Swollen bottom lip.

On Friday I took my two year old female Calico mix to the vets because her bottom lip is swollen. They sent her home with some steroid medication. Today I have noticed that when she is laying down for a while and relaxed, the swelling goes down a little, but when she is up walking around or active in any way the swelling gets worse and her lip gets red. She is eating and drinking okay and acting normal. There is also, like a patch of white on it. It looks like when human skin gets ready to peel. I called her vets, but they are busy with emergencies, and I didn't get to speak with a doctor. I was just told to make an opointment (which I did, it's for Monday evening). I am just really worried and would like some feedback on this. Thanks in advance for any replies.

[opus88]

hi...I really dislike steroids being used especially when not as a last resort...steroids can cause so many other health problems besides they usually only treat the symptoms and not the cause.
first of all if you are using plastic dishes throw them out and get some metal ones...bacteria breeds in plastic.
I will also send you a slide show(can send other photos if need be) look through them to the one on Eosinophilic Granduloma the photo shows a black spot on the lips but this can also be white....and get quite swollen. this is usually the result of food allergies when it appears on the lips like this. what are you feeding your kitty?
heres the slide show to start with. post again and I hope we can get to the root of this problem

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=107386

[MyStomachHurts25]

Hi. Thank you so much for your reply. Yes, the doctor told me about how harsh steroids can be on kitties. They aren't sure what's going on exactly. But, they have ruled out ulcers and alergies (allergies), so far. Oh gosh, I am using plastic bowls, and will change them as soon as possible.
Her swollen lip does look a lot like the picture of Eosinophilic Granduloma. I am feeding her Friskies classic pate can food. She was eating regular hard cat food, but swiched it, because she developed a urinary trck infection and when she was sick with it she wouldn't eat that food any longer, though she will eat it every now and then since she has gotten better. I still give her the can food when I give her her medicine, she is still currently taking an anti-biotic. Thanks again, I appreciate it.

[opus88]

yes thats what it sounded like to me. I will send you another site with photos and info...there are many.

http://www.vet.uga.edu/vpp/clerk/Starnes/index.php

did the swelling start when she was on the dry food? they are famous for allergens...friskies isnt the greatest food but its better than any dry..
but if the changing off plastic doesn't help she may still have an allergy to something in that food..is it chicken flavor? if so change to beef or fish or something other than poultry..poultry is a common allergen too....how can your Vet rule OUT allergies I wonder????????
Do your reading on EGC and you may get a different opinion...good luck

[MyStomachHurts25]

The swelling started on Friday, by then she had been on can food for a few weeks. I buy her the variety pack, it has cans of fish, turkey or chicken, and grilled mix. I'm not sure how they ruled allergies out. They said it didn't seem like an allergic reaction, and that it didn't look like an infection or ulcer. Thanks so much for the help.

[opus88]

will include another site.....but I DON'T agree with the Veterinary sites that recommend any sort of steroid or antinflamatory med. as this just creates yet another health problem to deal with...
hers sounds more like the 'rodent ulcer' that is a form of EGC....some good reading here. I would suggest changing her food right NOW to another canned variety and change the bowls...continue with the antibiotics until finished the course. don't rush back to the Vets just yet, all they will do is more steroids...lets see if the food and bowl changes make a difference first.(I have a cat with this too...his lesions were on his face not his lip..took awhile but we got it under control now..it turned out to be a chicken allergy for him)

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=143610&sk=&date=&&pageID=1

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=66497

[MyStomachHurts25]

I will change her food and bowls as soon as possible. I am going to the strore today. Thank you for all your help. I really hope this is all it is, and that the food and bowl change helps.