Wound or infection on cat's nose

[evian238]

My cat has what looks like a wound or infection on his philtrum. I noticed it on Friday (3 days ago). It appeared out of nowhere! I cleaned it out with hydrogen peroxide. It kind of glazed over after that and the next day it looked like it might be starting to heal. But now I’m starting to get concerned.

I took him to the vet yesterday. I told them I thought it might be calicivirus, as I saw a post on this forum where a cat had something similar, and it turned out to be FCV. They didn’t think so as he’s not really having any other symptoms and no fever. He’s been lethargic for 4 days now (started one day before the wound appeared). He also threw up 2 days before the wound appeared, and is not as interested in food or treats. He’s not drinking water at all. Luckily, he's getting some hydration from the wet food he's eating that we try to mix with water.

He had bloodwork done Saturday and I’ll get the results back tomorrow. Any other ideas? We did just get a new kitten, so I thought it could be a scratch. But it’s such a deep wound. Could it be a fungal infection? His lethargy is really starting to worry me. Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[TootsieandIrene]

Is he an outdoor cat?

 

[evian238]

Is he an outdoor cat?

No, we let him go in the backyard every now and again for a few minutes (supervised only). He’s always been an indoor cat.

 

[TootsieandIrene]

No, we let him go in the backyard every now and again for a few minutes (supervised only). He’s always been an indoor cat.

Same here with mine. I am not a vet and I’m out of ideas, but good luck and I hope they get better soon

 

[evian238]

Same here with mine. I am not a vet and I’m out of ideas, but good luck and I hope they get better soon

Thank you! I appreciate you responding.

 

[artiemom]

Did the Vet give you some antibiotics, for infection? That does look worrisome and painful to me..
I have no ideas as to what it is..

It looks as if part of the nose is eaten away...
Good luck... poor baby--must be painful, especially when eating and grooming....

 

[evian238]

Did the Vet give you some antibiotics, for infection? That does look worrisome and painful to me..
I have no ideas as to what it is..

It looks as if part of the nose is eaten away...
Good luck... poor baby--must be painful, especially when eating and grooming....

Yes, he was given an injection of Convenia. I don’t think it’s helping very much, though. I’m waiting on bloodwork results, and planning on taking him back in tomorrow. Thank you!

 

[fionasmom]

Welcome to The Cat Site! Please let us know what your vet tells you when you get the test results. I am not a vet and certainly cannot tell you that this is calcivirus, but it does seem to have enough symptoms in common that I can see why you are concerned about it. Since you can safely rule out a cat fight ( I know you said there is a new kitten, but that looks like a major cat fight injury if that is what it were to be, not a kitten scratch) or an encounter with some sharp object in his wanderings, the vet does need to pursue this further for you and get him on some kind of treatment. Fever is a symptom of calcivirus, but is usually further down on the list than the sores, lethargy, and loss of appetite which is what makes me wonder.

It would be better if you did not use hydrogen peroxide, witch hazel, or alcohol to clean his nose. Some sort of mild cleanser or warm water and a soft cloth would be preferable.

 

[evian238]

Welcome to The Cat Site! Please let us know what your vet tells you when you get the test results. I am not a vet and certainly cannot tell you that this is calcivirus, but it does seem to have enough symptoms in common that I can see why you are concerned about it. Since you can safely rule out a cat fight ( I know you said there is a new kitten, but that looks like a major cat fight injury if that is what it were to be, not a kitten scratch) or an encounter with some sharp object in his wanderings, the vet does need to pursue this further for you and get him on some kind of treatment. Fever is a symptom of calcivirus, but is usually further down on the list than the sores, lethargy, and loss of appetite which is what makes me wonder.

It would be better if you did not use hydrogen peroxide, witch hazel, or alcohol to clean his nose. Some sort of mild cleanser or warm water and a soft cloth would be preferable.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. Sad to say, he’s declining and not eating at all now. I just picked up some Buprenorphine for him for the pain, and I’ll be taking him back into the vet first thing in the morning (they had no available appointments when I called today when he worsened). He does have sores now, unfortunately. He’s drooling, as well. I do think it could be calicivirus and it’s just not presenting the typical symptoms. The good news is, his bloodwork came back and looks great. Now to just get him eating and get to the bottom of this. I’ll likely have them do a PCR swab tomorrow. Thank you again!

 

[fionasmom]

This does sound like calcivirus as I can't think of any other reason, in his case, for the sores. Please let us know what happens.

 

[evian238]

He was on Cerenia for a few days and he’s also on Clavamox now. It’s looking so much better! His bloodwork was perfect so I went through with the PCR swab to see if it’s an upper respiratory virus. I’ll get the results back later this week!

 

[evian238]

Update: We got the PCR results yesterday, and sadly, it is Calicivirus. Our new kitten must be a dormant carrier. It's very upsetting but fortunately, he seems to be feeling much better. He's still on the Clavamox and has vomited hairballs a couple times this week, but other than that, he's back to himself. If anyone else sees this thread whose cat has a similar wound out of nowhere on their nose, please push your vet for the PCR swab and to test for Calicivirus! I found another thread with a photo that looked exactly like my cat's and it convinced me to get him tested. Thankful for this forum!