Are cats' noses supposed to be cool or warm or does it matter?

[we can do it]

[struggle4progress]

1. Ask the cat. Probably whatever you're doing is wrong

[we can do it]

14. That sounds like quite a few DUers these days

[TrogL]

2. You measure a cat's temperature by sticking a thermometor up its butt. Good luck with that.

[lunatica]

8. Just don't tuch the butt

[PeppinoImpastato]

3. don't think it matters

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. nose temp is not effective clue.

I too have wondered when my cat's nose felt warm...but relied on other signs to decide if it needed checking out.

Use a rectal thermometer, check online for the normal temp range for cats.
If cat is going to slice you to bits over the thermometer, now you know why vets make the big bucks.

btw..if you have a neutrered male cat who is acting "funny" and not moving much, haul it to the vet asap.
Turns out a lot of neutered cats can get very serious kidney infections because they do not have enough ash in their food
and are not drinking enough water.
That lil bit of wisdom damn near cost me a cat, and it DID cost me a vet bill. Cat was worth it, tho, he lived to be 18 years old.

Anytime a cat hunkers down and is real reluctant to move, it needs checking out.

[marzipanni]

9. It's too much ash, AKA struvite crystals

My young male tabby urinated in the bathtub which I thought was very smart because then I could see that his urine was pink, tinged with blood. I took him to the vet, who advised about the "ash" in cat food. This was in the era when cat food manufacturers were just realizing there was a problem and then made lower magnesium kibble available.

http://www.catinfo.org/

[dixiegrrrrl]

11. Thank you, for that important clarification.

This was quite awhile back...
Guess the food has changed a lot, knock on wood, no problems with kidneys in any of my current/recent cats.

[OldEurope]

5. They are warm and dry.

When humid or cold: ask your vet.

[Wait Wut]

6. Usually warm and dry...

...but at 5am...cold and wet. It's some sort of evil cat magic.

[we can do it]

7. I have one of each, both are acting happy and normal. Guess I won't worry about it.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. Like dog noses, sometimes they are cool and damp, sometimes warm and dry.

I learned something interesting about wet noses recently: The reason why the noses of dogs and cats and some other animals are often damp is because that way they can more easily tell which direction an odor is coming from. If your skin is wet you can feel the wind on it, and noses work the same way. So if the dog or cat feels the wind on the left side of its damp nose, it can tell that whatever it smells is coming from the left.

[Demo_Chris]

12. If warm check the temp in the freezer, they might be thawing.

Had that happen once.