My senior outdoor white cat has nose scabs & a black mouth spot. Why?

Dark scabby areas on the head and necks of cats are often attributable to a complex known as eosinophilic plaques. Many are allergic in origin, and respond to a change in diet (hypoallergenic diets such as those made with "novel" protein and carbohydrate sources or hydrolyzed diets such as Hill's z/d) and treatment with immunosuppressive drugs. Some studies also point to a tie-in with feline herpes virus. Diagnosis is made via biopsy. These lesions can occur on the lips, inside the mouth, just about anywhere on the head or on the pads of the feet. I've also seen them on the abdomen. Again, it's really important to get a biopsy done, because the appearance can mimic some cancers (squamous cell carcinoma) and also some fungal diseases that are quite serious.

This is actually very concerning. I suggest you get her to your vet as soon as possible. I would be very worried that this is skin cancer (like squamous cell carcinoma) because of her coloration (white), the location of the lesions and the duration of the lesions. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/skin-squamous-cell-carcinoma-in-cats

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach! It is difficult to say from the pictures but because it is black and is on an area where there is not much hair, I am concerned it could be a melanoma, which is a type of cancerous tumor. I would recommend having a veterinarian examine this and consider further testing on this to ensure it is nothing to be worried about. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Hello, as you may now cancer can only be diagnosed by looking at the cells of the area in question. Certainly, we can get a suspicion for cancer by assessing the gross appearance of the area in question. This means that although looking at Blue's nose I don't think it looks very aggressive to be considered a cancer, we are unable to tell unless we sample that area. Cats can get pigmentation changes with age, so this may very well be a normal change associated with his age and nothing you need to be concerned with. I would recommend monitoring the area for progression of this pigmentation change or any evidence of mass, ulcer, or thickening of the nose which would be more concerning for a cancer. Hope this helps and best of luck.

This can be seen in a few different cases, but I always worry about skin cancer in white cats, so it's best to have it checked out by your veterinarian. I have seen similar lesions when they rub their nose on something, or with certain infections, so I would not be too worried; just have it checked to be safe. It's not an emergency, but good to have her seen in the next week to ensure treatment is initiated early if it's something serious. For now, I do not recommend doing any sort of treatment at home. It's best to leave it alone until a vet can have a look. Here is a link with more information about skin cancer in cats: https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/skin-squamous-cell-carcinoma-in-cats I hope that helps and all is well with Lily.

Poor Gizmo! I would definitely recommend having the scabbed-over area on his nose checked by a vet as soon as possible - cats sometimes get skin cancer such as squamous cell carcinoma that can present this way, and the nose is a relatively common place for this to happen. It's also possible that the area is infected, or that the scabs are allergy-related and will not heal unless this underlying problem is treated. Your vet can do some simple tests and may biopsy the area if there is any concern about cancer, and will advise you on what can be done to treat the problem depending on what is found.

I am sorry to hear about Moonbeam! A photo of the area may help give us a better idea of what is going on. Bumps can be a sign of a skin infection (often in cats we see what is called miliary dermatitis which makes little small bumps on the skin. This can often be related to an allergy. Skin lesions also make us worry about yeast/fungal infection (such as ringworm). Swelling over the bridge of the nose with lesions may be indicative of an infection with a fungus called cryptococcosis. And in some cats, unfortunately we can get tumors of the skin. I would recommend an examination by your vet to help determine what is causing the bumps in Moonbeam and figure out how best to treat them!