Cat noses...

[jennielynn1970]

Ok, I keep getting this mixed up. Are the noses supposed to be wet and cool, or are they supposed to be warm and dry?? My one kitty has been kinda sniffly sneezy, but his nose is warm and dry. Not sure if that's how it is supposed to be or not (you know like, when we are sick, our noses are wet, lol).

[columbine]

A cold wet nose is fine on a dog, but a cat's nose should be warm and dry.

Love, Columbine

[jennielynn1970]

AHHHH!! Ok, good! LOL! I keep getting them mixed up! My Honeybun is FIV+, so I worry about him when he shows any little sign of anything. I need to get him to the vet anyway. His breath is HORRIBLE!!! The girl I got him from said his teeth were fine, but I dunno... He yawns and just about knocks you over!

[Lizzie]

I asked a vet about this once and he said you couldn't really tell by noses (unless they are dripping, of course). If I want to check for a fever on a cat that won't let me take its temperature, I feel its paw pads. If they are warm and damp, the cat has a fever.

Good luck on Honeybun. I sprint to the vet with my FIV+ boys too at the first sign of being off-colour. In fact, I spent about $85 (exam plus meds) a few weeks ago on Thumper just because he didn't want any breakfast. By that evening he was racing around playing again and he hadn't even had any of the meds yet.

I know that FIV+ cats often have mouth problems, but is it possible that Honeybun has a gastro problem? I know people can get bad breath for that reason.

[jennielynn1970]

Hmmmm... .I don't know if it would be a gastro problem. It's a thought. The girl I got him from was fostering him after his original owner had to go into a personal care home. She then had boyfriend issues, and after he moved out, Honey started pooping on the floor (which he started doing at my place now too, at least I think it's him), and then when she decided to move in with a new boyfriend, Honey didn't make the cut because the guy was not cat friendly. So... since I had lost my one other FIV boy over the summer, I figured I'd take another one in, especially since he's a senior. The foster told me he was all checked out and was fine.

I do definitely want to get him to the vet. He's got icky breath, not many teeth, he has the cutaneous horns on his paw pads as well, and his ears are waxy. My other FIV boys seem to have ear wax or ear issues in general as well. Do yours??

So, I've had Honey as my own for about a month, and am calling the vet today to see when I can get him in for a check up. I'll have to make sure they check out everything, lol. Hopefully they can do a full blood work up just so we can get a handle on where he is at right now, so there is something to compare it to in the future.