What does this look like on my cats mouth?

[Freddieandchip]

I just got home from work and my cats mouth was like this. It wasn’t like this last night, I don’t remember how it looked this morning because I was so tired I didn’t really see his mouth. I am going to take him to the vet first thing in the morning, he’s acting totally normal but if anything changes overnight I will bring him to the emergency vet, I’m just wondering if anyone has seen this before. He has previously had issues with his bottom lip swelling in the front due to allergies but I’ve never seen this before. He recently started on a new diet for his anxiety and bladder issues and he has also started taking fluoxetine, those are the only recent changes he’s had.

I also wanted to add he just got blood work about 2 weeks ago and everything was completely normal

 

[fionasmom]

Even if he had a clear blood test, it is a good idea to bring him in or at least send a pic and description to the vet. Let us know what they tell you.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I can't really tell much from those pics, so I think what you are doing about taking him to the vet is your best bet. He could be allergic to the new food and has scratched the area causing irritation/inflammation that has resulted in a sore.

 

[Freddieandchip]

Even if he had a clear blood test, it is a good idea to bring him in or at least send a pic and description to the vet. Let us know what they tell you.

Thank you, I’m actually in the waiting room now, I will definitely post an update!

 

[Freddieandchip]

I can't really tell much from those pics, so I think what you are doing about taking him to the vet is your best bet. He could be allergic to the new food and has scratched the area causing irritation/inflammation that has resulted in a sore.

Im definitely hoping it’s not a food allergy but I think that it’s very likely. This prescription food is his first time eating chicken in almost a year so the timing definitely lines up. I’m at the vet now so hopefully everything goes well, thank you for your advise

 

[Freddieandchip]

I just wanted to post an update! The vet said it’s Eosinophilic, he got a steroid shot and I was told that he may need to start taking steroids long term because of how often this happens. I’m just glad I know what it is for sure now and have a treatment plan, he has been dealing with issues like this for so long now.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Good news overall! I guess it would be hard to do with the food the vet wants him to eat, but you could try a novel protein, or at least something without chicken to see if that is what is behind this. If so, steroids might not be necessary on a long term basis.

 

[Freddieandchip]

Good news overall! I guess it would be hard to do with the food the vet wants him to eat, but you could try a novel protein, or at least something without chicken to see if that is what is behind this. If so, steroids might not be necessary on a long term basis.

Thank you! I am actually not sure if the vet plans on keeping him on the prescription food long term now that he is taking his anxiety medication, I have a follow up appointment next week and I’m going to ask about that. He got the prescription food before the vet figured out that his urinary issues were due to anxiety so as long as the medication has time to work I’m hoping it will be ok for him to stop the prescription diet, then I would have a lot more options for foods if it is a food allergy. Luckily the issue with his lip doesn’t seem to bother him at all, he isn’t scratching at it and he’s still eating, he doesn’t even seem to mind when I touch it.