Q: Should a healthy cat have a wet nose?

Answer: This certainly seems to be the case with most normal healthy cats. However, there is no evidence that the skin on the nose contains any special moisture-producing glands. The moisture on the nose seems to come from the cat licking its nose from time to time, but mainly from a watery section produced by glands in the lining of the nasal chambers which appears at the corners of the nostrils and spreads over the surface of the nasal skin. The prime functions of this nasal secretion or to increase the moisture content of the air inhaled and improve the sense of the small.

Cats that are dehydrated as a result of illness or a lack of liquid to drink, particularly those with obviously high body temperatures, characteristically have a dry nose. Three factors may be involved:

1 Dehydrate cats produce less secretions, including both saliva and nasal secretion.

2 An increased body temperature will increase the evaporation of moisture from the nose.

3 The cats that is unwell neglects its normal habits, including grooming and licking its nose.

However, a dry nose is not reliable as a sign of illness; a cat that has been laying in front of the fire or radiator will also have a dry nose. (But if the dry nose is accompanied by the other abnormal signs, such as listlessness and a black of appetite, then it would be sensible to seek your vet’s advice.) Conversely, a wet nose can be found in an animal with fever if it has recently had its nose in the water bowl.