cat mouth problem

[firewoman]

My cat has recurring mouth problems that manifest by the corners of her mouth swelling into hard feeling nodules and getting pustules. No symptoms in her eyes, no sneezing, etc. She seems to feel fine and isn't bothered by this but it looks awful. Her bottom lip will swell as well. Antibiotics don't help and my vet doesn't know what else to do. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Thanks for any responses. Private emails are fine as long as the above subject line is used so that I don't think it is spam.

[Traci]

Ask your vet to test for eosinophilic granulomas (i.e., indolent ulcers or plaque type granulomas). The reoccurance is a red flag that indolent ulcers could very well be the problem.

To confirm, a biopsy would be necessary, but conservative approaches would be to try a hypoallergenic diet, possibly treat the flare-ups with oral prednisolone. Stress can exacerbate the condition, so be sure to keep her stress reduced to the barest minimum. Also ask your vet to rule out flea allergy dermatitis, other mite and insect allergic reactions, and skin conditions.