Help me my cat has been diagnosed with Ulcers on tongue:(

Stressed out for my poor kitty, she unfortunately been to the vet and put through all tests to find out she has ulcers on the back of her tongue behind her tongue and is seriously in need of some relief! She is getting 2 doses daily of liquid pain killer and has already been medicated with both antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds yesterday during her $750 visit to the vet.. now to get her to eat again is not such an easy task. I'm sure you already figured, lol! She did eat last night, today she doesn't want anything to do with the (Stage 2 Gerber chicken baby food)food! Just the smell is repulsive to her. The doctor told me if she doesn't eat she will have to be put on an IV to get nutrients! I want to avoid that, after dishing out all this money already I am trying to figure out some way to sooth her pain so she can eat any ideas?

i am sending an sos to @catwoman707  for you

in the meantime please dilute some of her regular food with water so she doesn't dehydrate

OK I have been diluting her soft food! She has an array of choices along with her wet food, 3 different flavors as well as 3 different flavors of baby foo,tuna juice, milk,water, even cool whip(absolutely her favorite), she still didn't want to eat it. On the happier side of the situation she is loving me and is all over me with kisses and follows me out from hiding every time I leave the room which are good signs of improvement! Plus starting to get her chatter back up to par!

I'm sorry to burst your bubble but the voice of experience tells me those are NOT good signs.

Coupled with not eating she is in crisis mode...imo

Why do u believe that to be crisis mode if she has gone from hiding under the bed with no social interaction at all and not to mention her tense little body was so non friendly were she now is cuddled next to me purring and snoring like a champ relaxed as a limp biscuit, lol! If you ask me that sounds like improvement and not crisis mode! Care to explain ?

yes i do...Firstly, I just checked to see if any advisors or mentors are currently signed in to help u further and noone is. I would suggest u call a 24hour vet and describe what's going on and see what they say.Your vet told you if she wouldn't eat she would need intervention. That's how serious it is. She is not eating ANYTHING u offer. She is coming to u for comfort, perhaps because she is truly VERY bad off.. Cats purr when they are very ill. They will be very affectionate even if they spent their whole lives aloof and distant. It's a fact. Sorry.

I'm not trying to scare u. I'm trying to help u and your cat. goodnight and good luck.

sphelan107 said:

Stressed out for my poor kitty, she unfortunately been to the vet and put through all tests to find out she has ulcers on the back of her tongue behind her tongue and is seriously in need of some relief! She is getting 2 doses daily of liquid pain killer and has already been medicated with both antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds yesterday during her $750 visit to the vet.. now to get her to eat again is not such an easy task. I'm sure you already figured, lol! She did eat last night, today she doesn't want anything to do with the (Stage 2 Gerber chicken baby food)food! Just the smell is repulsive to her. The doctor told me if she doesn't eat she will have to be put on an IV to get nutrients! I want to avoid that, after dishing out all this money already I am trying to figure out some way to sooth her pain so she can eat any ideas?

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Hi there. How is your kitty doing today?

I am sorry to hear about the ulcers. This can be a very painful situation, and there are a couple of causes that I am aware of. Either oral cancer, which is something one of my cats developed, or feline eosinophilic granuloma complex or rodent ulcers which are sores that can happen in and around the mouth. This second situation is an auto-immune disorder which can be highly treatable. Squamous cell or oral cancer on the other hand is quite aggressive and the outcome is often fatal when surgery is not possible due to where the masses appear. The treatment is usually palliative in this case.

Has your kitty had any blood work done as part of the recent tests? A biopsy might be necessary to determine the nature of the ulcers. If the cause is ECG, which I hope it is, then treatment may consist of steroid therapy such as prednisone or prednisolone, but also involves determining and preventing the triggers that are causing the ulcers.

Getting a kitty to eat can be quite a challenge when there are ulcers in the mouth. Its good that she is on some pain medication.This will help.  I would keep in touch with your vet however, if you feel that the current medication is not effective enough. It is obviously important that she continues to eat as cats cannot go without food for long. Adding warm water to wet food to make a gruel is one method. Serving wet food with some tuna or clam juice mixed in. Baby food is another option as it is soft and easily consumed. Perhaps you can try a different brand or flavor. Nothing with onions or garlic however, as these items can make a cat sick.

Please keep us updated, and let us know how things are going. Many positive vibes for your little one ..  

In my experience, ulcers are most often caused by stomatitis or calicivirus.

If your cat is a healthy adult I would say more likely stomatitis.

This can develop at anytime during a cat's life, so regardless of her age or never having signs like this prior, it can very well be.

Stomatitis is an auto-immune response to her teeth. Her body suddenly sees the teeth as invaders, not recognizing them as part of her anatomy, and creates a reaction such as oral ulcers, possible inflammation, eventual tooth loosening, etc as it progresses.

Has she had bloodwork done? 

The anti-inflammatory drug will help her soon, and vet will need to find the root cause of this, but meanwhile she can get in a much worse state without food, so it might be a good idea to let the vet know asap about her not eating, and he should give you an appetite stimulant for her.

Warming her watered down food is good, the aroma will often entice them to eat better.

Water intake is critical too, so if nothing works to get her to eat, I want to suggest syringing her until she starts feeling the meds take effect.

Vet can give you a large syringe, simply feed her pate type canned with water added, into her cheek area. It's important to keep her well hydrated and prevent hepatic lipidosis. This is caused by a lack of food over a 24 hour period, which makes her body break down stored fat in her system, using this for fuel, but a cat's liver is not all that great at processing fat, and gets overwhelmed when the body is using stored fat, causing the liver to shut down.

This is extremely difficult to reverse and can be deadly. If caught and treated immediately, it is a long recovery period, many months even. Very dramatic, so we don't want this happening.

Get those calories into her bod however you need to.

This recently happened with my kitten, and the vet recommended Nutrical. It comes in a tube and I rubbed about 1/4 inch on the roof of her mouth. It's a gel so it's palatable and helped her nutritionally until she turned the corner. Hope this helps

I haven't experienced this with my herpes kitty, but I have heard of it happening with herpes kitties.  If it turns out to be something associated with herpes, it's very treatable and can often be controlled by diet and keeping stress to a minimum. 

I wonder if she ate yet

Also wondering how your kitty is doing today: has she been more willing to eat or have you been thinking about further vet visit to help with that?

Because some of the things that people have raised, which your kitty's mouth ulcers could, be I am going to start with:    Mouse had serious ulcers in his mouth from around 8 months to 1 1/2, and despite the health issues he has / has had he is a very happy and healthy cat.   I am hoping very much that your kitty girl has something similar going on which she also grows out of a little and can be well controlled.

Mouse used to have nasty ulcers / lesions on his tongue, throat, tonsils and angle of his jaw and it went on for about 12 months after he started teething.  He had had problems with his gums before that I suspect but I wasn't aware of signs to look for and didn't realize his meaty breath meant he should get a health check.  Tests all came back negative but after about a year he started to show other symptoms like runny eyes and sneezing, and the vets diagnosed feline herpes.  He's never had upper respiratory tract infections or eye infections but the iritation is obviously there sometimes, and as soon as his eye starts to run the vet has been able to see tiny ulcers on his eye.  Like @stephanietx  has said, it is unusual but for Mouse the mouth lesions (stomatitis as some vets call them) were the main symptom of feline herpes.  He has an element of auto immune reaction to plaque and gets red rims to his gums if his teeth are not kept very clean, and plaque builds up more quickly than most cats for him.  It is very obvious after just one day if he isn't kept on a strict diet of dental food and daily enzyme tooth paste.  

hoping we get an answer tomorrow, thinking not.

@sphelan107   I hope that you are being kept busy with a little kitty that is feeling better with pain medication taking effect, and now eating better.     It would be good to hear how your cat is when you are able to log on and post again.

Hello All! Sorry for the delay in my replies to everyone and their advice, concerns, and most of all the wonderful words of advice and we'll wishes for my little girl Piper! I unfortunately had to say goodbye to my baby this past Monday, it was the hardest thing in the world but she was suffering greatly and after many visits and failed attempts to get her back to good health she eventually was just not responding! Thank you all for your wisdom and caring thoughts

Thank you for letting us know about your loss.  I am so sorry you have lost your little girl and my heart goes out to you.  Seeing her in pain as you did must have been extremely hard.  Try to take some comfort knowing she is now free from that pain.  You obviously loved her very much and did everything you could for her,  she was a lucky cat to live in such a loving home.  She lives on in your heart and memories so take good care of your self.

sphelan107 said:

Hello All! Sorry for the delay in my replies to everyone and their advice, concerns, and most of all the wonderful words of advice and we'll wishes for my little girl Piper! I unfortunately had to say goodbye to my baby this past Monday, it was the hardest thing in the world but she was suffering greatly and after many visits and failed attempts to get her back to good health she eventually was just not responding! Thank you all for your wisdom and caring thoughts

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I am so very sorry for your loss. It is never an easy decision to make, but the consolation is knowing that they are no longer in any pain. RIP sweet Piper.

Sphelan107, the team at TCS offer our condolences.  You did everything you did for her and she was blessed to have you.  

Threads are locked after someone has suffered such a loss, as a sign of respect. If you feel it is appropriate for you, we invite you to place a tribute at http://www.thecatsite.com/f/19/crossing-the-bridge.

      RIP Piper