Cat Chat Feline Forum

Pippin (18 years old) started a snuffle back in March, a clear discharge from just one nostril. It was very mild, and I assumed a slight virus and watched him. When he took to his bed and didn't want to eat we went to the vet, where a full examination, blood tests, etc, etc found nothing serious - slightly compromised kidney function as is to be expected at his age, some weight loss, but that was all, and our guess was that he might have been running a temperature that had already gone down. A week or so later the clear discharge turned gunky, and the vet prescribed antibiotics - there was some improvement in sneezing but otherwise not much change.

I have put him onto a very smelly renal food that he really enjoys and he has gained back the lost weight and is much better - back to prowling the house and gardens in search of the best sleeping places and generally his normal self. But the very slight snuffle in one nostril now seems to be chronic. He's not the first cat I have had with chronic sinusitis or snuffles, but usually both nostrils have bee involved. There are no indications that there is a foreign object or an abscess or tumour - no swelling, blood, pain or pawing, just a very slight snuffle. I am not really worried about it now he is so obviously feeling better, but would be interested to know if anyone else has dealt with one-nostril snuffles!

I think any snuffles I've seen have usually been more one than the other. Boo was my major snuffler being a run into a door breed - he even blew a snot bubble once, to our amusement and disgust - and although I can't really be sure on the snottiness, going by his eye gunk, that was always one eye at a time. I think even his ear gunge tended to affect one ear or the other at any one time. Can't give you a timescale though for how long it was one side before going away temporarily or switching sides.

Interesting, Mollycat. I am trying to remember if the sinusitis was both sides in my Siamese - she didn't snuffle but her occasional sneezes could be ... shall we just say spectacular?!