Tongue Laceration

crazy4cats28

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I have a stray cat that adopted us a while ago. Yesterday when he showed up he was very lethargic and drooling excessivly. Today I took him to the vet and found out he has a severe tongue laceration. He was given IV antibiotics, pain meds, and fluids while he was at the vets office and was sent home with pain meds and a transdermal antibiotic to make it less pain full for him. He hadn't eaten for 2 days but after the dose of pain meds I finally got some food down him. He ended up eating 3 cans of cat food and I got him to drink some water so he's on the right track. My question is has anyone had any experience with tongue lacerations??? I guess I'm just curious how long it took before the tongue healed enough so it wasn't so painful for the kitty.

I should also mention that we are keeping him inside as long as we can. We've tried to make him a indoor cat in the past and he will do whatever necessary to get out.
 
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crazy4cats28

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Originally Posted by Dr. Doolittle

Keep doing what you're doing! It sounds like he found some good people. IME mouths heal pretty fast so he should do well.
Thank you for responding. He seems to be doing MUCH better today. I'm still giving him pain meds but he isn't crying when he eats. He's starting to groom himself again but I'm helping him out a little since when he tries to lick himself it causes his tongue to bleed. If I hold a damp washcloth he will rub whatever part he wants to clean on the washcloth.

Now I only hope that he doesn't lose part of his tongue. The vet said that it could happen but there isn't much more that could be done to prevent it. The injury was too old for the tissue to be viable to be stitched. Even if it does happen thats OK as long as he can eat and drink. We will still love him no matter what!!!!!
 

webomania

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At last this kitty landed in the hands of right people in right time. Moreover you found a good vet who diagnosed it correctly and treating nicely. As a Zoo vet, I can tell you one thing- one of my big cat (lion) lost its tip of the tongue due to some infighting and get get cured within 10 days. since the mucus membrane of the tongue so tender and able to heal within couple of days. Let us see how long it will take in your case.
 

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Mouth wounds heal relatively quickly. Saliva has properties that encourage healing.

You may have to syringe feed for a little while if eating normally is too painful.

My friend's cat lost 1/4 of her tongue by licking the inside of a Fancy Feast can but she really doesn't seem bothered by it now. So whatever happens, your cat should be just fine.
 
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crazy4cats28

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George seems to be doing really well. He isn't requiring as many pain meds now. I'm still giving him a small dose of the pain meds before he eats. He's able to grooming himself without my help. George must be feeling pretty good because he's back to trying to escape from the house (We've kept him inside since he came back from the vet last week). He has a follow up appointment with his vet tomorrow afternoon so I will know more about how his tongue is healing.
 

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George sounds like he's got a lovely home with wonderful, caring people


We crush all tin cans (cat food or human food) before we put them out in the rubbish. I just wish everyone would do the same.

As a rule, mouths (even in humans) tend to heal fairly quickly because we all have to eat to survive (well, except that time I had a huge abscess some years ago
)
 
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crazy4cats28

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Originally Posted by Python

We crush all tin cans (cat food or human food) before we put them out in the rubbish. I just wish everyone would do the same.
George wasn't injured from cat food cans but crushing them is a good idea. We have raccoons who will get in the trash cans and steal the cans and drag them all over. I don't think a cat food can could have cut his tongue as badly as it is. There is a "J" shaped cut going across his tongue about 1/3 of the way back. The majority of it was cut completely through so part of his tongue is kind of just hanging there.

I hope he's healed well enough to be able to go outside for a few minutes tomorrow. He's had enough of being in the house!!!!! I would much rather him be a house cat but I don't think the house would be able to survive him much longer. He's already pulled curtains off the wall, pushed EVERYTHING that isn't nailed down on the floor, trying to dig through the floor, walls and ceilings to get out, and anything else he can think of to annoy someone bad enough so they will let him out. The scary thing is that he's the mellow one of the bunch!!!!
 

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I know this is a really old thread but thought I’d comment in case anyone experiences the same. My cat has just recovered from a tongue laceration. He came in in the morning and had blood on his front paws. He was generally not himself so I took him to the vets. They gave him a general anesthetic to stitch him and found a huge blade of grass down his throat. Not sure if he’d clawed his tongue while trying to get that out? Anyway he despised the stitches, wouldn’t wear a collar and a day later I noticed his stitches had come out. 3 days after the vets he seemed absolutely fine, eating normally and his tongue doesn’t look red although it hasn’t fully sealed up so to speak and think it will always be split. They are very resilient, if that was me I’d be feeling very sorry for myself!
 
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