Swollen Lower Lip & Chin On Kitty

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sheellah@aol.com - 05 Jan 2008 15:52 GMT

My 8 year old male cat has a swollen lower lip, right where it goes
into the hair part of his chin. Looking at him he seems to have more
of a pink part to his mouth and pulling back the lip you can see this
swelling. I've added a link to a photo of another cat with where it is
outlined in blue.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a137/sheellah/cat.jpg

It's the same color as the rest of his gum, or lip, and doesn't look
red or inflamed, so I don't think it's from a tooth. It feels firm.
It's about 3/4" X 1/4", and raised about 1/4". It just looks raised,
slightly bumpy, with one of two small whitish spots like the head of a
pimple. It doesn't look like a tumor or shiny nodule. He was eating
from old plastic dishes, and I've ordered new stainless ones for him.
He does go outside. I wonder if something could have bitten him. We
also have some plants on the indoor terrace, and some hot pepper
plants but none of them seem bitten into. There's also some thyme. All
these plants have been there quite a while though.

I looked at all the photos and it could be an EOSINOPHILIC GRANULOMA,
but that's usually on the top lip, and redder in color. Is there any
other way to treat that besides cortisone shots? He's been on the same
food for almost 2 years so I don't think it's a food allergy. We have
been applying warm compresses, but it looks the same.

Otherwise he seems to be fine. Would really appreciate any
suggestions. Anything I can try on it that's over the counter before
he goes to the vet? Thanks!

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blkcatgal - 05 Jan 2008 18:01 GMT

You probably should have it checked by your vet. It could be feline acne
which can result from eating out of plastic dishes. Good thing you are
getting some stainless steel ones. You could try washing his lip and chin
with a mild soap like physoderm (this is what my vet recommended when my cat
developed acne). Or it could be an allergic reaction to something. FYI,
food allergies can develop at any point even if the cat has been eating the
food for years.

Years ago, my cat developed the same type of swollen lip. The vet thought
it was some type of allergic reaction and didn't seem real concerned. I
can't remember exactly if the vet prescribed anything but I know that the
swelling did go away and never came back. Probably should have your vet
take a look at it just for your own peace of mind.

Good luck.

Sue

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> My 8 year old male cat has a swollen lower lip, right where it goes
> into the hair part of his chin. Looking at him he seems to have more
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
> suggestions. Anything I can try on it that's over the counter before
> he goes to the vet? Thanks!

Reply to this Message

sheellah@aol.com - 05 Jan 2008 19:15 GMT

> You probably should have it checked by your vet. It could be feline acne
> which can result from eating out of plastic dishes. Good thing you are
[quoted text clipped - 49 lines]
> > suggestions. Anything I can try on it that's over the counter before
> > he goes to the vet? Thanks!

Thanks! Would you recall how long it took to go away? He has had it
for a little over a week I think. I ususally associate acne with a
pimple, but maybe it looks different on cats. I didn't see those type
of blackheads on his chin, but the fur there does look a bit thinner,
unless it was always like that and I never noticed. I think he's an
American Shorthair. If it doesn't go away in another week or so I will
have him looked at.

Thanks again!

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blkcatgal - 05 Jan 2008 19:29 GMT

If I remember correctly, I think it lasted 10 days, couple of weeks. Keep
an eye on it and if it seems to be getting bigger or changing, I'd take him
to the vet.

S.

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**Visit me and my cats at http://www.island-cats.com/ **
---

>> You probably should have it checked by your vet. It could be feline acne
>> which can result from eating out of plastic dishes. Good thing you are
[quoted text clipped - 63 lines]
>
> Thanks again!

Reply to this Message

Buddy's Mom - 05 Jan 2008 20:30 GMT

My cat recently was stung by a bee in that same area. After about a
week there appeared this whitish looking pimple thing. I took him to
the vet - the vet said there was nothing in there - like a pimple - it
was just some sort of irritation from the bite. It took at least a
month to go away.

You should probably have it checked by a vet though - especially with
using plastic dishes.

On Jan 5, 2:15�pm, "sheel...@aol.com" <sheel...@aol.com> wrote:

> > You probably should have it checked by your vet. �It could be feline acne
> > which can result from eating out of plastic dishes. �Good thing you are
[quoted text clipped - 61 lines]
>
> - Show quoted text -

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sheellah@aol.com - 05 Jan 2008 20:55 GMT

> My cat recently was stung by a bee in that same area. After about a
> week there appeared this whitish looking pimple thing. I took him to
[quoted text clipped - 72 lines]
>
> > - Show quoted text -

Reply to this Message

Paul M. Cook - 07 Jan 2008 03:13 GMT

On Jan 5, 3:30 pm, "Buddy's Mom" <armsh...@aol.com> wrote:

> My cat recently was stung by a bee in that same area. After about a
> week there appeared this whitish looking pimple thing. I took him to
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> > > You probably should have it checked by your vet. ?It could be feline

acne

> > > which can result from eating out of plastic dishes. ?Good thing you

are

> > > getting some stainless steel ones. ?You could try washing his lip and

chin

> > > with a mild soap like physoderm (this is what my vet recommended when my cat
> > > developed acne). ?Or it could be an allergic reaction to something.

?FYI,

> > > food allergies can develop at any point even if the cat has been eating the
> > > food for years.
>
> > > Years ago, my cat developed the same type of swollen lip. ?The vet

thought

> > > it was some type of allergic reaction and didn't seem real concerned.

> > > can't remember exactly if the vet prescribed anything but I know that the
> > > swelling did go away and never came back. ?Probably should have your

vet

> > > take a look at it just for your own peace of mind.
>
[quoted text clipped - 49 lines]
>
> > - Show quoted text -

Since steroid shots can be dangerous to cats, why don't they use a
topical steroid gel like a 1% hydrocortisone cream or gel. I was
looking for cat meds and saw this gel, and it didn't say for cats.
Could a mild 1% gel be tried that I could get from the drugstore? I
would just use a little bit and make sure it's absorbed as I wouldn't
want him to ingest a lot of it. I'm going to watch him carefully. I
don't like the idea of heavy meds for me or him.

Any homeopathic remedies for this I could try?

For you or for the cat? I think you're sweating this way too much. It
appears to be nothing to worry about. Just keep an eye on it and it should
resolve on its own. A spider bite can take a couple weeks to heal, I know
because I've had them myself. Topical steroids will be of no use and the
cat will just lick it off.

Paul

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Paul M. Cook - 07 Jan 2008 02:37 GMT

Looks like a spider bite to me. It does not appear infected. The acne
usually appears on the underside of the chin. I once took my cat in to a
vet for the exact same reason but the lower lip was hugely swollen. He gave
it a little squeeze and out popped a blob of pus. Turned out to be a
pimple. A 65 dollar pimple.

Paul

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