Yellowish stain on cat's nose?

[cinnamonbunn]

My cat is 5. This stain appeared around late 2020. As soon as I noticed it, I tried scrubbing it off but it didn't work. Since then I was able to get him to two different vets and they thought it was something fungal. One of them took his blood as well and found that some of his red blood cells (or white but I think it was red) were star-shaped, but I'm not sure if that means anything. The medicine they gave us didn't really work. He doesn't seem bothered by it. Something weird is that when it gets wet (when he licks his nose) it stays wet for a while like in the second photo. I don't know what it could be, but he's otherwise a healthy cat. He's only had a history of ear mites. Help!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi and welcome to TCS! Pretty kitty, regardless of his nose, which is cute anyway!!!

Abnormally shaped RBCs can be an indicator of anemia, but if your vet didn't mention this at all, perhaps that isn't the case with your cat, or it is not to the degree of requiring treatment. I would strongly suggest you ask them what the star-shaped cells mean, and if follow up blood work should be done to see if it changes.

I'm not sure what to make of his nose, but it would seem to me that he has had this long enough that it doesn't seem like it would be fungal. IMO, the best course of action on this matter would be to consult with a vet who specializes in dermatology. They may be able to take a skin sample for testing, usually through skin scraping, which sound much worse than it really is. You could seek out a specialist on your own or ask your vet for a referral. Given how long his nose has been this way, it is likely something harmless, but it probably would be nice to find that out for sure!!

I know you said your cat is healthy otherwise. Does that mean he is eating/drinking and using the litter box normally? Any lethargy?

 

[cinnamonbunn]

Hi and welcome to TCS! Pretty kitty, regardless of his nose, which is cute anyway!!!

Abnormally shaped RBCs can be an indicator of anemia, but if your vet didn't mention this at all, perhaps that isn't the case with your cat, or it is not to the degree of requiring treatment. I would strongly suggest you ask them what the star-shaped cells mean, and if follow up blood work should be done to see if it changes.

I'm not sure what to make of his nose, but it would seem to me that he has had this long enough that it doesn't seem like it would be fungal. IMO, the best course of action on this matter would be to consult with a vet who specializes in dermatology. They may be able to take a skin sample for testing, usually through skin scraping, which sound much worse than it really is. You could seek out a specialist on your own or ask your vet for a referral. Given how long his nose has been this way, it is likely something harmless, but it probably would be nice to find that out for sure!!

I know you said your cat is healthy otherwise. Does that mean he is eating/drinking and using the litter box normally? Any lethargy?

Thank you! Yes I've heard that it can be an indicator of anemia upon searching online, so I was initially concerned, but at the same time, he has never exuded any symptoms of the sort. I'm actually not sure if the vet specifically mentioned anything about his RBCs (I wasn't present then; my dad took him, and it was a while ago), but I'm pretty sure they didn't. I will definitely look into it though and ask my dad again about it to see if they can get his blood checked again. I'll also be sure to look into a vet who specializes in dermatology.

And yes his daily routine is normal, he eats and drinks well and is using the litterbox normally too. I did forget to mention, there has been little blood in his stool (or on his butt) in the past, but it's likely that he was constipated because my parents have this habit of giving him dairy (milk, ice cream) in small amounts but I've asked them to stop. And nope, he is not lethargic!