Hi,
I have been searching the net trying to find any information regarding why my cat keeps injuring her tongue and I keep coming up empty. I thought maybe someone else might either have personal experience with this or know more about something like it.
Lilo is 3, exclusively indoors- NEVER outside. About a year ago, I noticed she was drooling and not acting herself. Upon inspection, I found that she had a slice in her tongue along the side. Took her to her vet and he prescribed an antibiotic, did not do surgery because it looked like it would heal fine on it's own, which it did. Albeit, she definitely had a tiny notch on the side. He was certain it was not due to a fight with another of our cats, his feeling was that she somehow bit down on it and cut it with her teeth.
Just yesterday, I noticed she was drooling again and opened her mouth...AGAIN, her tongue cut open. This time was not so uncomplicated. This time, it was deep slit (on the side) with a flap exposed. This time surgery was inevitable. The vet removed the flap and dead tissue, then stitched it closed. Everything looks pretty good so far, obviously we are hoping she heals well and is back to herself soon. She will have to be fed wet food that has been pulverized with water for a while, the doc doesn't want her to feel the need to chew at all.
What makes this so mysterious is that the vet noticed that besides the original cut and this new one, she also had a few small scars of previous cuts in her tongue that must have been minor enough that we never noticed and healed on their own. (she was last seen by the vet for a regular check up about 8 months ago and these scars were not there then)
Her jaw alignment is perfect, her teeth are perfect, her tongue appears totally normal and not irregular (other than the cuts, obviously). We are all just baffled as to why this keeps happening. (her vet works only with cats, this is his area of expertise and he and his staff are just left scratching their heads LOL)
He does not think she is having seizures because he is pretty certain we would know if they were that severe. She isn't exposed to anything my other cats aren't exposed to in the house, no sharp objects, no food cans with sharp edges, etc. She has never fallen or anything like that, at least in our presence-- her balance is perfect and even if she has fallen, it seems odd that this has happened multiple times. We are all convinced that the lacerations are due to her biting down, perhaps when she jumps down off of something(?), but why it is happening is just a mystery. She is the only cat I have ever had who had such an issue. (we have 9 cats currently)
I wish we could figure out what the cause is so we can prevent it from happening, and thought maybe someone else in this vast group of cat lovers would maybe have an idea or insight? I feel so bad for my little Lilo!
So that is my mystery LOL, any ideas?
I have been searching the net trying to find any information regarding why my cat keeps injuring her tongue and I keep coming up empty. I thought maybe someone else might either have personal experience with this or know more about something like it.
Lilo is 3, exclusively indoors- NEVER outside. About a year ago, I noticed she was drooling and not acting herself. Upon inspection, I found that she had a slice in her tongue along the side. Took her to her vet and he prescribed an antibiotic, did not do surgery because it looked like it would heal fine on it's own, which it did. Albeit, she definitely had a tiny notch on the side. He was certain it was not due to a fight with another of our cats, his feeling was that she somehow bit down on it and cut it with her teeth.
Just yesterday, I noticed she was drooling again and opened her mouth...AGAIN, her tongue cut open. This time was not so uncomplicated. This time, it was deep slit (on the side) with a flap exposed. This time surgery was inevitable. The vet removed the flap and dead tissue, then stitched it closed. Everything looks pretty good so far, obviously we are hoping she heals well and is back to herself soon. She will have to be fed wet food that has been pulverized with water for a while, the doc doesn't want her to feel the need to chew at all.
What makes this so mysterious is that the vet noticed that besides the original cut and this new one, she also had a few small scars of previous cuts in her tongue that must have been minor enough that we never noticed and healed on their own. (she was last seen by the vet for a regular check up about 8 months ago and these scars were not there then)
Her jaw alignment is perfect, her teeth are perfect, her tongue appears totally normal and not irregular (other than the cuts, obviously). We are all just baffled as to why this keeps happening. (her vet works only with cats, this is his area of expertise and he and his staff are just left scratching their heads LOL)
He does not think she is having seizures because he is pretty certain we would know if they were that severe. She isn't exposed to anything my other cats aren't exposed to in the house, no sharp objects, no food cans with sharp edges, etc. She has never fallen or anything like that, at least in our presence-- her balance is perfect and even if she has fallen, it seems odd that this has happened multiple times. We are all convinced that the lacerations are due to her biting down, perhaps when she jumps down off of something(?), but why it is happening is just a mystery. She is the only cat I have ever had who had such an issue. (we have 9 cats currently)
I wish we could figure out what the cause is so we can prevent it from happening, and thought maybe someone else in this vast group of cat lovers would maybe have an idea or insight? I feel so bad for my little Lilo!
So that is my mystery LOL, any ideas?
