I took in a friend's cat (Morris) recently; we have two other cats. Morris came to us with fleas and we noticed right away that his bottom lip was swelling and he had some pretty severe swelling and bumps on his neck. We immediately took care of the flea problem and saw immediate improvement.
It's been 3 months now and his lip is STILL swollen and I'm starting to find bumps on his neck again. No scabs or crusties, but hard knobby bumps.
He's eating OK and acting fine so I'm not really worried about his actual health. However, he can't be feeling really good and it's starting to worry me. What are some typical cat allergies that I could be looking for? I use Frontline Plus for fleas, is there something better I should be using? I have not noticed any fleas or symptoms with my other cats, so I didn't think that was it; is it possible that is still the problem?
I would appreciate any advice that I can try before I have to take him to the vet. Thanks!
2007-11-05 04:40:41 · 5 answers · asked by Teresa K 2 in Pets ➔ Cats
I've talked with the friend I got Morris from. She has had this problem as well. It went away when she moved into a new house and stayed gone for almost a year. Now it's back. She says the vet told her it was an allergy, but they never found out to what.
I have treated all the cats with Frontline Plus. I have another cat with a typical flea allergy so I keep them all flea-free.
The vet seemed pretty sure it wasn't a food allergy. So I was wondering what other things cats can be allergic to? Are they sensitive to dust or pollen like some humans?
2007-11-06 05:50:34 · update #1
Frontline Plus is a fine product, stick with it.
You will need to treat your other cats however. Animals have differing sensitivities to fleas; they don't all react the same. When there are fleas in a house, you always need to treat ALL animals - it's very likely they have some too. Run a flea comb over them and look at the hair on the comb for black specks (flea dirts).
Take him to the vets regarding his lip, it could well be a small abscess, or a herpes sore, or a tooth problem - anything really! Flea allergy is probably the most typical in cats, but you usually get scabs around the flanks.
Cats don't really show pain unless it's really really bad, you can't judge their pain level as you would a humans. Very likely a swollen lip is very uncomfortable for him as you say, he's probably learned to live with it but would appreciate it gone!
Chalice
2007-11-06 04:51:53 · answer #1 · answered by Chalice 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I know many people that are allergic and/or have asthma, but that does not discourage them from having cats. Lots of people just use that as an excuse cause they don't like cats or just don't want one. I use an air purifier and take meds and have no problem with cats. I am in rescue and have many in my home. Besides some people are able to build up an immunity and will get over the allergies if exposed to cats long enough.
2016-04-02 06:25:16 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like you really should ahve already taken him to the vet, I've never heard of swollen lips having anything to do with fleas, and since he came to you with the lip, I wouldn't think allergies.
2007-11-05 05:18:50 · answer #3 · answered by bainaashanti 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could be food allergies. Lots of cats develope allergies to grains in most store bought cat foods. The allergies can come on at any time. You may want to try switching to a grain free cat food and see if the lumps go away. If they don't then take him to the vet.
2007-11-05 05:06:26 · answer #4 · answered by jo 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You should take him to the vet,his problem might be allergies at all.Good Luck!!
2007-11-05 04:44:54 · answer #5 · answered by cajun kitty 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋