My cat has inflamed mouth, fur loss, and sores. Is it an allergy?

That looks like it could be a contact allergy, possibly to plastic. If you use plastic bowls to feed or water her, I strongly recommend changing them out for glass, ceramic or stainless steel. See how she does over a couple of weeks. If there is no improvement, gets worse or recurs, then have her seen by your vet so the underlying cause can be determined and treated.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to see that Nitro is having these problems. These areas of concern could be due to allergies, immune system mediated, or contact with irritants. There is a syndrome in cats called Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex that is an immune mediated problem thought to be caused by allergies, most times to the bite of fleas, mites, etc. Only a biopsy would be able to adequately diagnose these areas. Food allergies/food insensitivities may also be involved. Looks like something you should let your vet take a look at. Most likely they would use a steroid injection with or without antibiotics. These can be complex to figure out but some tests can be done and a treatment plan can be formulated. Plastic feeding and water bowls have always been implicated as possible sources of the irritated areas so you should switch to porcelain or glass bowls. I hope this helps and I hope you and your vet can make Nitro more comfortable.

Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. I don't think it looks like an ulcer. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

Unfortunately the main thing that can help is steroids but it is also very important to try and take out all potential external causes such as fleas (treat him every month) and food allergy (feed him a prescription hypoallergenic diet).

Yes, a contact allergy to food or bowls is quite likely, but an allergy to bedding, cleaning products or air freshener could also be possible. I would change her diet to royal canin hypoallergenic which is hydrolyzed in order to avoid sensitivities and change all bowls to stainless steel and rinse them thoroughly daily with warm water

This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (advocate or advantage), then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

This is a common look for cats who are allergic to their food bowls -- if any of his bowls are plastic, I'd recommend switching them out for glass and washing daily (or at least every other day). It could be caused by other allergies or a bug bite as well, and often goes away on it's own. If switching bowls (if applicable) and giving it a week doesn't make it go away, I'd recommend a vet visit.