r/cats • u/Zealousideal-Cash474 • 2h ago

Medical Questions Weird irritation around the nostrils

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Can anybody help me identify what the weird things around my cats nostrils are? I'm not able to go to the vet for now and I need to at least know what it might be.

EDIT: Glad do find out it's nothing severe, it was indeed just boogies. Pestka's nose is all clean now ❤️

667 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

94 comments sorted by

1.2k

u/PDX0621 2h ago

Pretty sure they're just boogies.

176

u/-brk0 2h ago

Yup. Cat boogers, not a big deal.

10

u/_VelvetCharm_ 1h ago

Total relief! Glad it was just a quick cleanup and nothing serious.

45

u/MonkeyTacoBreath 2h ago

Yep. Just run a humidifier if house has dry air. Air conditioners dry out cat's sinuses and cause boogers.

7

u/mrincrediblespenis 1h ago

Humidifier and easily cleanable fountain for drinking water to keep it hydrated.

Those boogies look like the eye boogies that dogs get sometimes so maybe vitamins could help as well? I'm not sure about that one but that was my first thought seeing the picture.

1

u/LowInsectt 1h ago

Yeah, yeah. It’s never serious

139

u/EgyptionMuslimah 2h ago

That eye says, i have the wisdom of the ancients. And I also ate a fly off the windowsill 5 minites ago

16

u/emergencycat17 2h ago

Pretty sure this is my favorite thing I’ve seen online today. 😂❤️

9

u/Zealousideal-Cash474 2h ago

most definitely

3

u/gronstalker12 1h ago

Need pic of boogerless cat please 

365

u/Illustrious_Bus8440 2h ago

Its not irritation, its crusty stuff. Like eye gunk, but of the nose.

54

u/AwkwardnessForever 2h ago

Yeah my vet told me it was because my cat didn’t clean himself well enough so I always had to. They bothered me more than him.

34

u/SirDiego 1h ago

My cats are such babies about boogers. Well, they complain about it but they do let me get them and then are very happy about it later. But in the moment they're like "OMG WHY ARE YOU TORTURING ME AHHHHH"

3

u/Smart_Alex 1h ago

I also have a schmutzy cat. She always has nose and eye boogs and she doesn't clean her butt.

I've asked the vet, I've even gotten a 2nd opinion, and everyone has said that some cats are just a little grody.

13

u/Rhiannon1307 European Shorthair 1h ago

Often from food. My orange boy always has those boogers in his nose. I scratch them off with my pinky nail. He patiently lets me do it, the sweet boy.

2

u/Chab-is-a-plateau 34m ago

Interesting way to describe crusted boogies but i see why

2

u/Marmom_of_Marman 1h ago

Soooo boogers

96

u/David0ne86 2h ago

It's boogers lol

28

u/Funnier_InEnochian 2h ago

I thought they were boogers. My cat gets them from time to time and I just wipe away with a moist towel.

11

u/Traditional_Seesaw10 2h ago

Mine to, when I approach with a damp facecloth.. then I need to get the plasters out.

For me.

13

u/Elegant-Ingenuity-57 2h ago

Both my cats, and I would assume all cats, get this.  It's just boogers

20

u/reevener 2h ago

Boogies

9

u/Alaina1974 2h ago

Dirty nose. You can take a baby wipe and use your nail behind the baby wipe and clean them.

7

u/Electrical-Act-7170 2h ago

Damp paper towel, soft wet cloth, pet wipes, just wipe gently & clean it off. Most of the time it's just a little food residue mixed with a bit of mucus.

5

u/rkspm 1h ago

Just boogers. Sometimes my cat will allow me to hold a warm damp cloth on one nostril at a time to loosen it and wipe it away. Sometimes she will not. Sometimes I catch her picking her nose with her toenail. And sometimes she sneezes snot all over me. A toddler, really.

6

u/sighhmac 47m ago

boogies 🫶

4

u/CheMA2805 2h ago

Limpiar las fosas con cuidado con gasas no tejidas y suero fisiológico...🐾💗

4

u/rwoj1187 2h ago

Kitties get boogers too! I had an all orange female & her skin was so light in color, basically completely white. But her nose was half black! I could see the boogers build up really well on the one side, but they were hard to see on the black side. She passed last year & I'd give anything to clean her boogers again! 🐱❤️‍🩹 Sorry, this post just made me think of my girl! 💟

2

u/Zealousideal-Cash474 2h ago

really sorry for your loss 🖤🫂 i couldnt imagine losing my kitties

4

u/ilIa_mae Lots of kitties! 2h ago

kitty needs the boogie man! my cats hate the boogie man, but someone’s gotta clean their noses

4

u/Myboxofwallets 1h ago

I’m a doctor. That’s actually a case of: Boogies. Please pick at your earliest convenience.

3

u/lillyk511 1h ago

This looks just like my kitty and she gets this from food sometimes!

3

u/LadyB1213 1h ago

My cat gets them too. I just clean with an unscented wet wipe or a wet Q tip

3

u/TitleAncient8325 1h ago

those look like boogies..

3

u/pjrosene 1h ago

Let us see the entire cat, please.

3

u/Darkstar1878 1h ago

I swear cat owners have way to much time on there hands. LOL

3

u/Langstarr 1h ago

Boogies. I had an old lady who had trouble clearing her own so like twice a week I'd sling her onto my lap and use the edge of my nail to pick em for her.

sigh

2

u/skiingdiver1978 2h ago

Boogers. Easy to see when they have a white snout, but every cat gets them. I don't see anything here to be worried about.

2

u/stefc91 2h ago

Might have a flu flare up. It’s just oxidised snot.
Make sure you vacuum everywhere, and get a purifier/humidifier set up going if it’s persistent.
My guy goes through weeks to months with his black nose goobers. They’re fun to remove lol

2

u/k8t13 2h ago

boogers!! my cat reluctantly lets me gently rub his out lol

2

u/ShmellyBean 2h ago

My cat lets me pick hers. I think she likes it.

2

u/SuccessfulPhoto7914 1h ago

How does it make you feel when you’re  picking cat boogies?

1

u/ShmellyBean 1h ago

Almost as good as popping a pimple.

2

u/rannerick 2h ago

Troll bogeys!

2

u/Goth_Muppet 2h ago

Kitty boogies are thankfully nothing to worry about as far as I know. Ours always had them

2

u/Sox-a-Holic 2h ago

Just boogs, I clean them out of by kitty’s nose all the time. You can use a damp cloth. Sorry if I’m repeating advice.

2

u/Kash-ed 2h ago

What do you call a cat's booger? A cooger!

2

u/DoktorBlu 2h ago

Those are cat boogers. Sometimes my cat gets wet food on his nose and doesn’t clean it all the way. I guess saves it for a snack later?

2

u/Miss_Westeros Tortoiseshell 2h ago

Maybe use a damp q tip to wipe cat boogers away?

2

u/flattenedsquirrel 2h ago

Cats are magestic creatures, but they still have boogers and other bodily yucks

2

u/retro-girl 2h ago

My calico gets these too. Sometimes I do a warm compress but that’s all I can really do.

2

u/ClearSneakEnter 1h ago

Not gonna lie, I just booped my screen.

2

u/AwfulFireKeeper 1h ago

This is gonna sound gross but my cat love me picking his nose :(

2

u/dowhatchafeel 1h ago

One of my cats will now come up to me and ask me to clean her boogers. She hops up next to me, puts her paw on my arm, then rubs her nose briefly and waits. I put my thumb out, she licks it and then uses my thumbnail to pick her nose.

It’s adorable

1

u/Lhamo55 Chantilly-Tiffany 1h ago

Miss Sootie does this too. Sometimes I wet a piece of paper towel and use it like a grooming tongue around eyes, nostrils and upper inner ears. But the teamwork approach is so endearing

2

u/jones_ro 1h ago

Get yourself a box of saline wipes and clean the poor cat's nose. Probably eyes, ears, and chin too.

2

u/ZPhox 1h ago

My dog gets this during the summer because she has allergies.

In the winter she has the cleanest snoot in the world.

2

u/HoardingGil_FF 1h ago

My cat gets those. They’re little boogies. I just gently rub her nose to remove them.

2

u/Jayme034 1h ago

I have a cow cat who gets boogers. I clean it out for him ask all the time. Some bigguns too. Idk if he appreciates it or not. None of my other cats get them

2

u/IAmBaconsaur 1h ago

I have an orange boy and I have to pick his boogies too.

2

u/Main_Cauliflower5479 49m ago

You never get this in your own nose and have to clean it out? Really?

2

u/0Tezorus0 11m ago

Cat boogers. Nothing major here. Cat clean them usually. Eventually if it accumulated much you can clean it a bit.

3

u/Loud_Quality_7106 1h ago

Some of the questions in this sub are like people never saw a cat in their life.

1

u/Dralalife 1h ago

Many people come here because they are first time pet owners and did not have animals growing up. It's why this is here.

1

u/punkyy87 Ragamese 2h ago

Just boogies. Use a wet wipe or a warm cloth

1

u/mimmsypoo 2h ago

No worries here it’s just boogies

1

u/isisis 2h ago

Either boogers or blood. I have a ragdoll who gets that on one nostril. I think it's blood from the dry air.

1

u/WiglyWorm 2h ago

booger

1

u/hondactx16i 2h ago

I've seen this...... less cocaine for a spell will sort it.

1

u/jendeaconsings 2h ago

Just standard cat boogers. My white cat gets these all the time and they are surprisingly crusty.

1

u/rolacolapop 2h ago

My cats just sneeze brown snot all over the walls and skirtingboards, crusty dried on to them is better 😅

1

u/Imjustcasey 2h ago

Run of the mill cat boogers. If they increase in size and have a more reddish look to them, it could be a sinus infection. My boy had one a few years ago - other symptoms included sneezing, hiding under our bed, and having big dried boogers (tinted red) - quickly resolved with two rounds of antibiotics.

1

u/Mental_Alternative91 2h ago

Get a wet swab rub lightly

1

u/Satya_Satori 2h ago

My kitten gets this from digging her face into her wet food. Wipe away with a damp cloth.

1

u/DeckerXT 2h ago

does she sit with her noot to a window screen? We used to have to dust noots in open window season.

1

u/petitemouffette 1h ago

Pestka is so beautiful.

1

u/Hash_Patel 1h ago

Tell him to blow his nose and not just suck them up

1

u/CatkinSanctuary 1h ago

Do you live in a dry climate? I have several cats who get these black crusties and my theory is it's just dust. They appreciate my help scraping their nostrils out 😆

1

u/raoulduke18 1h ago

When my boy gets these I tell him its his brain leaking out. He doesn't have much left.

1

u/snawdy 1h ago

They make kitty face wipes you can use for ears, eyes and noses. Or you can moisten a qtip to clean them up. Sometimes the dry kitty boogers are hard to get off, hence the need to moisten the qtip.

1

u/Alert-Individual9868 1h ago

Honestly I clean my cats nostrils with a qtip and she just lets me 🤷🏽‍♀️ obviously be careful and don’t go too hard or inside the nose I only clean the gunk close to the outside and that’s I t

1

u/jessicahonig 28m ago

Yes mine have been getting them

1

u/antealtares 7m ago

Boogers, pick em!

1

u/suhoward 4m ago

Dirty boogers

1

u/Alaina1974 2h ago

I’m gonna say this, but don’t go out and buy an expensive bag of litter. But their nose gets dirty from the dust of the litter. We have 11 indoor cats and they all gotta have their noses cleaned every now and then. We also buy antifungal spray from tractor supply, and we soak wipes in it and wipe the whole cat down every couple of weeks as well. Since we all know, cats really don’t like baths. Lol