Well, I was painting my nails today with the nail polish bottle on the coffee table. Apparently, George was wandering around the table and must have sniffed around the polish bottle without me noticing. A few minutes later I noticed a spot under his nose. At first I freaked because I thought it was blood, but a closer look showed it was a light plum, just like the nail polish color. How can I get this off his fur? I would assume nail polish remover is out of the question because of the acetone....

Oh, dear, that's lacquer. I don't think ANYthing will budge it except acetone. You might try a bit of rubbing alcohol, but as you know, that can be harsh as well. If it's not bothering him you'll probably just have to wait for it to wear off.

they make a NON Acetone nail polish remover-- still stinks but it works pretty good. walmart sells it as does just about any other place that sells nail polish/removers

After it's dry, can you maybe cuddle him in a blanket and use your fingernail to flake it off (like when your nails start to peel after a few days)? That's the most gentle way I can think of doing it without using anything.... I'd say if you do decide to use some nail polish remover, try to use non-acetone and use a TINY, TINY, TINY amount (maybe on the tip of a qtip) and have a damp (with just plain water) cloth or paper towel to wipe the area right after using the remover - don't want him licking/breathing the remover.... either way, I'd probably have someone else (if you can) cuddle him in a blanket so he's safely conatined and less likely to scratch at you.... you may want to give your vet a ring if you're still uneasy about removing it - they should be able to give you some free advice about it over the phone - let us know what you end up doing.... I can see Oliver getting himself into this situation one day :lol3:

I Would NOT I repeat NOT use any chemicals, Call your vet and ask.

I Would NOT I repeat NOT use any chemicals, Call your vet and ask.

I have to agree with this. I wouldn't use any nail polish remover. It can't be that big of a spot of nail polish, and it will come out when his fur grows. You can try to pick at it if he will let you, but I would think that's a pretty sensative part of his face and he won't like you pulling on his fur there.

Oooooh don't use any chemicals on him. You'll just have to wait until it grows/falls off. It's dried and is not going to hurt him - certainly not as much as trying to get it off will!

I wouldn't use any kind of chemicals on his fur, especially right by his mouth. The color looks like it has faded already so I'll just leave it as it is. I don't think it harmed him any - although it did look rather funny!

I definately wouldn't use any chemicals especially since the spot is right under his nose. I would let it wear off.

I definately wouldn't use any chemicals especially since the spot is right under his nose. I would let it wear off.
He won`t die from having a pretty plum spot under his nose...but some of the chemicals you`d have to use could really bother his respitory system.
It will eventually wear off....I mean it is just a spot of paint and once dry should`nt hut having it on his fur.He`ll just look a bit strange for awhile...and you may have to explain to other people that he is just wearing finger nail polish.
Linda

Yeah. When I told some girls at work what happened, they nicknamed him Hitler cat.