Siamese nose leather color change

Question
Jessica --
Thanks for your response. Do you know what kind of pigment loss is associated with feline herpes? We had brought in a kitten and she turned out to have a pretty bad chlamydia-herpes eye infection. Do you think it's possible she could have given this to the male and it resulted in his nose turning white?

Krista

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Followup To
Question -
Hi-
Have you ever heard of a Siamese's nose leather changing color after he grows up? My Siamese (light-colored chocolate point) had chocolate color nose leather when his points started to come in. When he turned about 8 months old, the nose leather suddenly became cinnamon colored. I looked this up and saw this was normal. However, when he became about 10 months old, the nose lost all color and is now white with the barest tinge of pink. I can't find any evidence of a Siamese's nose ever being white. He is a purebred Siamese.

Appreciate any info you can give me!

Thanks,
Krista
Answer -
Krista, you're right.  A lightening of the nose leather is normal.  In fact, I was looking at my chocolate point last night and remarking about how light it had gotten.

However, white is a different story.  The only things I know of that cause this sort of loss of pigment are damage to the skin, which can be caused by burns (including sunburns), abrasions, cancer, feline herpes, etc., and a pigment disorder called vitiligo.  It's somewhat rare in cats, but it is most prevalent in Siamese cats.

Vitiligo affects the face and legs most often.  It's an auto-immune disease.  The immune system attacks melanocytes (pigment cells) and results in white spots.  Vitiligo does not appear to affect the cat in any manner other than increasing the risk of skin cancer in the affected areas if overexposed to sun.  Children's sunscreen should be applied to the nose leather if your cat spends any time outside or in open windows.

Answer
Hello again!

Feline herpes generally creates sores in the eyes, nose, and mouth.  This can cause the skin damage that may result in a loss of pigmentation.  Tissue such as this tends to cause white spotting in Siamese cats, no matter where it is.  If it's on the body, the fur often turns white.

There is a vaccine against herpes that most cats get as kittens.  However, the vaccine does not prevent herpes.  It only lessens the severity of the disease.  The majority of cats do contract feline herpes at some point in their lives, usually within the first year.  So it is probable that your female passed herpes to your Siamese.  Whether herpes was the cause of his pigment loss, I couldn't say for sure.  I think if the herpes infection was serious enough to cause scarring on the nose, you would have noticed a very sick kitty.  As you know, herpes is a whopper of a virus.  But it's a possibility.