Ulcer on upper lip

[jazzcat]

Anyone have any experience with this? I took my Dad's cat, Miss Kitty, to the vet for her annual checkup and vaccinations and they discovered a small but very red ulcer on her top lip in the front center.

The vet wanted to give her oral antibiotics for a week but I explained that she is very hard to medicate and that she lives with my 85 year old father who has a caretaker and they wouldn't be able to give it to her daily. He gave her an injection instead but said it may not work as well. He told me to check it every few days and if it gets worse or doesn't go away to call and we may have to go with the oral meds and a steroid shot.

He said it could be caused by an allergy or a URI issue but Miss Kitty is showing no other symptoms except she had a low body temp. at the vet. She's lost a pound over the past year but she's 11-12 years old now and isn't as active plus she's a long way from being thin. The vet mentioned something about a "rodent ulcer" and after reading about it online I'm very concerned because it sounds hard to cure.

Has anyone had a cat with this? How long did it take to cure and how did it go?

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm sorry to hear that Miss Kitty has this.:( Yes, Pearl had this and the vet mentined putting her on steriod pills but I told him that she was very hard to pill so he gave her a steriod shot.

A few days later she became very sick and she was running a very high fever. Some how she developed a bacteria infection. The next time she had a flare up, I just kept an eye on it and it eventually went away. Since she's been eating a much better diet, she hasn't had any more flare ups. She's now on a grain free diet so maybe this has helped her. I hope that Miss Kitty will recover quickly. Prayers and positive thoughts are being sent her way.

I think that eosinophilic granuloma complex (EGC) (http://www.petplace.com/cats/eosinophilic-granuloma-complex/page1.aspx) is the medical term that my vet used to describe Pearl's condition.

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

My orange boy, Amadeus, has EGC. He had a terrible ulcer on his upper lip, but I refused to pill him (he is impossible to medicate). He was eating a lower quality food, but like KAK, I switched to a grain free diet. It cleared up on it's own and hasn't flaired up since. Prayers for Miss Kitty's speedy recovery!

[jazzcat]

Oh wow, thank you both! I just remembered that I took some of Ripley Nutro Max Cat Senior down for Miss Kitty to try about a month ago since Ripley can't eat it. She didn't really like it much but she ate some of. Also, I forgot to buy her regular food so Dad's caretaker picked up some Friskies and that is what she has been eating. I bet the different food is the culprit!

[critters]

Purrz gets eosinophilic ulcers/rodent ulcers when he gets stressed. I pop 5 mgs of pred into him, and they disappear very quickly.