kitten nose crusties - when are they a concern?

hi everyone,

we recently added a new kitten to the mix - he's an adorable 4 month old named Luke.

a few weeks ago, we noticed these chronic, dark crusties just below his nostrils. no discharge, no sniffling, no running nose, no sneezing, no signs of discomfort. but his nostrils are constantly lined with these fine, dark crusties - and come back quite quickly after cleaning them off.

we will be taking him for a vet check shortly, but wanted to hear if anyone had any suggestions/ideas/tips.

thanks so much

Congratulations on your new addition!!

I would tend to suspect the crusties are caused by seasonal allergies or dust. I wouldn't be too concerned unless you see his nose running. You can try adding lysine to his diet to see if that helps him. You can get the tablets in the supplement section of Wal-Mart or the pharmacy. Just crush between 2 spoons and mix into wet food. I would give him 250mg twice a day to start with.

I have seen them in my cats and suspect its dust from the litter. They are black and wipe away if I use my thumb. Seems like the older cats dont get them much but the under 2 get them(maybe the others are self cleaning before I see them or have enough sense to not inhale litter.)

You can check with your vet, but I don't think it's anything to worry about. Luna had those when we 1st got her. It went away a few weeks later. So far haven't seen any more black crusties on her nose again.