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Canker sore like lesion at my cat's lips

My 1 year old cat develops canker sore like lesion at the lips.  I have taken him to the vet 3 times.  The vet said he has allergy.  He had received 3 cortisone shots with no improvement.  Has anybody had similar problem with his/her cat?  Any suggestions how should I treat this condition.  By the way, my cat has no symptoms.  He seems to be playful and has good appetite.  Any help would be appreciated.  
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Avatar universal
If only people that could afford the high price of vet bills every time they thought that their cat was sick or hurt you  would be seeing dead and wild cats all over the place. You are so wrong it is better that these cats find a loving home with people who will do the best they can for their cats and would spend their last dime to make their sick or hurt cat better. I have cat insurance on my cat but I have seen people do without food for their cats and I have saw people do everything they can. Vet don't take payments and many can not afford the large vet bills but if it wasn't for these people there would be cats and kitten and it would really be sad. You should be a shame of your self just because you have the money to take your cat to the vet that sure in the hell doesn't mean that you love your cat more then  anyone else or more then poor people with a cat!
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Avatar universal
If only people that could afford the high price of vet bills every time they thought that their cat was sick or hurt you  would be seeing dead and wild cats all over the place. You are so wrong it is better that these cats find a loving home with people who will do the best they can for their cats and would spend their last dime to make their sick or hurt cat better. I have cat insurance on my cat but I have seen people do without food for their cats and I have saw people do everything they can. Vet don't take payments and many can not afford the large vet bills but if it wasn't for these people there would be cats and kitten and it would really be sad. You should be a shame of your self just because you have the money to take your cat to the vet that sure in the hell doesn't mean that you love your cat more then  anyone else or more then poor people with a cat!
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Avatar universal
Both my cats, a brother and sister are prone to rodent ulcers. The boy is also sensitive to Urinary issues. They are almost a year old and each had an outbreak of rodent ulcers. I gave them L-lysine mixed with colloidal silver and Fish oil for Omega 3 oils. I am also giving some Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) mixed with tuna to keep the boys urinary tract acidic. So far the ulcers have cleared up on their own in both cats and the boy so far has not had anymore episodes of blood in his urine.
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4 Comments
That’s really interesting, how do you know the dosages and frequency?  My moms cat has almost his entire upper lip missing and the vet confessed that he would have to study up on it.  I tried putting colloidal silver topically but the cat is indoor outdoor and hard to catch. Food additives would be fantastic since he still eats well.
Hey. I never realized there was a reply to my comment until I totally weeded my email inbox. So this is coming to you a bit late. I pretty much wing it on dosages. From what I have read, both Ascorbic Acid and L-Lysine are safe for felines. I figured they are small, so I would open a capsule and sprinkle a little in the food. One capsule was about 3-4 doses. My two are 4 years old now and have never had a second outbreak of either the rodent ulcers or urinary issues. But I will still occasionally give them the supplements. (especially the C.) On a side note, for eye issues, colloidal silver is a must.  
Thanks for updating!  I'm glad your kitties are doing well now.  L-Lysine is a great supplement, but I didn't know anything about Vit C, so I looked it up.  It's really not necessary, and looks like it could cause more harm than good in the long run.  I'm especially concerned with you 'winging' the dosage.  Take a look at this website just to be safe.    

https://www.cat-lovers-only.com/vitamin-c-for-cats.html
Your welcome, I don't generally give my cats supplements often. Only once in a while.  The Ascorbic Acid is really only for cats with urinary issues (usually males.) C will help to break down the stones so they don't block the urinary tract. So you are right that it is not a necessary daily requirement. It is only for urinary health and only as needed. I have spoken about it to my vet and she is not concerned. I never give more than 250 mg per day and only if I feel he is not up to his usual health.
874521 tn?1424116797
Hi and welcome, thk you for the great write up on your kitties condition, the Vet is definitely on the right track wth eosinophilia granuloma and the sores a result of allergies, the allergen highly likely to be the food, so rabbit is a good choice!! Only thing I would change is if it's avail in wet form rather than dry? Dry foods themselves carry so many pesticides and chemicals that are also allergens, my one cat breaks out every time he eats a dry food.
Also question the use of steroids especially during a trial...because steroids will give a temporary fix so how will you know if the new diet is working, also the use of any steroids on cats can easily lead to diabetes and other health problems so there use should only be a last resort. Good luck, PLZ keep us updated on how it's going ok
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Avatar universal
My cat, Chandler, has been having the same problems. He would occasionally get small white bumps that looked almost like cold sores around the corners of his mouth. Ive been switching his food brands around with different proteins to see if anything helped, but no luck. I switched him to a venison flavored dry food 2 weeks ago and his mouth broke out in scabs that lined his entire mouth for the most part. I just got back from the vet and she seems to think its being caused by a type of allergen. She gave him a steroid shot as well as giving me steroids to give him for a week and antibiotics as well as flea medicine in case its from fleas. She also just switched him to the Royal Canin limited ingredient dry/wet food with rabbit, which he hasn't yet had (the rabbit that is). So far he loves the rabbit so we will see. She said that I can't feed him anything else besides the rabbit food, and I have to have him on it for at least 12 weeks because it will take that long for any other foods he's had in his system to leave his system, and only then will we know if his sores are lessened or worsened by this new food. But for all of you out there having similar problems I hope this helps! I would definitely suggest trying the royal canin limited ingredient foods and trying to figure out which protein works best for your animal. Also be sure to feed them the same type of food for at least 3 months so you can be sure if the new food is causing the sores or if they're just left over from the old food. Good Luck to all and hope this helps! And just in case you're considering the vet but aren't sure about cost, my bill came out to $250 with everything, and my vet is rather well priced but also a little up there. Oh and he already has feline herpes, has had them since a kitten (he's 2 now) but the feline herpes only causes them to get a cold, not mouth sores like in humans. The vet called what he has, eosinophilic granulomas on his lips. Good Luck to all!
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Avatar universal
Oops...shouldn't have posted the prior comment. I'm brand new to this and was reading through the thread and responded to a very old post. I can't figure out how to delete posts. Sorry!
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Avatar universal
Maybe this person's circumstances changed after she already had the cat. Unavoidable things sometimes happen. It would be nice if we could support one another rather than judging and tearing down one another.
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Avatar universal
That is just rude. People take pets into their homes and give them love and all that they can. Sometimes people run into financial difficulties. How dare you judge someone for trying to seek help. You are just ignorant.
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Avatar universal
This is very common with antifreeze poisoning in cats and seein gas it was a barn cat and not on close watch that is most likely the case.
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Avatar universal
Do you use flea treatment? My cat has the same problem but it seems it is only when I use Frontline and the girl who rescued him said he had a reaction to flea treatments. I am thinking it is from that, I use a little hydrogen peroxide and it goes away.
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Avatar universal
I would also like to say that these ulcers are very hard to find a reason for and treat you have to know that a change in diet must be done very consistently and results will  not be obvious before 6 weeks. This is the amount of time my vet told me it takes for the allergen to leave the body. My cat does drink water but dry food should not be substituted for the reasons about but the culprit is ash which is also in canned food. Canned food can be almost all water so there isn't much nutrition there.
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Avatar universal
Before you go broke on those exspensive foods try fish oil on their regular food. I had to put it on my cats dry food in a way that is was spread out and almost soaked in. He wouldn't take it any other way. I use the same fish oil I take and cut open the capsule to release the oil onto the food. Most cats like it any way but my kitty seems to have some issues with textures.
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874521 tn?1424116797
hi...I am just going to copy and paste what I wrote in a reply of May of last year...in case you didn't read that far back...the links give good advice for dealing with rodent ulcers...good luck, keep us updated if we can help more:))


hi, you are absolutely right about feeding canned food, cats don't ever drink enough to compensate for the dry dehydrated diet....and thus end up with many urinary tract problems as well as other issues.
I will send you a link to cat nutrition, the Vet there really pushes raw diets, but also gives good sound advice on feeding canned, and on the right hand side of her column also names the best brands on the market.

catinfo.org

...9-lives isn't a good brand at all, neither is whiskas another grocery store brand.
If you need to be buying the grocery store brands fancy feast CLASSIC is somewhat better.

2 things....these lip ulcers can also be caused by plastic dishes...change to ceramic or metal.

and if you are feeding chicken, stop...chicken is one of the worst offenders for allergies...try beef, or fish. at least for awhile and see if that helps. and if you can possibly afford it buy a canned food without GRAINS..these are also huge culprits with allergies...what symptoms does your cat have other than the ulcer?

here is a good article on allergies.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=2134

I am also including an article on EGC with photos of the lip rodent ulcer. regardless of what the article recommends for treatment, these nearly always respond to a change in diet..do the reading than get back to us if you have anymore questions ok....♥

http://www.vet.uga.edu/vpp/clerk/Starnes/index.php

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5272653 tn?1368182800
That is not very conducive to this pet owners issue. I am also in the same situation as are many people in these hard economic times. My daughters happiness (went through a nasty split) is just as important as being able to care for another member of the family that would have been put down in a shelter if not for my daughter's desire to take responsibility and love and care for another living being. So, if you're not part of the solution you are part of the problem. So, please, do us a favor and keep your negative comments to yourself. Back to this issue and it does appear to be this rodent ulcers. I will begin trying different foods. Thanx
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Avatar universal
Ask the vet if he has considered Eosinophilic Granuloma or Rodent Ulcer.  He is probably trying to rule out the more benign diseases first.  It is important he find a diagnosis as something like a Rodent Ulcer is a malignant tumor on the lip..
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874521 tn?1424116797
here is another site with some photos....read on food allergies at the bottom in blue.
again I do NOT recommend the treatment options given, always much better for kitty to treat the CAUSE rather than the symptoms...

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_eosinophilic_granuloma.html
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874521 tn?1424116797
the following is good info on what you are dealing with EGC..or rodent ulcer of the lip. the info is great although I sure do not agree with the treatments this vet suggests...ie steroids and atopica...unless absolutely the LAST resort, very harmful in themselves..but read the article for info purposes,

http://www.2ndchance.info/ulcers.htm
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874521 tn?1424116797
well great that the grain free has worked thus far......sorry to hear she is experiencing troubles once again. I am wondering if perhaps she has developed an allergy to the type of protein you are feeding her...are you doing strictly one type ie chicken? or do you vary these, like a mixture of chicken or beef or venison? also could try a new brand, there could perhaps have been a slight addition in ingredients in the brand she has been on....
no I really dont think the grass would be anything to consider, since she had good results with a diet change before I think this is the area you need to concentrate on....
but stress could also play a part...
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Avatar universal
I have two cats, and only the one seems to have this ulcer problem on her mouth (outside lip area).  She has not had an outbreak since I switched to grain free good (Wild Buffalo), but today I noticed the lesion/ulceration is back on her lip.  Normally she breaks out on the paw area (same paw), but her paw seems to be kinda okay so far.  Trips to the vet resulted in giving her steroids, but she was having outbreaks like every three months until I switched her food up after her last outbreak in December of 2001.  I am grateful she hasn't had an outbreak since then, but the lesion seems to be back today.  I also apply virgin coconut oil to the affected area, and that seems to help.  I just hate to see her having this again since she has done so well since switching her food up to grain free.  The vet also wanted to do a $400 allergy test which I agreed to, but then she said she also needed to do a biopsy to rule out cancer, blah blah blah until I was up to like $1200.  Then she wanted to put her on prescription cat food which would have cost me more to feed her than myself.  Like I said, I tried the grain free food, and it has seemed to work up until this point (almost 8 months now).  Not sure what else to do.  I have ceramic bowls for both of my cats and haven't switched anything up.  They go outside to get brushed about once a week, and we let them play in the grass for about 15 minutes.  Do you think that might have irritated her?  Also, we are leaving for vacation, and she can see that we are packing, so could she possibly be stressed?
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Avatar universal
Izzycat, notice that everyone else has something helpful and constructive to add. Take their example. Your approach makes you look like a jerk.
Helpful - 0
874521 tn?1424116797
hi, you are absolutely right about feeding canned food, cats don't ever drink enough to compensate for the dry dehydrated diet....and thus end up with many urinary tract problems as well as other issues.
I will send you a link to cat nutrition, the Vet there really pushes raw diets, but also gives good sound advice on feeding canned, and on the right hand side of her column also names the best brands on the market.

catinfo.org

...9-lives isn't a good brand at all, neither is whiskas another grocery store brand.
If you need to be buying the grocery store brands fancy feast CLASSIC is somewhat better.

2 things....these lip ulcers can also be caused by plastic dishes...change to ceramic or metal.

and if you are feeding chicken, stop...chicken is one of the worst offenders for allergies...try beef, or fish. at least for awhile and see if that helps. and if you can possibly afford it buy a canned food without GRAINS..these are also huge culprits with allergies...what symptoms does your cat have other than the ulcer?

here is a good article on allergies.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=2134

I am also including an article on EGC with photos of the lip rodent ulcer. regardless of what the article recommends for treatment, these nearly always respond to a change in diet..do the reading than get back to us if you have anymore questions ok....♥

http://www.vet.uga.edu/vpp/clerk/Starnes/index.php

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I thought it might be the new food I'm feeding my cat.  Probably so.  I had read that wet food was better for him after all because it has more water (you just feed them more of it) and that's their primary water source out in the wild.  Also that the canned cat food is cooked in the canning process, so it should be safe to eat.  Anyway, I started my 14 mo old cat on wet food about a week and a half ago (different flavors, all 9-Lives), and he now has a single canker sore on his lip (I thought it was where an earwig had fought back when he tried to bite it), plus swelling under his chin (that may be from how he's been scratching there a lot; I'm treating him for fleas).  He does have allergies of some sort; he has ever since I took him in as a farrell kitty at 6 months.  I've figured he was allergic to me - but it was either live with me or my apartment managers were going to have him put down.  I've never heard until now of allergies to flees.  Anyway, I'm not sure if it's one flavor doing this to him, or the brand itself, or if I should forgo the wet food altogether and make him drink more water to make up for that.  I don't like what I've been reading about dry food being the cause of mineral build up in a cat's bladder.
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Avatar universal
I just took my cat the the vet for a rabies shot.  He also happened to have a lesion on his lip as you describe.  The vet told me that they are very common on the lower lip as the canine tooth irritates the area. My vet actually popped the small abcess it contained and told me just to wash the area with warm soapy water every day.  He has since (1mos has passed) developed one on the opposite side.
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1 Comments
Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry to hear about your Kittys death? Do you know what he died from? Was his death related to the lessons he had?
1203956 tn?1266322258
  Well let's think about this.  First I'm sorry this is happening to you and your kitties.  Definately your first step should be to take both kitties at the same time to a vet so they can see how both of your cats have the same issue.  They might be able to give you a few guesses on what to test for based on how your kitties look.......If one vet doesn't help, try a different one.   Be sure to mention that you seem to notice an improvement when you use the flea medication.  That might help point them in the right direction to get a diagnosis too.  I know it can get expensive but the best anyone can do without a vet's advice is just random guesses.  Here are some of my random guesses:

  Anything IS possible but it almost sounds like your kitties are having a problem with some sort of disease or virus that they are able to pass between them.  So I am thinking being they both have it and it looks and acts the same in the same exact place..........it would probably not be cancer.  A vet might be able to tell you if it looks suspicious (for cancer)based on appearance.  

  Probably not allergies either unless it's a big concidence that two unrelated cats have exactly the same reaction to something.......... which is still possible but not likely.  Just to be safe you can switch their food dishes, I would say to stainless steel for both food and water.  You can try switching food if you haven't already but that can take a while for their systems to show an improvement, so you might want to ask a vet for advice on what to switch to and how long before you might see a change if the food is the cause.  

  
  Also if your cats go outside I would definately try to keep them in and see if anything changes.  In a time like this, you need to know exactly what they are coming in contact with.  The only way to have control over that is to keep them inside 24/7.  Maybe there is something in your neighborhood that your first kitty got into and then he showed your second kitty and now they both have the same problem etc.

   There is a simple blood test for feline aids (FIV) that can be done pretty cheaply and the results are pretty immediate so I would definately do that to rule it out being you are concerned about that.  


   I hope they start to feel better soon and that someone can help you figure out this puzzle.

P.S.  There is a special credit program open to people who can't afford to pay huge vet bills all at once.  It's called Care Credit.  Not everyone who applies is accepted and you have to check with your vet to see if they accept it, but it might be worth a try.  If you qualify you get a set amount of months to pay off your bill with zero interest.  Good luck!!!!
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