Titi's hurt nose; getting better-UPDATED PHOTOS BELOW

I just noticed tonight that Titi (civie) had something happen to her nose and I can't figure out what it is.

It looks like a scrape or cut but she hasn't fallen or done anything that could account for it. I'm home all the time so I see stuff if it happens right away. I think this happened in the last day or overnight maybe. Right now I'm more focused on my two new cats and trying to get them acclimated so if it happened more than a day ago I'm ashamed to say I didn't notice.

Anyway, here are some pictures I took tonight. I tried to get close-ups as best I could. (The last picture shows her nose as it looks normally.) I hope you can see what I mean. Some of the pictures are fuzzy but the side view one you can kind of see where her nose is indented now where the scraped/cut off part is.

Any ideas/thoughts are appreciated. She doesn't seem to be bothered by it and I didn't find any blood anywhere; she is eating and doing everything normal.

http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o391 ... G_0903.jpg
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o391 ... G_0904.jpg
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o391 ... G_0908.jpg
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o391 ... rtnose.jpg
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o391 ... G_0824.jpg

 

Re: Titi's hurt nose; Thoughts needed please-photos

It almost looks like a burn...like she slightly touched something very hot.

 

Re: Titi's hurt nose; Thoughts needed please-photos

I thought of that too but she never goes near the stove and I don't leave hot pans where the cats can get them. She does like to lay in the sunny spots on the floor but I don't think that would do this.

To me it looks like it was cut off with something curved because her nose is indented now.

The only thing I could think of is she likes to sleep on the top bed of the cat tree and the tree is made with actuall tree limbs so there are knots and rough spots and maybe she could have scraped her nose on one of them. Sometimes when she is playing or racing around she will try and run up to the top but a couple times she has fallen.

 

Re: Titi's hurt nose; Thoughts needed please-photos

Awww poor girl. She is very pretty. I don't really know what it could be beyond the suggestions already made, but I hope it heals quickly. My only other thought is a tussle with one of the other cats, but it seems like that would be more of a nose scratch than this, but you never know - if a claw caught her at weird angle or something - who knows.

 

Re: Titi's hurt nose; Thoughts needed please-photos

Hmm. I don't think a burn --although it looks like one -- because the surrounding fur isn't scorched. It's possible that it's trauma, but I don't know what would make that mark (curved at the top). It looks like an ulcer. So I hate to say it, but I'd worry about herpes dermatitis, calicivirus, or some dramatic allergic reaction. Eosinophilic granuloma complex and pemphigus are other possibilities. I'd actually take her in to the vet -- a hands-on physical exam might be more enlightening, and if it does look like something infectious or auto-immune they can start treatment right away. If it is some kind of ulcer or EGC, they can get ugly fast.

Keep us posted, ok? Hopefully this will just be a scrape but I would be aggressive in trying to get a diagnosis.

 

Thanks- taking Titi to vet today

Thanks Jess. I've got an apt to take her in this afternoon.

 

Re: Titi's hurt nose; Thoughts needed please-photos

Any update?

 

Re: Titi's hurt nose; Thoughts needed please-photos UPDATE

Thanks for all your help everyone.

I took Titi in to the vet this afternoon and he said it is the Eosinophilic Granuloma complex that Jess suggested. I guess she had been excessively licking her nose over the last day or so. I didn't even notice. :sad:

She got a shot, corticosteroid I think, and he said in his other cases he's seen, that usually helps the problem.

I asked if part of it could have been some stress from the two new cats that I brought home two weeks ago and he said possibly. Titi is the one that has seemed the most upset and not thrilled with the new members of the family.

So, we will wait and see and hopefully the shot will help get her better.

 

Re: Titi's hurt nose; Thoughts needed please-UPDATE BELOW

Oh that's a stinker. If it seems to get worse within the next five days or so, call the vet again and ask about a biopsy. If you live somewhere where you can get to a veterinary dermatologist, you might want to consider that (if it gets worse) since it's not easy to biopsy a bit of nose and a derm would have the most experience. I'm saying this because these things can become very ugly and painful so if there is no response it either isn't an EGC or it is one that is not typical. I looked up nose stuff at work today and some of the pics were very unpleasant -- it is a tight area with a lot of nerves and blood vessels. I'm not saying this to worry you -- most likely the steroids will stop it in its tracks -- I'm just saying this "just in case", ok?

Keep us posted on poor Titi's nose! Hope she's feeling better soon.

 

It has been 4 days since I took Titi in to the vet's to look at her nose and she got the corticosteroid shot.

Her nose has been getting better slowly; it was bleeding a little on Wednesday so I blotted it with a tissue and she didn't seem to mind. That scabbed over and I haven't noticed any more bleeding since then. It is also not as raw looking as it was on Monday.

The area around the bottom of the nose seems to be crusting over a little so I guess that means it is healing. :smile:

Here are some pictures I took today; (it looks better in person than on the photos.)

http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o391 ... ealing.jpg

http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o391 ... snose2.jpg

 

Titi is a beautiful cat, ML. The color of her eyes is magnificent.

Glad to hear her condition seems to be improving!!

 

Glad to hear it

 

Jess, is there anything topical that can help with that? Or can antihistimines? I really hope this is a one time deal. You know, Sugar's lip blew up like a balloon one time, and the said it was EG. By the time I got her in it was already going down. The vet was happy about that but did give me chlorophenirimine to give her (only got about one dose of that down her, so I really don't know if it helped or not).