swollen upper lip?

One of our cats has this reoccurring problem where her lip swells up and gets quite red. It's looks very painful but she still eats normally and drinks normally. We have tried various foods and we still have the same problem thinking it was allergies. She gets her water from a drinking fountain so that's pretty clean. I feel so bad for her when it happens and it comes and goes. Sometimes she's fine for months other times she gets it twice in a month. Does anybody have any suggestions?

It's a kind of autoimmune thing. It can be triggered by allergies. It's called rodent ulcer, proper name is Eosinophilic Granuloma. I don't know a ton about it, and I'm sure those with more experience will chime in, but at least now you have something to Google .

Sounds like a rodent ulcer.  They can be triggered by stress or changes in environment.  I know a few people who give evening primrose oil and it helps their kitties.
 

Thanks for the info I will be asking our vet about it tonight.
 

Food is frequently a factor. What foods have you tried? There could be a common ingredient in them all that she's reacting to and that would be why you didn't see any improvement when you switched. Usually a novel protein source (ie something she hasn't had before, like venison or rabbit) canned or raw food can help.
 

I couldn't begin to list the wet foods we've tried there's been so many. Dry food we went from Authority to kirkland.
 

But have you ever tried a novel protein wet food, and eliminated the kibble? Dry food more often than not tends to be the culprit.

I've been dealing with EGC in my cat, only in his paws.

Here's an article about the condition:

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=656

Here's the thread I started--you'll find some diet help here:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/249401/eosinophilic-granular-complex-possible-lymphoma

Hope you see some improvement soon.

This article also gives good info: Eosinophilic granuloma complex Have you tried giving her salmon oil? One 500 mg. capsule a day, pierced and squeezed over her food might help. Dry food is often the culprit - in our cat's case, we found out he was allergic to soy and beet pulp, both of which are in many dry foods. He hasn't had a rodent ulcer in years since eliminating them from his diet, and when he did get them, the salmon oil really helped. He still gets it every week for maintenance.