Question: My cat has occasionally had sneezing fits; a few weeks ago she had one and her nose started bleeding. I crushed some ice and put it in a baggie with a little water and wrapped a washcloth around it. I held her in my lap and petted her and held the ice on her nose on and off and she eventually stopped sneezing and the bleeding stopped.
It did not happen again until late last night and this time it was a lot more blood and I had a hard time getting it stopped. I am a nurse but I live a long way from a veterinarian and I don’t know what else to do for her. Her nose is too small to stick a pressure wrap in.
Answer: You did a good job getting the bleeding stopped with the ice! Keeping your cat calm and relaxed and cooling the nasal passages can help stop the bleeding. It can also help stop your cat from sneezing and this helps to stop her from dislodging the blood clots. I don't recommend putting anything up in your cats nose. This could cause more trauma and bleeding.
It is more important to determine why your cat is getting recurrent nosebleeds. Frequent nose bleeds or “epistaxis” needs to be investigated. It can be from trauma, dry air, allergies, foreign bodies lodged in the nose, rat poison ingestion, blood- borne parasites, leukemia, allergies, bleeding disorders, toxins, dusty cat litter, house dust, inhaled irritants, nasal polyps, or tumors.
It can help to put your cat in a small bathroom and let the room get steamy while running a hot water shower. Breathing in the moist air can help the nasal passages. You can also run a vaporizer. Make sure that you use a dust free litter and do your weekly furniture dusting while your cat is closed up in another room.
Keep your cat away from any home remodeling projects. She is down on the ground breathing in the fine dust. Don’t use plug in air fresheners or scented candles. Try to avoid all perfumed and aerosolized products like cleaners, hair spray, floor cleaner and deodorants.
Take your cat to your veterinarian immediately to have her examined. It is important to determine the cause in order to effectively treat the nosebleeds and keep them from reoccurring. The nosebleed may only be a tiny part of the real problem. Many issues can be easily cured if caught early.
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