New rodent ulcer while ON prednisolone & clavamox

Butch, who is a little over 10 month has been dealing with rodent ulcers since 3-12-15 & it's not a flea issue.  He's had a few depo shots at first and since it didn't go away, just pop up in a new spot we did the following:

Removed all plastic bowls, dishes, plates, & toys. Also all blankets are 100% cotton.

Switched food to grain, soy, beet free & it's a rabbit based diet.

They always start out as a tiny bump & within a week turn into this.  

So he has been on prednisolone since then and I'm just not sure what the health issues are going to be, being on steroids for such a long time.

The poor little guy also has herpes on top of all this.  He seemed perfectly healthy when we adopted him, then all this stuff started to happen.  It's been hard since we lost our beloved Oliver last Oct after going through a year of extensive surgery for bladder stones and having it all reappear.  All I wanted was a healthy kitty and it seems like there is no end.  Don't get me wrong, I love this little guy, but knowing that we can't even go away for a weekend trip is hard.  We tried vacation a few months ago and his herpes flare up was really bad.  But anyway, I'm just looking for some hope and a light at the end of this tunnel on the ulcers.  Oh, and yes, he is under Vet care for all of this.

I'm so sorry no one has responded  to your post until now

I'm sure this issue with Butch is most discouraging, particularly after what happened to Oliver

Honestly, I don't know too much about Rodent Ulcers, but I did  manage to find this thread, which lists a few things in it, such as giving him L-Lysine and a single protein food.  You said he is on a rabbit based diet, but is it a single protein (like a hypo allergenic food?)    Here is the thread and maybe you will see something helpful in it: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/272675/steroid-alternatives-for-rodent-ulcers

Also hoping that by me posting and bumping this up, others with some experience with this will jump on board.

What kind of bowls did you change him over to? Also I would be worried about be on steroids for a long time.  Are you feeding canned food or dry food? 

Mrsgreenjeens – I think I've read every site out there and I've tried several different things just trying to get this over with. Since he has herpes he gets lysine every day and has been since we adopted him early this year. We feed him Primal raw rabbit mixed with a little Instinct boost which has turkey meal & chicken fat, but the Vet said that it wasn't a concern since it's most likely chicken & beef meats are the issues. We're headed to the pet store tonight to pick up limited ingredient version and some Mauri kangaroo & bushtail can food. He's getting picky about what he will eat now.

Nansiludie – all dishes where switched to stainless steel and clear glass after the first one popped up. The only contact he has with plastic would be the carpet that I'm sure has nylon in it. Otherwise I either make all their own toys using cotton fabric made in the USA,or by toys made with rabbit fur. The Vet doesn't seem concerned about the Prednisolne since it's ½ pill (2.5mg)every other day says it's a really low dose.

I've been reading about the Transfer Factor & I'm going to order some this weekend. This makes about the 6^th one he's had now since it started March 6^th, and it's never in the same spot. It doesn't seem to bother him and it's not bleeding, just looks awful.

Pics are from this morning outside in the kat kennel.

Okay, he is a handsome cat. I wonder if the Vet would let you use hydrocortisone cream on it? Maybe it itches him and he picks it/licks it and it doesn't have a chance to heal? When you fix his food, could you leave out the extra instinct boost? Maybe something in it that doesn't agree with him? Also with any food changes, it'll be at least a month until you will see changes. I was wondering if you could remember if anything changed when he got the very first rodent ulcer?

He doesn't paw, lick or scratch at it, at all so I don't think he's even aware of it.  I think it kicked in when he had a bad herpes flare up, and it's just ongoing since then.  One disappears and then another one shows up.  I'm picking up some Instinct limited tonite.  It has:

(Rabbit Meal, Peas, Tapioca, Canola Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Rabbit, Natural Flavor, Montmorillonite Clay, Coconut Oil, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Salt, DL-Methionine, Vitamins (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Sodium Selenite), Taurine, Green Tea Extract, Rosemary Extract)

He won't eat the straight raw.  And I know he'll have to be a a "special" diet for at least 8 weeks to know if this is what is causing it.  He does love his kibble, it's kitty crack.

He IS quite he handsome cat

I've read good things about Transfer Factor

I see the Primal Rabbit does contain Sardine Oil, Coconut Oil and some fruits and vegies, so those could be the culprit.  I don't know...I would try ONE single protein rather than a couple.  Since he loves his kibble, are you picking up the kibble to match the wet, or are you just getting Instinct limited kibble?  (I THINK it comes both ways)

Maybe you could try getting a referral to a veterinary dermatologist. I'm sorry you and your poor kitty are going through this. I have a herpes kitty and know how frustrating it can be and having the ulcers too is certainly a lot to deal with.

Has the vet done specific allergic testing? I also think a dermatologist can give better or at least another perspective to treatment. How much l-lysine are you giving him? When my cat was having eye problems related to herpes her Opthalmologist put her up to 1000mg 2x a day, but PLEASE speak with your vet first before increasing that high.

Diet:  Instinct just came out with a rabbit limited canned so we got some of that along with the rabbit limited kibble also.

Lysine: 435 X 2 daily for maintenance.

The Vet hasn't said anything about testing and taking him in would just cause another sever flare up so I try to avoid it unless it's the last resort.  For now I'm going to stick with the rabbit diet and see how this does.

Thanks all for the input.

UPDATE: Since we've had Butch on a strict diet of Natures Instinct limited rabbit formula soft & dry along with changing the litter to "The Worlds Best Litter" I think the ulcers are under control.  He's had a few pop up one at a time, but they go away in 2-3 days.  So I'm guessing it's a diet thing since his body is adjusting to a single protein of rabbit with the occasional Mauri's kangaroo.  He LOVES the kangaroo but it's so expensive to feed daily.   We continue with the l-lysine, probiotics, immune booster supplements along w/ colloidal silver.  We'll keep this up until no more new ulcers pop up for a few months, then I might back off on the silver but continue with the rest of the additives.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel, I so happy to finally see this.  And another thing we do daily is lift Butch up in our daily prayers.

You might also try calming agents to help him de-stress.  We run Feliway 24/7 and it helps all our kitties.

I've been running those for a few months.  Tip: put them on a timer and run 2 hrs on, 2 hrs off to extend the length of product vile.