Swollen mouth/jaw

[SAM504]

Mac our cat visited thhe Vet today with a swollen left side of her mouth. The vet advised he did not know what is was, maybe a tumor. The vet examined her very vigourously and she did not resist or complain. It would appear that it does not hurt her.

This has persisted over 3 weeks, swelling up then reducing down, and swelling up again. Reducing down. She is eating but not as usual. Water intake is normal. We recently moved to Palm Desert, CA from Prescott, AZ ( 3 mos ago) not sure if that would influence issue.

Is there some holistic approach we can take besides, blood tests, xrays, etc starting at $600 - would like to have something more concrete before subjecting our Mac to unneccessary tests.

Please let us know what you think....we would appreciate any input regarding this issue with Mac.

[peggy64]

I took my cat to the vet with this problem. Swollen jaw, and he says it is cancer. Did not run any tests, but says it is too far gone. It does not hurt her either. He said tumors don't usually hurt, but if it were a tooth or gum proble, there would be pain.

This is heartbreaking and so far, she is doing fair. He said we would "know" when it was time to bring her in.

[Jennifer Mathis, D.V.M.]

Holistic remedies are best suited when an origin of problem is known.  Doing bloodwork, xrays, etc will get you a more concrete answer before subjecting Mac to un-necessary (or damaging) therapies.
One of the main concerns is an infected tooth that finally gets a drainage ability, then reduces in size, then the body tries to heal and the skin heals faster than the tissue underneath and it seals it back up refilling again.
A salivary gland issue or lymph node issue are also possible causes.
Please see a veterinarian than can take dental xrays so a problem lurking under the gum line can be identified.