Red mark on cats tongue?

[hillyy13]

Hi, I noticed a red mark on the underside of my cats tongue today. Does anyone know what this might be and if it warrants a vet visit?

He is a 3.5 year old Persian, on daily steroids for allergies and also has stage 1 kidney disease. Thanks!

 

[cmshap]

Is your cat a fast eater?

Mine is a scarfer, and he has bit his tongue at least a couple of times. I've read that this can commonly happen among particularly fast eaters.

However, when I noticed it, he had a red sore spot on the edge of his tongue, which was visible from the top/side.

 

[hillyy13]

He does scoff his food and it looks to be near his bottom tooth. I’ll keep an eye over the next few days and hope that is all it is!

 

[FeebysOwner]

You can try slow feeder dishes to see if that helps. Also, take periodic pics so you can see if it is getting worse. The log of those pics could help if you need to see a vet. Keep us posted!

 

[hillyy13]

You can try slow feeder dishes to see if that helps. Also, take periodic pics so you can see if it is getting worse. The log of those pics could help if you need to see a vet. Keep us posted!

Thanks FeebysOwner, this morning it looks a little less red and completely flat! I will keep monitoring

 

[cmshap]

Thanks FeebysOwner, this morning it looks a little less red and completely flat! I will keep monitoring

That last picture you posted looks a lot more like what I noticed on my cat's tongue when he bit it. Darker pink color, more "blob" like shape (as opposed to bright red and almost perfectly round like in your first pic).

It could be that you captured the injury right after it happened in the first pic, and then the second pic is what it looks like while healing.

 

[cmshap]

There's a TCS article on food scarfing, BTW:

Here's How to Keep Your Cat from Scarfing Down Their Food - TheCatSite

Stop your cat from scarfing down their food with our comprehensive guide. Uncover the reasons behind fast eating, explore real-life experiences, and discover effective strategies for encouraging healthier eating habits in your pet.

thecatsite.com

 

[hillyy13]

There's a TCS article on food scarfing, BTW:

Here's How to Keep Your Cat from Scarfing Down Their Food - TheCatSite

Stop your cat from scarfing down their food with our comprehensive guide. Uncover the reasons behind fast eating, explore real-life experiences, and discover effective strategies for encouraging healthier eating habits in your pet.

thecatsite.com

Thanks! It’s going down more and more as the day goes on so think it could well be from biting his tongue! Need to stop him from scoffing his food in 2 mins flat haha

 

[cmshap]

Thanks! It’s going down more and more as the day goes on so think it could well be from biting his tongue! Need to stop him from scoffing his food in 2 mins flat haha

Aside from tongue-biting, like the article says, eating too fast can cause gastrointestinal issues. That's the main reason why I had to address this with my cat. He would eat so fast he'd vomit.

He's slowed down a bit in his older age, but I still have to control the pace. Especially with dry food (he's on a combo of wet and dry).

 

[neely]

Mine is a scarfer, and he has bit his tongue at least a couple of times.

That was my first thought when I saw the initial pic. Great minds think alike.

I don't feel the fact that he has stage 1 kidney disease or on steroids would affect his tongue this way. Glad that it appears to be healing and hopefully will disappear soon. However, if it continues to reoccur even after implementing something to slow down his eating habits you may want to send a pic to your vet and ask their opinion. Good luck and fingers crossed it doesn't happen again.

 

[hillyy13]

That was my first thought when I saw the initial pic. Great minds think alike.

I don't feel the fact that he has stage 1 kidney disease or on steroids would affect his tongue this way. Glad that it appears to be healing and hopefully will disappear soon. However, if it continues to reoccur even after implementing something to slow down his eating habits you may want to send a pic to your vet and ask their opinion. Good luck and fingers crossed it doesn't happen again.

Thanks, I just checked again and it’s basically gone which is good! I did read it could be an ulcer due to kidney disease but this is usually in the much later stages, and I don’t think an ulcer would disappear that quickly!

 

[hillyy13]

For comparison - I will keep in case I need to show vet in future!

 

[neely]

I just checked again and it’s basically gone which is good! I did read it could be an ulcer due to kidney disease but this is usually in the much later stages, and I don’t think an ulcer would disappear that quickly!

I agree it is more common in the later stages and since he is not showing any of the other symptoms that go along with this, e.g. loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea and even bad breath I doubt this is the cause. If it helps put your mind at ease, our Persian is approx. 13 years old and has stage 2 kidney disease but does not have any sores on or around his tongue.

 

[hillyy13]

I agree it is more common in the later stages and since he is not showing any of the other symptoms that go along with this, e.g. loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea and even bad breath I doubt this is the cause. If it helps put your mind at ease, our Persian is approx. 13 years old and has stage 2 kidney disease but does not have any sores on or around his tongue.

Yeah he has none of them symptoms and eating like a pig as usual! I’m grateful in a way we caught his elevated kidney numbers early as we’ve been able to manage it very well and his numbers are now almost back in normal range. I hope your kidney cat is doing okay!

 

[cmshap]

Thanks, I just checked again and it’s basically gone which is good! I did read it could be an ulcer

It's much, much more likely to be a simple wound, given how fast it's healed. Lacerations inside the mouth/on the tongue heal up to 10 times faster than skin wounds in humans and other mammals.