mouth sore and calcivirus

[Sorayachina]

hi all i’m in china . my cat has calcivirus i’m pretty sure and it has a sore on it’s mouth/lip. i took it to a vet and he said things like antiviral infection, nose cleansing, but didn’t go any further with offering the service. i had some antibiotics which i have been trying to give the cat for months, but has been almost impossible. i thought he would eventually fight it off and let it be since he was being so impossible. but now this sore showed up and i’m worried sick. the only thing the vet did that day was give him a pill that i had brought with me. he’s eating and drinking. but i’ve never seen this. and everyday it gets worse. has anyone had to deal with this if so how , what worked what did it work? i’m in day 3 of antibiotics. now i am just pretty much forcing it.

 

[Antonio65]

Hi S Sorayachina ,
I'm sorry to read what happened to your cat.
As you probably know, calicivirus is a virus, and as a virus it can't be eradicated once it entered a body.
Calicivirus is very likely to live in your cat as long as he lives. There can be times when the lesions go dormant and times when the infection gets visible and active.

My cat is carrier of the virus, but luckily so far she hasn't had any sign of it.
The vaccination should help, but if it's done after the cat gets the virus, it can't do anything.

The antibiotcs can fight the secondary infections, but can't help with the lesions that have to heal on their own.
A cat of mine at the local shelter had calicivirus and there were a few weeks when he couldn't even eat. I was able to help him with antibiotics and CBD oral drops. A drop a day on the lesion would help ease the pain.
The cat healed from the lesions and never got any relapse as long as he lived (one more year).

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. A few things to add to what was said above.

For viruses, building up your cat's immune system might be helpful in preventing recurrent lesions and related issues. Dimethylglycine (DMG) is one support supplement that seems to help. I don't know if you can get this particular product in China, but you might want to do some research on what similar items might be available to you - Amazon.com : VetriScience Vetri DMG Liquid Drop Immune Support Supplement for Dogs, Cats and Birds, 112mL Bottle : Pet Antioxidant Nutritional Supplements : Pet Supplies.

Secondly, that legion could also be caused by bacterial build up on your cat's food and water dishes. The bacteria can lead to what is known as Eosinophilic ulcers (also called "rodent ulcers" or indolent ulcers). They generally are well-defined, red, skin ulcers that are usually not painful or itchy, and most commonly found on the upper lip. Using stainless steel or ceramic dishes (rather than plastic, for example) that are frequently cleaned might stop the lesions from occurring. Aside from bacterial buildup from food/water dishes, the lesions can also be caused by allergies - food or environmental. Antibiotics do help to get rid of them, but if there is a cause beyond the dish issues, additional investigation may be needed. Sometimes a skin scraping (sounds worse than it is) can be done to have tissue tested for various possible causes.

If you need to give antibiotics, you might try crushing them and then mixing with a lickable cat treat to see if your cat will respond better to taking the meds. Sometimes, even hiding a crushed pill into a bite of their regular food will work. Pill pockets or pill masker, which I presume you can get, could be another option, by covering the pill with one of these and letting your cat eat it as a treat. Using the 'juice' from a can of tuna in water to mix with a crushed pill might be another option, and then giving your cat a bite of the tuna as a followup treat.