We have a pixie-bob female, about 5 1/2 years old, spayed in apparently excellent health. She goes to the vet once a year for checkups, shots and all. Her behavior is excellent, and has not changed. She is very playful, eats well, sleeps well, and has no parasites (fleas, worms, etc.) She is the picture of contentment, which is why I haven't taken her to the vet for this one simple thing.

That said, we have noticed that her nose shape has changed in a pronounced way over the last year or so. It has become more bulbous on the end and looks like a "Jimmy Durante" nose from the side profile view. (Attached photo here) This has me kind of concerned... wondering if she might have a tumor or disease that would be causing this.

I've googled the heck out of this and can't find anything except one article on something called a "roman nose" and they alluded to cancer!:eek:

Does anyone have any idea what might be the cause of this?:confused:

Thanks in advance,
Cake Lady

If you are truly concerned, I would go to the real experts... the vets. There is no "guesswork" involved with them. Either it is something or it isn't, and they can tell you one way or another. Then, either you know it isn't a concern, or you learn about it NOW so that it can be treated! Either way, I wouldn't put it off. Never feel like you should put your concerns on the back burner! It's better to be paranoid! :) I know I am! Please keep updates on here, so we can all know how your beauty is doing!

I hate to concern you, but about the only thing that I know of that will permanently change the physical appearance of a 5-year-old cat is a tumor. Not all tumors are cancerous. But you want to know what's going on with your cat so that it can be effectively treated. So, time to see the vet.

Thanks, y'all! She will be going to the vet at the first of August or so, and I will let y'all know what he says.

'Til then,
Cake Lady

I will point out that August is a month away. If, and I hope it's not, but if it is cancer, the month delay may mean the difference between a minor, treatable tumor, and one that's spread an invaded other tissues, thus making it much more difficult to treat. I'd get in sooner if I were you.

August or so? How about now? What do you think might happen between now and August if this thing turns out to be cancerous? It might be nothing -- I agree with froggy7 (tried to "agree" but apparently I haven't spread any reputation recently :p ) -- some type of tumor probably. And it might be nothing, but still need removed. Why would you wait an entire month on a tumor?

Beat me.

Coming back to touch on this thread---evidently my notifications were turned off or something.

We took her to the vet, and he examined her carefully. He did tell us that if it KEPT growing/changing, that he'd do a biopsy, but at that point he didn't want to put her through that and perhaps permanently disfigure her at all. We agreed.

He did find while we were there at the office that she had conjunctivitis of the eyes, gave us ointment and instructed us on how to properly wash her face/eyes and apply the ointment.

After a week's worth of steady ointment treatment, her nose returned to it's former shape, which although bulbuous---(Pixies often have wierdly shaped noses/facial features) was nowhere near the way it was in the pic.

He determined her nose had swollen a bit in reaction to the eyes being irritated, saying that a cat's eyes/nose are very close and reactive to each others' being irritated. He also said she may have had a slight allergic reaction to something in her environment as well. We didn't notice any tearing/watering of her eyes, and he did say that you could only see the conjunctivitis with her eyelids pulled back... which explains why I didn't notice that part.

So all in all, she had no tumor---her eyes were irritated and her nose tip probably swelled because of that.

I'm also not exactly thrilled with Morgaine300's tone in answering on this question. I take excellent, very dedicated care of my cat---which is why I noted her obvious good health and behavior in the reasoning of waiting 3 weeks to go to the vet instead of rushing her at that moment.

You might want to consider how your answers are taken by others before you rush to judgement.

Just sayin'.

--Cake Lady

Cakelady, I really want to thank you for coming back to post this information. I wish more people would return to post the conclusions to their stories! If anyone else finds their cat in a similar situation, they will at least think to check their eyes for infection.

I don't know what morgaine was thinking, but that's not considered at all appropriate for this forum. If a mod runs into something like that, they will usually be quite reprimanding about it. Perhaps this time it slipped between the cracks.

I didn't see your question when it was first posted, but I would have told you that cancer is not the only thing that can cause a nose to swell or change shape. Without a doubt, any symptoms of this nature need to get checked out right away, no questions asked. Still, benign tumors, infection, breakage, etc. can cause changes. They would still need to be handled right away by the vet. It's especially important because of the nose's vicinity to the brain, eyes, etc. and it's high sensitivity, which could mean a lot of pain. In humans, the nose can also change because of a skin disorder called rosacea. I don't know if animals are susceptible to it, but it's something else to keep in mind.

Your cat is very, very cute. Since we are talking about his health, I wanted to ask, from looking at the picture, I'm wondering if he's overweight? Has your vet spoken with you about him needing to slim down a little? Do you know how much he weighs?

I'm very glad to hear that he's doing okay! Again, thanks for coming back. It will help others with their own beloved pets!

Hi LinneaLand,

Yes, that was my whole reasoning in coming back to re-post the outcome, in hopes that someone might be googling this or looking for similar answers on their own pet! I know I googled like crazy, and only came up with a cancer scare!

She is a bit chubby, but also in that pic she's bowed up playing---so her belly muscles are puffing out a bit in that pic. But yes, we do feed her a bit too well, I'm sure.

She was starving, dehydrated, dry fur, no whiskers, skin & bone when she came to us. She couldn't even "meow" well because her throat was sore and dry! Her whiskers were all broken off (I assume from eating out of cans or something?) and she was pitiful...

We made her a bed in our outside storage area, gave her food & water & a potty box out there and shut her in there at night because the temps that year at night were in the single digits. Every morning we'd go to let her out, and she was burrowed deep inside the thermal blankets and warm as can be! LOL

Soon, she was making her way INSIDE the house, and when she decided to have a family---we moved her in permanently. She immediately made herself at home and has never EVER been outside again...

We spayed/neutered five gorgeous babies before re-homing them, and had momma fixed as well! That was an operation, let me tell you! LOL

She is a complete joy, never tears anything up, professional potty-box habits, happy all the time and answers us every time someone speaks to her or looks at her. Needless to say, she is my heartbeat!

Well, I didn't mean to turn this into a story on the cat's life, but wanted to touch back.

Thanks to everyone for the replies and help!

Sincerely,
Cake Lady

Cakelady, bless you for being such a caring momma to your lovely kitty! I loved the story. That's the kind of thing that melts your heart. If I were her, I'm sure I'd be helping myself to an extra treat or two, too. It sounds like you're taking good care of her. She seems like a wonderful companion and a terrific cat. Plus, she is just too cute!

By the way, extra, extra kudos for having the kittens fixed before they were re-homed. It was a very responsible, unselfish act on your part.

I've really enjoyed your posts. As a "cake lady," I sure do hope to see you on the cooking boards! I could always use another great cake recipe or some tips and tricks for making the perfect dessert. Next thing to cross of my list of things to make... fondant!

Again, thanks so much for sharing the answer to your question. Best wishes to you and kitty!

Thank you CakeLady I too have been googling this my 8 year old Scottish Straight's nose has been getting bulbous I have an appointment on Tuesday, and like you all I could find was the cancer scare, thank you thank you for coming back with the follow up, I am very relieved (not all the way until the vet gives his diognoses) but you have definitely made me worry less.

Thank you and head bonks, and whiskered kisses to your Kitty.

I have heard of cats getting tumors on their nose. It is not always cancerous but it should be checked out by your Vet.

Hi CakeLady. I know it's been a very long time since you first posted about your cats nose, but I was hoping you might still be checking messages and might be able to offer some information / advice.

We adopted our cat, Paige, from a local animal shelter 2 months ago. She has a number if 'special features', but one of them is a very bulbus nose (more pronounced even than your own cat's). The shelter told us she 'just had a big nose', but the first vet we saw was much more concerned - in fact suggested it was probably a tumour. We decided to get her medical records from the shelter and then go back to the vet for another consultation. At the second visit (with a different vet) we were told it could be a number of things and to keep an eye on it and see if it changed. She was also diagnosed with conjunctivitis this second time and has some drops (no change in the nose as yet). Sorry, this is turning into a long story (!), but I was just wondering whether there was any more to tell as regards your own experience - anything that might help us decide what to do next (a biopsy or wait and see)?

Thanks so much in advance for anything you can share with us.

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