What can be the cause of my cat's nose turning black in hours?

Question

My cat went out this morning at 7am and all seemed fine. When I came back home, I notice her nose was dark. I thought it could've been dirt, but after checking I noticed not only it is black, but also the hair looks shorter in the area. She was diagnosed with stomatitis a while back, but was checked recently and it all seems fine.

Her behaviour is the same as always, she's eating and using the toilet normally. She loves sleeping in sunny spots.

I'll be bringing her to the vet but all I want to know for now is whether it's an emergency.

The first photo shows her after and the second before I noticed the change on her nose.

Answer 1

It doesn't look like an emergency given a lack of behavioral differences but you should still contact your vet.

Double check that it isn't a stain; you can dab gently with a moist cotton ball to see if the cotton ball picks up any color. If so, you'll want to clean the fur.

Otherwise, given the hair looks shorter than before, it may be from physical trauma; maybe your cat ran into a wall or door, leading to internal bruising (hematoma) and possibly chipping the fur.

Sunburn is also a candidate given your cat likes to sunbathe, and animals with white or lighter fur color are more susceptible to sunburn and skin cancer, but it seems less likely.

Answer 2

Most likely your cat has run into a window or similar object and gotten a bruise on the nose.

The cause might be trying to attack its own reflection; cats are often very territorial, so when they see another cat they will try to chase it away even if it is their own reflection.

It does not look serious to me, but a vet will have to take a look at it.

Answer 3

I know this is 2 years later answer, but I want to share with you. My cat's nose is pink, in just hours it turned into totally black color, and she looks physically bad / exhausted so I bring her to vet. The doctor did an blood test & internal organ test. And the result is my cat was diagnosed with last stadium of Hepatitis & Kidney.. I was so shocked. And she died 4 days after that. Doctor says that the sickness come from her parents, but I think it can be from food also.

Remember to always be with your cat, my cat immune system goes down drastically (this is the cause of her nose turn black suddenly) I left her for 2 weeks, I had to live separated from her because I gave birth to my baby. She missed me, she lost me, this is the most painful loss I ever had.

Answer 4

I know this answer is late but it may help someone else who is looking for the same answer. This happened to my cat, one month later I found out he had lymphoma and ended up putting him to sleep. It may not be directly connected but I think it's likely a symptom/sign of an underlying issue. The darkening on his nose came and went a few times along with some lumps which formed pretty suddenly. I took him to the vet and found it was a really aggressive lymphoma. When he stopped eating I took him to be put to sleep to spare him suffering. Hope this is helpful.