I have a Persian kitten just over 5 months old that has nose congestion/whistling problems. He has his vaccinations and has been treated by a vet for mild symptoms of URI. He has had the stuffiness since he arrived, so I think a URI would have run its course. He had two treatments of Amoxicyllin but no change. No loss of appetite, doesn't seem sick and he goes from stuffy to clear and back again numerous times a day. We do notice it most when he eats, drinks and plays. He gets his nose wet when he drinks, so we found some small glass bottles and this helps. Before he soaked his face, nose and entire rough. I think he may have chronic irritation from this.

I know it is possible he has a malformed or tiny nose, but then wouldn't it always sound stuffy? When he sleeps and often other times there is no noise at all. No nasty discharge, none of that.

His breeder seems to think it is something he will outgrow. I am stumped. Infection? (Little sign)? Allergies? He sniffs everything to the extreme. Any ideas would be appreciated. Our vet is good, but not really experiences with flat faced Persians. Mary

Mary,
if there is no yellow or green discharge, it is likely that the kitty just has a tiny nose. You can use Little Noses saline and put a few drops in each nostril to get kitty to sneeze and clear out some of the gunk. It is likely that the kitten will outgrow the stuffy nose, though I have one that is 4 and he still sounds like a stopped up drain all of the time.

From your discription, it doesn't sound like an infection (the antibiotics should have done something) or even allergies (no runny eyes?).

Best guess is that the sinuses/nose are slightly malformed and do not allow for proper drainage. (More bluntly, the snot gets stuck.) Does he get stuffed up and then sneeze?

And no, it wouldn't always sound stuffy. If he is relaxed (and breathing less) and in the 'right' position (so the drainage is fine), his breathing could be perfectly normal. My Isabel will act like she is having trouble smelling her food, but when she sleeps, no snoring or any sound. On the other hand, some cats are mostly normal sounding awake, but snore loudly when sleeping.

Your breeder may be right -- let him grow and then see how things are. At 5 months he is still growing!

And welcome!

Thank you for the advice and the welcome. Magick was the smallest kitten in his litter, though certainly healthy in all other respects and eating and growing well. I suspect both the water snuffling as it got up his nose when he drank and drenched him, but also the possibility of a nose formation issue. I don't want to do anything while he is still growing. Also, want his immune system to strengthen without more antibiotics.

Is it safe not to treat a nose with some discharge if it is clear, minimal and not looking infected? Also, we do occasional saline drops and steam him in the shower room. Helps but nothing is permanent.

I don't want to panic, but my other Persians did not have this problem. Mary

Yellow and green nasal discharge must be treated. White is a maybe -- sometimes nothing, sometimes not good. Clear usually is fine not to treat if no other symptoms (such as fever or lack of eating). Steaming only lasts an hour from my experience. Saline drops maybe 2.

Don't panic! Each Persian is different. My persian with the flattest face has the least nose issues. One of the longer nosed ones has the most. It depends probably on the internal structures and nothing more.

I agree with LindaH re yellow or green nasal discharge usually means a bacterial upper respiratory infection that is treated with antibiotics. To not treat it means it can worsen into something much more.

Should your new little one just have very narrow or small nares and thus some breathing difficulties this is rather common in very flat faced Persians. Many here have had surgery to enlarge their nares to help with breathing.

My Winston had a very flat tiny torqued button nose with very small nares. He also had other health problems so surgery to enlarge his nares wasn't indicated however I surely wish he could have had it as my poor little guy suffered with a very snotty noisy nose/congestion his whole sweet little Persian life.

Thankfully he was really quite the personable lovable little guy and was something else tho he did suffer a number of resp. infections throughout his life.

Don't think about what you think is right in human terms think about what is right in terms of best healthcare possible for your cat. Consult the experts .. the Vet (and you may have to consult more than one)! That being said I hope your little guy will be Ok tho I imagine you will have to have him checked out a bit with regard to what you're mentioning. Wishing you and your little darling all the best~ Maria and Alaska

Of course I will take Magick to the vet if there is any sign of infection. He has been seen by the vet several times already. No big problem detected, but no tests done on the nose structure yet because of his age. I think I need to wait til he grows more to know what is indicated. I would consider the surgery if that would help him at that time.

Thanks for all the good advice and concern, too. Mary

Hi Everyone! I'm new to this site but so glad I found it as I have a nearly 16 year old tortie persian whom I love dearly. She also has the nasal discharge which turns light green if I don't address it. She has a cleft palate so wet food only, liver & kidney problems but food & medicine seem to be helping with that. Periodically, I have to take Ebony in for nebulizer treatments at the vet. They give her an injection of some medication and then she has 3 days of nebulizer treatment. She is placed in a cage with a heavy plastic covering and medication in a gas form is put in with her. She breathes in the medication and over the course of the treatments she sneezes a lot of gunk out. It seems to help quite a bit. It usually seems to be only one nostril that's the problem and she also gets clear discharge in the same eye. I don't know if this is helpful to anyone but I thought I would share because of the topic.

I remember that my other cat (RIP Amo) had a very flat face and we did do surgery. It was just something to make his nose a little bigger so no snot could get stuck up there. Maybe ask your breeder if any of her breeding cats have ever had what you're going though?
Also... Any pictures of your baby?

Hi and welcome to the site!

Because I'm a curious person, do you happen to know the name of the medication that they use?