much research on nasal polyps, cancer, tumors, and the like. I've almost chalked it up to just being he's an old cat who suffers from allergies. It seems like the days my family suffers worst from their allergies (stuffy, bloody noses and headaches), my cat's stuffy nose is just that way too. Could it be possible that dry, dusty air just bothers my cats nose? I live in Ohio, and the heat wave/drought has been miserable.
I guess I'm just looking for anyone's input on what could be up. Apart from his runny nose, sneezing, and occasional nosebleed, he has no symptoms of being ill.