Cat's lip swollen - please help!!!

[Irene]

Hello all! I posted on this board some time ago, i don't know if any of you still remember me. My cat's lower lip got swollen yesterday. I had this happen to him like 2 years ago, and it just went away after like 5 or 6 days. Now it's swollen again. I don't know what to do. It's very hard to take him to the vet, because there is way we can put him into the carry on box, he bites, scratches.... gets wild when we try to put him into the box.
What should i do with the hes lower lip, how should i treat it? Any ideas as of what it might be? Any help will be greately appreciated.
Thank you all.

Irene

[jason]

how large is this area? color?

perhaps its acne, if there is pain involved then it might be infected lower than what you can see and would indicate the need of a prompt vet visit. also could be an ulcer, not sure.

i would schedule a visit with a vet immediately since this is not the first time, would be great to know what it is so you are better equiped for the next time (assuming this goes away on its own, which it may not).

please update.

[davet]

just a guess but i would suspect a rodent ulcer whic is an eosinophylic granuloma...need a vet to diagnose and treat..they are not fatal things but can become a neusance but get it checked

[Follow up]

THe area is not big, the same color as the lip it's self just a bit swollen, it doesn't looks like it's hurting him, since he eats hes regular food with no problems, and plays, just sometimes he licks it... I just wish it would be a bit easyer to get him to the vet, the only way to get my cat to the vet is to find the vet clinic that comes home to get him tranqualized, otherwise there is no way to take him..., just to clarify, hes a 9 years old male cat, slightly overweight, i don't know if it might be connected to that...

[MA]

I would guess rodent ulcer as well. Please take him into the vet, as davet says it isn't life threatening, but if you ignore it, and it is a rodent ulcer, he won't be able to eat at all soon. Medication will quickly clear it up. And just because it is called rodent ulcer, that doesn't even have anything to do with mice, or rats- go figure!

[Traci]

Irene, the others are right, your kitty must be seen by your vet right away. If this is an eosinophylic granuloma (rodent ulcer or indolent ulcer), its not going to go away on it's own, and it's important to remember that just because he isn't showing pain, doesn't mean he isn't IN pain. Eosinophylic granulomas ARE painful, they are actual ulcers that can blister or drain and ooze.

It's never too late to get him acclimated to a carrier so you can get him safely to your vet. Whatever means necessary (safely and carefully)....please get him seen ASAP.

[kate & kobi]

One thing you could try to get him into the carrier - "bag" him inside a pillow case first. Most cats will crawl into an enticingly open pillow case, and once they're inside they usually are calm. You can then put him, pillow case and all, into the carrier - but make sure he gets out of the pillow case okay.

I hope that doesn't sound like child abuse; it works...

[Lynn]

We've just been through the granuloma bit too and just to encourage you, it did clear up after a course of antibiotics. Course, perhaps it was not really a granuloma but that's what the vet he thought it looked like. He suggested perhaps it was an allergy, maybe to food. We did stop Iams and started another kind (Pet Recipe I think it was, from a friend) but we are more inclinced to agree with Traci that it would be an uncommon allergy because when I compared labels they were about the same. The hair is even re-growing where it had looked thin. Button is two plus and in good health. We've started keeping him indoors and feel perhaps whatever it was, it was caused by something he was getting into in a neighbor's yard. Lynn