Addison has a fat lip! Eosinophilic Granuloma & Acne?

[AddFran]

Well, two weeks after having taken Addison to the vet for a mysterious "injury" bald spot/scab on her rear leg (seemed to be due to a bite mark from wrestling with Franny)...she woke up this morning with a fat lip.

Edit: It's the middle area of her bottom lip.

It doesn't seem to hurt her at all, she's still very playful and is biting her toys, Franny and ME when I tried to look at it. She was play biting though like she always does. She's also eating and drinking normally...

I don't think it's serious because she doesn't seem affected by it at all, but it is alarming and rather strange! I swear, this little kitten has had more ailments in 7 months than Franny has had in 5 years! In fact, Franny has never been sick, hurt, etc. EVER.

Has anyone ever experienced this?

Quick History: The two cats wrestle all day long and when Addison is not wrestling with Franny she is climbing high on things, playing in our christmas tree or leaping from one piece of furniture way far across to another. It's very possible she fell on something or smacked herself on something because she is fearless and she falls off of things all day long.
Can a cat really get a fat lip though, or is this more likely to be a reaction to something or an infection?

I DID buy a NEW canned food (natural balance) and she's only had it 2 times before this happened....Allergic reaction???

Don't worry, if it gets worse or it doesn't go away in a day or two, she'll be back to the vet, but I'm so paranoid I like to hear everyone's feedback here, particularly Dr. Jean...

Thanks!

[coaster]

don't know what it is. it may be an injury; that should resolve in a few days, I would think. if it's an abcess, it'll need a vet visit for possible drainage and antibiotics. watching and waiting a few days would be what I'd do, to see if it gets better on its own or worse. you say there's no change in behavior or appetite, which is a good sign.

keep us posted.

oh, boy, I thought of the holidays coming up. that always throws a complication into it.

Tim

[AddFran]

It wouldn't be my life if there wasn't something complicated about the situation!

I hope it's not a tooth thing! She seems so young for that, but I guess you never know. She is eating and BITING as normal though!

[AddFran]

One more thing...
Addison carries around these little fake mice ALL the time. However, after time they tend to get ripped up and torn apart. I find them and throw them away, but lately she has taken to putting this very same mouse inside her food dish.

Every day I find the same mouse in her food dish and it's in bad shape! Could thes torn up little mice (plastic bodies under that fake fur) be spreading bacteria or causing an infection or something to form on her mouth. When you think about it, her bottom lip area is the area that these little mice are constantly hanging from her mouth...
Call me crazy, it's just a thought. I'm going to throw them all away - though she'll be very sad.

[coaster]

addfran - your last msg reminded me of something I read a couple months ago: that in some cases cat acne can be caused by plastic food dishes. (that's why I bought porcelain dishes). your mention of the plastic inside the fabric reminded me. it seems pretty far-fetched, but I'm sure at this point you're trying to think of every possible cause, so I thought I'd throw it out for what it's worth. we'll see if it gets better when you take the toy away.

Tim

[Ducky]

Another message board I post on, a girl there, her cat had a fat lip too. It turned out to be cat acne. Does she have any sores on her chin? Or bald patches?

There is also something called a "rodent ulcer" which another cat owner on the same board found her cat had. That cat had no chin baldness or scabs, and the cat's lip basically looked like he had been punched & it was fat.

http://www.skinvet.com/diseasedetail.asp?index=10

The bottom link has some pictures that viewers might find to be hard to look at, so avoid this link if you do not like to look at semi-graphic pictures.

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_eo ... uloma.html

[drjean]

My guess would be rodent ulcers, or Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex. The most common places for this to manifest are the backs of the thighs, and the lips. It is an auto-immune disease. So, no more vaccinations -- they will just make it worse! (This is true for any auto-immune or allergic disease) Your vet can make the diagnosis based on an impression smear; under the microscope, the presence of eosinophils (a type of white blood cell) is easy to check.

Conventional treatment is steroids, but I hate to condemn a cat to a lifetime of steroids except as a very last resort.

I've had good success using Vitamin E (100-200 IU per day) and BioSuperfood. http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?a ... uperhealth

You might also want to take a look at this article on allergies, since the same principles apply: http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?a ... giesincats

Cheers,
Dr. Jean

[AddFran]

Thank you both!

Dr. Jean, When she had the mark and the baldness on the back of her leg, she was prescribed clavamox and literally within 2-3 days it was gone. Her fur is already growing back and everything.

She DID have a very nasty reaction to one of her vaccinations, would this by a symptom of some type of autoimmune disease? What causes autoimmune responses.

Also, one thing I wanted to mention was just this morning as I was getting ready for work, Addison took a running start from one end of the house to the other. She couldn't stop in time and she ran head first into the table. The little shelf at the bottom of the coffee table is just high enough so that it was a perfect slam of her face into it. She ended up hitting her nose. I know this because it was all red and when i was touching it to see if she was okay a little tiny bit of blood ended up on my finger. It was a little bit of watery blood that seemed to come out of the side of her nostril.

Do you think maybe she also slammed herself into the table and bruised her lip this way too? Or are you still inclined to think it's a rodent ulcer or autoimmune issue? In any case, she's been put in my bedroom with her food/water and a littlerbox for the day - some quiet time, without Franny to wrestle with - and she can slam herself into my down comforter all day!

There is no sore on the lip, but the swelling is less than it was yesterday and it's more red now. It does NOT seem to hurt her at all.

[AddFran]

Hmmm, and when she was at the Vet's office for her leg thingy a few weeks ago, she was given her Rabies shot....could that have triggered something?

Also, when I took her in for her leg, I asked the vet if it could be an allergy of some sort and she told me that at Addison's age it was very unlikely. Is this true? She's 7 months now.

[AddFran]

Double post - edited it to remove.