My cat's mouth improved on antibiotics. Is it infection or cancer?

Poor Mitchell! I'm glad to hear that his infection seems to be improving with a course of antibiotics. Since it seems to be moving in the right direction, it may be worth asking your vet if the antibiotics can be continued for a longer period of time in the hopes of avoiding more extensive diagnostics, such as a biopsy. However, if the antibiotics do not fully resolve this type of lesion within 2-6 weeks, a biopsy and culture are the only available options. Steroids may decrease inflammation, but they could also delay healing of an infection and provide false results if a biopsy is needed after steroid treatment. Again, discuss a longer course of antibiotics, but if that is unsuccessful, it sounds as though a biopsy is the only other alternative at this point. I hope that all goes well for Mitchell! He's a cutie!

It certain is possible that Kita had a very severe infection in her mouth and the antibiotics helped, and I'm glad that she seems better than she has in a long time. Without having a biopsy, a malignant tumor can't be ruled out completely, but I would keep an eye on her mouth for now. If the redness doesn't go away, or if her cheek becomes swollen again and she develops ulcers, then I would take her back into the vet for a biopsy.

Poor guy. It is hard to saw if this is more likely a tumor than inection without seeing the mass itself. However, if the antibiotics were effective they would have shown much improvement within 4-5 days after starting them. Drooling could just indicate he is nauseous. Also if the swelling has gone down tremendously since starting the medication, then this is more likely not a tumor. I hope that things work out well for your pet G moving forward. Best of luck and take care : )

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Callie. When she had her dental cleaning, did she have dental x-rays or any teeth extracted? It is in the correct location to be a tooth root abscess. If the whole tooth was not completely extracted meaning that a portion of the root was left behind, the infection will not resolve. X-rays should be taken to ensure all of the tooth was appropriately extracted. If this was done and the lesion is still present, then I would recommend a skin biopsy. This will ideally tell the origin of the skin disease such as autoimmune disease or skin cancer. You may also condiser submitting a sample for culture to identify any infection. I hope this information helps!

The picture only shows an open wound. I don’t see any tumors to speak of. So unfortunately we can’t tell if the additional masses look suspicous for cancer or not. However this open wound looks gnarly and the tissue doesn’t look happy. And the only way to confirm or deny cancer is to have the masses tested and sent to the lab. However some masses are more suspicous for cancer than others. Please feel free to repost your question with a picture of the masses that you are concerned about and we will be more than happy to give you our opinion. Best wishes and take care.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! While I agree with your veterinarian that this can be due to an infection. However, I think a fungal infection like cryptococcus seems more likely and that would only respond to anti-fungal therapy. Another possibility is cancer such as squamous cell carcinoma. I recommend you consider having him reevaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. May be a biopsy could be done at this time since it has not improved. Good luck and have a great day!

This depends on what the injection was - there are a number of long acting antibiotic injections which provide 3-10days antibiotic cover - without knowing what she was given and any improvement in her condition it is impossible to discuss in any detail.