# What is that black/dark crusty stuff that comes out of cats nostrils?



## BlackRose

Why does my cat have crusty black stuff from inside her nose? I've seen this a few times and it sometimes just hangs from her nose (for some reason I think is always the left nostril) and it's come from inside. Today she just had some water, sneezed loads and then she had some crusty black stuff from that nostril that fell to the floor. She looked surprised. It's never wet or runny. I always wipe it off when I see it. She hardly ever sneezes but when she does its always about seven or eight sneezes in a row.
My other cat sneezed yesterday but he only sneezes once or twice usually. Well it is due a vacumn in here. 

Is the black stuff dried blood or is it normal to have that up there and it's dirt from what youve seen with your indoor cats? I'm going away tomorrow for the night and dont want to leave them alone if they are ill.
She seems fine and is really happy. Nothing new has been brought in to make her have allergic reactions.


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## selina20

Any discharge means infection of some sort so i would take both to the vets to rule out cat flu


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## Evilshiddenclaws

sorry, can't say i've ever seen this before. never had any nose problems, the sneezing can't be a good thing if it's happening so often, i'd maybe give your vet a phone and ask they're advice.


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## BlackRose

Thanks  I thought it would just be cat snot or dirt seeing as she rubs her face on everything and on the floor

I cant take them up till I get back home as they're not open today :s 
They'll be akk stressed out too if I take them tomorrow and then go. 
Shes had the crust on and off a while but sneezing is very rare with her and usually only when shes been playing with her toys on the floor or like today drinking. She probably sneezes I'd say about once every four/five months.
The sneezing just dislodged the black crust inside.
I'll ring the vet today and see if there's anyone I can ask about it who are there for emergencies.


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## triggertroika

If it is just a small amount, its just cat bogies! My black and white cat has a pink nose, easy to see on him. the vet I use likened it to when you blow your nose after being on the tube. 

If it is a large quantity, I would get it checked out. You can always ring a vet for advice and ask if they think the cat needs to be seen


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## Evilshiddenclaws

BlackRose said:


> Thanks  I thought it would just be cat snot or dirt seeing as she rubs her face on everything and on the floor
> 
> I cant take them up till I get back home as they're not open today :s
> They'll be akk stressed out too if I take them tomorrow and then go.
> Shes had the crust on and off a while but sneezing is very rare with her and usually only when shes been playing with her toys on the floor or like today drinking. She probably sneezes I'd say about once every four/five months.
> The sneezing just dislodged the black crust inside.
> I'll ring the vet today and see if there's anyone I can ask about it who are there for emergencies.


from what you've described i wouldnt say its something urgently life threatening, i wouldnt worry too much. Just give the vet a buzz as they could have come across this before.

does she snort stuff up her nose? maybe dirt or something? some animals so some pretty strange stuff at times.

maybe she has a small scratch on the inside of her nose that re-opens and the stuff coming out is just dried blood?

i really dont know


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## BlackRose

Thanks. I'll let you know what the vet says. She doesn't really sniffle into spaces much but the place always gets diary and dusty quickly.
She loves to roll round on the floor with her toys and rub her face on everything. 
She is a tortie kind of cat so she has a pink nose with White around it and my other cat is a silver tabby so he's got a black nose.
With her the black you normally get around cats eyes shows up on her more too, although it usually seems moreso on the left eye which is the same side the black crust normally appears.

It's not a lot I would say, but the crust is I suppose like a long strip and very dark brown. Looks like dirt. Always looks the same. 
I will also check her eyes in a minute. They're having some dreamies treats in a min so hopefully when she sticks her face into mine I can have a better look. She's in her bed ATM and I cant get down low enough to see properly. 

Does anyone please have any pics of nornal dirt or bogies in their cats nose?


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## feorag

If everything else is fine with her, it doesn't sound life threatening at all. It could just be dried snot because her nose is irritated and it's making it run.

She could be carrying an upper respiratory tract virus that occasionally reactivates causing the discharge - if the discharge isn't green, then there isn't an infection and if it's a virus there's nothing the vet can do for her other than give her an anti-biotic to prevent a secondary bacterial infection. However, if this happens on a reasonable regular basis, then I wouldn't be inclined to get anti-biotics for her as it could just build up a resistance to the anti-biotic.


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## BlackRose

Thought I heard her cough earlier once.

Anyway I rang the vet and they said it's not normal to have anything coming out the nose (even tho I read everywhere that a lot of cats have bogies as said on here). She said as long as she's not gone off her food and water and isn't finding it hard to get about etc then she sounds fine and that its not bothering her. She said they can still get little colds even if vaccinated and I should bring her up when I can just to get checked out but its not urgent.
As you said it may be something as simple as a little scratch that opens up while shes rubbing her face. She normally gets it in the morning or after a nap as well as the stained black and slightly wet black around the eye after a nap.


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## BlackRose

feorag said:


> If everything else is fine with her, it doesn't sound life threatening at all. It could just be dried snot because her nose is irritated and it's making it run.
> 
> She could be carrying an upper respiratory tract virus that occasionally reactivates causing the discharge - if the discharge isn't green, then there isn't an infection and if it's a virus there's nothing the vet can do for her other than give her an anti-biotic to prevent a secondary bacterial infection. However, if this happens on a reasonable regular basis, then I wouldn't be inclined to get anti-biotics for her as it could just build up a resistance to the anti-biotic.


If it's a virus and there's nothing the vet can do except prevent infection what does that mean? That she will go downhill?


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## feorag

No, most upper respiratory tract viruses activate for about 14 days and then go dormant again, so she should settle down soon.

When she was a young kitten and you first got her did she have any discharges from the nose and eyes? About 60%+ cats carry one or more of the flu viruses.


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## BlackRose

Oh good! Whenever I hear respiratory or virus I always assume the worst seeing as I had many heartbreaking experiences with my little rats.

From what I remember as a kitten when we had her she always seemed to have a wonky eye which thinking about it was the left one I think. It sometimes seemed to be squinty. She still gets like it now and rubs it sometimes but that's usually after she's been rubbing her face all over her catnip kickeroos. Sometimes then they will sneeze too.

As a kitten I can't be sure, but thinking about it now I think she may have been a bit weepy in that eye.


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## freekygeeky

Your worrying stresses me out, chillax a little


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## feorag

BlackRose said:


> Oh good! Whenever I hear respiratory or virus I always assume the worst seeing as I had many heartbreaking experiences with my little rats.
> 
> From what I remember as a kitten when we had her she always seemed to have a wonky eye which thinking about it was the left one I think. It sometimes seemed to be squinty. She still gets like it now and rubs it sometimes but that's usually after she's been rubbing her face all over her catnip kickeroos. Sometimes then they will sneeze too.
> 
> As a kitten I can't be sure, but thinking about it now I think she may have been a bit weepy in that eye.


There are major respiratory tract viruses, such as herpes, calici etc, but there are also quite a few which are referred to as "non-specific urt virus" which just cause mild symptoms like a runny nose, water eye now and again.

As Gina says, you need to stop panicking every time one of your cats shows a minor problem.


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