Ulcers in kitten's mouth? Don't know what else to do. =(

Hi everyone, 

I adopted this beautiful kitten 2 weeks ago. She's approximately 2 months old. By the time I adopted her she didn't have any vaccines put. Now she's got the first dose of what we here call the "Triple Feline" (panleukopenia, rhinotracheitis and calicivirus).

Approximately 4 days after I adopter her, I found out she was having some really bad breath (that you can only notice if you get really close to her mouth). I opened her mouth and I discovered what you can see in the pic below. I took her to the vet (she doesn't show any other signs/symptoms at all) and he told me that it MIGHT be calicivirus but he wasn't sure, and that I had to wash her mouth with chlorhexidine and take her next week (tomorrow).

It's been a week and I can't see any improvements. She doesn't seem to bother about these ulcers on her mouth but I know that's not normal and I was wondering if someone here knows what it is or had a kitten with a similar health issue.

Any kind of advice or idea will be GREATLY appreciated!

Thank you so much!

Juan

What are her gums like?  Are they red and/or inflammed? A cat that  young should have light pink gums.

I've only seen sores like this in a cat that had the calicivirus which resulted in a URI, and in cats in end-stage renal failure. However, you say your kitten has no other symptoms.

It's great that you are taking such good care of her, taking her to the vet right away, following through with treatment (that must have been such fun for both of  you!) and taking her back tomorrow. I hope your vet can come up with a more definitive diagnosis and a treatment that will help her.
 

Can't add to the above, but that's a very good clear photo. 

Calicivirus was my first thought too.

Just a little bit of info

http://petsmd.com/Health/Cats/Feline-Calicivirus

Has kitten been tested for FeLV/FIV yet?  If so, is she negative?

A Lysine supplement might help. Even if it's not a herpes virus, lysine is generally good for mouth sores.

Hi Simka / OrientalSlave (what a nickname! xD) / Violet, 

Her gums look completely healthy: light pink and bright. They don't look swollen / reddish. Her mouth overall looks completely normal, except for those ulcers of course.

In fact, his overall health looks normal, she's a happy and playful cat. At first I thought that those ulcers would cause pain when eating, but it doesn't seem to be causing her pain.

The only thing I noticed if I zoom the picture are really tiny yellow/orange spots (maybe that's what a normal cat's palate looks like? =/). I don't know if those can be related to her condition or not. Apart from that there doesn't seem to be any exudate / bacterial infection.

Question: According to your experience, what's the prognosis / normal course of a calicivirus infection?

Violet: No, she has not been tested for [color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]FeLV/FIV. I mentioned that (yes I'm kinda obsessive / over-protective) but according to he vet she should have more symptoms than just the ulcers.[/color]

At about 2 months she is very young, but I would ask my vet to do the first test for FeLV/FIV now anyway and then repeat the test 3 months later for definitive results.  (Kittens can be tested for the first time at 6 weeks and then again 90 days later.)

I would also ask for the most reliable test to check for calicivirus.

Were the ulcers there before she was vaccinated?

Thanks!

WhollyCat said:

Were the ulcers there before she was vaccinated?

Thanks!

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Yes!

Oh my, I never saw anything like that before.  They look so painful.  I hope you get the problem solved.  Good luck

I don't know much about them but what about rodent ulcers? http://www.medicinenet.com/pets/cat-health/rodent_ulcers_in_cats.htm  

finnlacey said:

I don't know much about them but what about rodent ulcers? http://www.medicinenet.com/pets/cat-health/rodent_ulcers_in_cats.htm  

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You know, Lisa, I thought of that because my Maxie has/had EGC and this is closely related. But Maxie was in pain with his in his mouth, and the website you linked says it's not painful--boy would I disagree with that! Once I switched Maxie to a raw diet (a number of years ago), his symptoms disappeared. With Maxie I wanted to start with the foundation of their health--diet. I feel we were lucky that diet took care of it, because a lot of kitties sometimes don't respond to a diet change. Maxie can't have any commercial canned food at all, and I wouldn't feed kibble.

So maybe this is another thing to ask the vet about, Juan. Here's another link: http://www.vet.uga.edu/vpp/clerk/Starnes/index.php with photos. I just didn't think your kitty's photo looked like any of these, but who knows? Best to ask your vet.

YOWZA! How can that not be painful? Those sores looked horrible! I don't believe that, I don't believe it's NEVER painful. Maybe in some instances but jeez! Yes, I would ask about it. Great link Jules!

Personally I wouldn't be testing for Calicivirus right now as there is nothing beyond symptomatic treatment for it, and you don't mention having have any other cats.  If you do, you can take sensible precautions against the FCV spreading without having to test her.

And at two months I'm not sure FeLV / FIV tests are worthwhile - she could have a false positive because of acquired immunity from her mother.  If she does test +ve you would have to wait and retest when she is 6 months old.  Personally I would wait until then to get those tests done.

AFAIK, ulcers from FCV are far more commonly found on the tongue than the palette. Cats with active FCV are also usually obviously ill.

Your cat doesn't have a typical FCV ulcer pattern, and she is behaving normally - no outward signs of illness.  Personally I'd keep a close eye and see how things develop, especially if your vet is OK about seeing pets at short notice without charging a huge fee.  And, of course, I'd follow the vets advice.

BTW How did you find the ulcers?  Happened to see them when she yawned? 

Oh my goodness, the poor baby.

I hope you manage to get them sorted soon, but your being a great Dad by being concerned

How is ur kitty doing. I found this thread looking for answers to the same problem. I have a 10 week old kitten with just 1 small ulcer in her mouth and the worst breath ever. She has a vet appt tomorrow but I am a little anxious about it. I also have two other cats ages 6 and 9 who are healthy and hope to keep them that way for a long time. I would love to know how ur visit turned out and how ur kitty is doing...well, I hope). Thank you!

How is she?