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My cat has a sore lip. Is it an infection or other mouth problem?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Hello I have just recognized a problem on my cats lip. Seems as the one in the article I have seen

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Amy Poole, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on June 26th, 2017

It is difficult to tell form the picture alone what is going on with your cat's lips unfortunately. It almost looks like she/he has a sore or even infection in her/his whiskers and commissure of the mouth. I would recommend you take your cat to your vet for an exam. She/he may need antibiotics to resolve this and possibly pain medication is she/he is is uncomfortable. I would also be concerned there may be sores in the mouth that need to be addressed if you are seeing them along the outside. It is possible your cat licked something toxic or caustic causing these problems. I would look around your home to see if there is anything she/he could have gotten in to. I hope your cat improves quickly!

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Lauren Kennedy, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on January 24th, 2018
Your cat is suffering from rodent ulcers. This is an inflammatory reaction caused by the immune system. It is usually related to an underlying allergy.

I would recommend taking your cat to the vet to be examined. Common treatments include immune modulating drugs, like steroids or cyclosporine, antibiotics to prevent the infection from getting worse, and a hypoallergenic diet. It is also important that your cat be on flea medication because a flea allergy can contribute to this as well.

This condition can usually be well controlled with medication and diet change. The most important thing is getting it treated soon before becomes any worse.

I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Jenna Beyer, DVM, MBA, cVMA
Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist
Published on August 3rd, 2019
A picture might help a little more, but sores on the lips of cats are pretty common, and can be caused by many things, including dental disease, rodent ulcer (see article below), autoimmune disease, cancer, etc. To know for sure, your cat needs to be examined by a vet and a sample of the lesion examined under a microscope (either by a needle sample or a biopsy).

https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/eosinophilic-disease/
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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