My stray cat has a swollen lip and skin issues. Does he need a vet?

Poor Sedrick. Most cats with rodent ulcers and severe allergies like this need antibiotics and steroids to heal. I would have your vet take a look at him. Your vet will be able to prescribe him the appropriate medicine to help him feel better. If you don’t think you can give pills, talk to your vet about an injectable options as there may be an antibiotic and steroid available so you don’t have to treat at home. Also make sure you start I’m on a high quality flea preventative like comfortis, cheristan, or advantage multi. Fleas also live in the environment so make sure you treat your house and yard for fleas as well. I hope this helps.

Rodent ulcers, or eosinophilic granuloma complex, are typically allergy related. Identifying and treating the underlying allergy is the foundation for treatment. Have Sophie examined by your veterinarian. Discuss allergy testing, hydrolyzed diets and food elimination trials. Your vet can dispense or administer steroids to decrease inflammation and antibiotics to treat any infection.

This appears to be what is commonly referred to as a 'rodent ulcer'. The most common cause for these to pop up in cats is an allergy, typically to something in the food. Sometimes these will resolve in their own, however sometimes they can become infected, long lasting, and problematic. If they become very large and painful it can discourage the cat from wanting to eat. If this ulcer has been present for more than 2 weeks it is probably not going to go away on its own. At that time I would recommend taking you cat to the vet for treatment. Nathaniel may need antibiotics and an immunsuppresive drug like steroids or Atopica. If the lesions keep coming back he may need to be on an immunosuppressive long term and/or a hypoallergenic diet. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

This looks to be a rodent ulcer (eosinophilic granuloma complex). She really needs to see a vet for this issue. This is not something you can treat with over the counter medications. Also, there are not many over the counter medications that are safe for cats. These lesions are treated, typically, with antibiotics and steroids. Likely the reason for it is hereditary or an underlying allergy. Please refer to this article for further information. ( https://www.thesprucepets.com/rodent-ulcers-in-cats-5093328 ) The sneezing is not likely related to the swollen lips. That seems to be a separate issue. Either way, Luna needs to see a vet.

I am sorry to hear that! I do think going to the vet would be a good idea. Cats can get many types of lumps at their mouths. From your description one thing I would want to rule out is eosinophilic plaques. These can be caused by allergies so getting on a low allergen food (I would recommend prescription due to cross-contamination at the manufacturing level) and medications can be vital! Of course it is hard to tell without looking at her so your vet may want to rule tests or take a biopsy first! I hope this helps!

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).