My cat's lips are swollen and red. Could it be his broken fang tooth?

We had some problems with clients attaching photos yesterday. And I'm sorry we haven't been able to get to your question until now. Hopefully you have been able to have your vet see Ollie today. There are a few possibilities, but if Ollie had any roots of his teeth that were left behind during his full mouth extraction (which can be common regardless of how careful we are), those roots could form an abscess which would explain the swelling along the face, the enlarged lymph node and the blood in the food. Hopefully he is on some antibiotics and feeling better, but I suspect that your vet will need to sedate him to take some x-rays and determine the source of the problem. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and that Ollie is feeling better. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I just had a case like this last week! The broken tooth likely has root exposure. This is an open pipeline to the blood supply. I recommend having Johnnie seen by a vet tomorrow or Tuesday. The only way to fix it is to see a specialist in dental work (root canal). Otherwise it needs to be extracted (what I did for the cat last week). Johnnie does not need the tooth for eating but I do recommend having it addressed to prevent further problems. Good luck and kisses to Johnnie!

Oh no, poor Ollie. The swollen face could be from an accident, getting into something toxic, a fight, or an allergic reaction. I cannot say what is causing his symptoms without seeing him in person, but I can say for sure he needs to see a vet now to diagnose what is causing it. Please take him into an ER vet clinic; if there isn't one in your area, there will be a vet on call for emergencies. The information to reach that vet is found on a clinic's answering machine or website. Best of luck.

Hello and thank you for taking such good care of Rosie. I really appreciate you taking the time to submit pictures of her lips and mouth. Cats can sometimes get the same kinds of mouth and lip diseases that people get. Perhaps she bumped it against something or scraped it on rough surface as she was being curious. Another reason for swollen lips are possible allergic reactions to insect bites or noxious substances. In addition, dental disease or improper teeth occlusion can can cause lip abrasions. My best advice is this: As long as she is eating, drinking, and playing normally, give the lip 3 days to improve and get smaller. If there is no improvement in that time, or if the lip gets bigger in the meantime, please have her seen by your veterinarian for a thorough oral examination. I hope this helps. Thanks for your question.

Oreo could have in addition to the broken tooth a jar fracture. I recommend he be checked out by a veterinarian as soon as possible. This is because the broken tooth can lead to a tooth root abscess as well as if the jaw is broken it will need some sort of stabilization procedure. In the meantime try feeding Oreo a very liquid diet such as a gruel of his normal food and plenty of water and keep it indoors at all times. Do not give any human pain medication as it can be very toxic to cats.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Korra. I recommend that she sees a veterinarian as soon as you are able. The lip is swollen and possibly ulcerated. This is likely uncomfortable for her. The veterinarian will examine her especially looking inside the the mouth. She could have further wounds in her mouth or even a bad tooth. Treatment will be started based on these findings. I do not believe an over-the-counter medication will help. Do not give any over-the-counter pain medications either as they are toxic to cats. I hope this information helps!

Ouch - yes, poor Oliver does appear to have a pretty large oral ulcer. Most of the time, these oral ulcers are caused by an eosinophilic granuloma complex, but they can be associated with ulcerated masses, such as a squamous cell carcinoma or melanoma. I'm glad to hear that you're taking Oliver to his vet as soon as possible. They'll be able to examine him and will likely recommend either taking a biopsy of this lesion so that a pathologist can help to determine the cause of the lesion. Knowing the exact culprit will help to guide the treatment, which is likely to include various oral medications, such as steroids, immunosuppressants, and sometimes antibiotics. I'm really glad to hear that Oliver is still eating and acting normally at home! Until your appointment, you may want to offer him canned food (if you aren't already), as this may be more comfortable for him to eat than dry food. Otherwise, there isn't anything else that you can do at home at this point aside from closely monitoring him for any changes in his appetite, behavior, and water consumption. I've included some articles below for further reading. I hope that everything goes well! https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/eosinophilic-disease/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/eosinophilic-disease-in-cats/