'Lily' isnt very well

[sagiliam]

Lily, our kitten, who we rescued in Janurary. (See The Story Here )Well she developed some kind of scab thing on her mouth a few weeks back. It started to spread and some of the scabs began to swell into lumps. So we took her too the vet and he said it looks like she had some allergic reaction to something and so he put her on anti-bios. Over the course of this week the lump on her lip has became gradually bigger, and so she went back to the vets today. Unfortunatley, he said it is pretty bad. So, he gave her 2 more injections and some more different antibiotics. He said he wants to see her saturday and "make a decision then" That vet talk sounds very much like "we'll see whether we should put her down" Im quite cut up about it, because like i said in the old thread, shes a lovely fantastic kitten thats brought so much joy and happiness to me. I feel awful, i hated seeing my hamster dieing let alone my kitten. Its even more awful because she's still her normal self, because she isnt in any pain. I cant look at her anymore without thinking the worst and its making me awfully upset.
I hope shes ok...thanks for reading. I just needed to share it
Liam

[stinkwheel]

I would have thought in a young cat it would be more along the lines of "We'll see if we need to knock her out and try to remove it surgically or do a biopsy to find out what it is.".

That's what I'd be doing if it wasn't responding to medical treatment. If I could remove the whole thing with a good cosmetic result, then that's what I'd do then send it to the lab to see: a) What it was and b) If I'd got it all.

If it looked like it would be difficult to stitch back together neatly, I'd take some of it off and send it to the lab for identification. Further treatment based on the lab report.

We don't generally put animals down because they have an unidentified skin lump that isn't making them ill.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[sagiliam]

Sorry been a bit unclear. There not just 'lumps'...there like ulcers. He said it was an infection that has made her tonsils/glands swollen, and her lips are sore and ulcerated. Any idea as to what it is as he didnt actually say what condition/infection it was?

Thanks

[stinkwheel]

Is the cat vaccinated against cat 'flu?

If not, chances are it's got calicivirus which is nasty but they usually get over it.
https://www.animalhealthchannel.com/calicivirus/
https://accel11.mettre-put-idata.over-blog.com/0/25/25/09/cas-cliniques/ulceres-linguaux-suite-calicivirus.jpg

Could also have rodent ulcers which is a type of allergic reaction, often to fleas. As cureable as any other allergy (as in it depends if you can find and avoid what is causing it, it's usually fleas), certainly controllable.

https://www.2ndchance.info/ulcers.htm
https://www.vet.uga.edu/vpp/clerk/starnes/Fig2.jpg
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Weedy]

Yummmm, was eating a bacon sandwich when I saw those

Although, certainly helpful as my "old man cat" has something similar looking on his tounge
____________________
<CBT passed 16th Sept 2007><Theory Test passed 11th Oct 2007><Practical Test passed 19th Apr 2008>
OWNED: 2008 Aprilia Pegaso Strada CURRENT: Bikeless :'(

[sagiliam]

Thanks Stinkwheel.

The problem looks more like number two. But it is slightly different.
She has quite scabbed areas that are pink underneath, with black bits on and around the infection as well as into the top inside lip of her mouth. The area under her chin and similar areas, has underneath her fur, quite pink skin and is slightly raised.

We noticed when she had these skin problems that it spread to near the eye. It started of as a small red lump, no scab no black just a lump. That now seems to have cleared up, but the mouth seems to have got worse. Tried to get some pics up but the bluetooth isnt working.
She is on clavaseptin if that means anything?

Thanks
Liam

[stinkwheel]

Clavaseptin is a common, broad spectrum antibiotic (clavanulate potentiated anoxacillin) which will help prevent secondary infections.

I haven't seen the cat but look up 'feline eosinophillic granuloma complex' on the internet. Also look up 'milliary dermatitis'. See if the pictures match up with what you've got.

If that's the case, get some proper prescription flea treatment on the cat (in conjunction with your vet), even if you've never seen any fleas. Referral dermatologists wont even look at a case until the animal has been on effective flea treatment for at least six weeks.

In my experience they usually need a short course of steroids too to get it cleared up initially. The vet schools dermatologists are currently on a huge anti-steroid purge and chances are a newish graduate has been taught that they are some sort of doomsday drug never to be used. Steroids have certainly been overused in the past but cats are very tolerant of them and they definately have their place in the initial treatment.

If this is the case, it may be worth booking an appointment with one of the older vets at the practice. It's not the fault of the younger vets, they are only doing what they have been taught but the vet schools forget that not everyone has the money and facilities to be doing allergy testing on every allergic skin case they see. It would be nice, but it's impractical.

Please be tactful when mentioning this stuff to your own vet. I don't want to be treading on toes, it's unprofessional. An "I was looking stuff up on the intrernet, do you think it could be..?" would be better than "Another vet told me.".
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[sagiliam]

[stinkwheel]

Worms are very unlikely to be causing the problem, although it is good practice to worm your cat once a quarter.

Skin problem = flea allergy in my book. Statistically, 90% of the time I'll be correct. The other 10% are a pain in the arse.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.