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BB the kitten, Photo credit: Mandy Cheuk
More and more cat parents are starting to search for more natural, drug-free remedies and solutions to health conditions. Mandy, a concerned cat mom, reached out to me this week with a question concerning a rodent ulcer her kitten has developed. Up until a year ago I had never heard of such a thing. However, when one of my clients developed one I had to start researching.
Despite the scary sounding name, this skin condition has nothing to do with rats. The scientific name is eosinophilic granuloma complex, also known as an indolent ulcer. It’s actually a skin condition that commonly produces lesions around a cat’s lips, chin area or inside the mouth. Although they are not contagious, they can become very painful and infected.
BB’s rodent ulcer gradually worsened in a very short period of time. Photo credit: Mandy Cheuk
Inflammatory in nature, they are caused by an allergic reaction. According to Critter Corner with Alissa Wolf, the most common causes include:
When the body has an allergic reaction to something it sends white blood cells to the area to fight it. An article in The Nest describes the process like this: “Eosinophils, a kind of white blood cell, function as part of kitty’s immune system. When the body signals that parasites or allergens have invaded, eosinophils go on the attack, releasing chemicals to repel the invaders. With allergens, eosinophil activity sometimes backfires, causing rodent ulcers.”
The conventional veterinary approach to treating rodent ulcers is to give a steroid shot. I disagree with this for or two reasons: it will only suppress the immune system, and it puts a band-aid on the problem. Therefore, once the steroid wears off the condition will return and may develop into a chronic condition. Having to be on steroids for life is not a healthy solution either.
The best way to find the cause is to muscle test! Muscle testing is a non-invasive technique that identifies and address stressors in the body. Also known as body wisdom, it taps into the autonomic nervous system. (To learn more about muscle testing check out this page.) Simply asking the cat’s body questions, either in person or remotely, you can determine which stressor is causing the allergic reaction.
My first exposure to rodent ulcers in cats was a client named Yuri. I found that her immune system was “on fire” because she was inappropriately vaccinated when she was too young. Her devoted mom worked with me along with a couple of holistic and integrative veterinarians to help restore her immune system to its normal function. While detoxing and getting her immune system back in balance, she developed a rodent ulcer. It went away a short time later. You can read her story here.
There are several ways to help your kitty without relying on drugs and steroids. First, eliminate the cause of the problem. Next, find the best tools to help strengthen the immune system.
Eliminate the allergy. I use a holistic energy medicine technique to remove the body’s reaction to the stressor. Essentially this resets and restores a normal immune response.
Eliminate inflammatory ingredients in your cat’s food. Cats who eat a dry food diet are actually promoting more inflammation in their bodies. For cats with rodent ulcers an inflammatory diet just exacerbates the immune system’s disfunction. Ingredients like corn, rice, lentils, peas, garbanzo beans, and wheat are what manufacturers use as the “sticky ingredient” to make kibble. Cats are unable to digest the large percentage of carbohydrates in the food. Ultimately this leads to digestive issues and an inflammatory response. Instead, your cat is much better off eating a wet, meat-based diet with no more than 7-8% carbohydrate in the recipe.
Eliminate environmental irritants. If your cat goes outside or is exposed to fleas, using a natural, non-toxic flea repellent/treatment is a must. Using glass or ceramic food bowls, unscented cat litter, and non-toxic household cleaning and gardening products are simple ways to drastically reduce and/or eliminate unhealthy chemical exposure to pets.
You’ve got to give the body tools that will help strengthen the immune system, and one of my favorites is colloidal silver 10 ppm. A natural, non-toxic, water-based product, colloidal silver is anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. The silver hydrosol molecules work naturally with the body to remove harmful invaders and allow the immune system to get strong again. Supplements like medicinal mushrooms, L-lysine, and and colostrum products are also great to build the immune system. To determine which product is best for your cat always muscle test first.
Has your cat ever developed a rodent ulcer? Share your experience in the comments below!
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Reading some of the histories – my cat had a rodent on her lip – it was successfully treated with acupuncture – sometimes due to a condition of DAMP HEAT – the Chi Institute has a list of vets who graduated and they are the best to see about these problems.
Apologies – it should read rodent ulcer on her lip!
Hello Pam – Not sure if you are still active here but I would love your feedback if you have a moment. I have my whole heart and world, Scatter, who has been suffering for so long and I am so tired. She is 11-F-Calico and has had upper lip/rodent uclers on and off for the last 7 years. I’ve ruled out fleas and we used Atopica in the past(mostly unsuccessfully – hates the stuff) and when the bleeding starts and she cannot eat food we resort to the steriod/antibiotic shots. On an extremely positive note I asked my angels to help me clear her belly (which she previously licked until it was raw) and that has healed entirely since her shots in late January which fills my heart! Sadly The lips are a serious problem and she cries all day and night in pain. I have been using Bee Propolis (infection) + Ginko Baloba (inflammation) mixed in with a novel protein diet (Wellness Core – Turkey/Duck pate) for 2.5 months now and I have no idea if it’s working/helping. Im thinking about adding colloidal silver next but I would love your insight or any feedback you can offer me and thank you for much for your time.
Bless her heart! I’m wondering if this isn’t a viral condition? Or it could be environmental toxin from vaccines, flea meds, glyphosate exposure, etc. She may also have food sensitivities, too. We need to find out why the immune system is working on hyperdrive and calm the inflammatory storm inside her body. I don’t think colloidal silver will be the answer to this issue, but instead it would be best to do an Optimal Cat Health Analysis to root down using muscle testing to see what is resonating as stressors and the best way to help her heal. I would love to work with you! https://shop.purrrfectlyholistic.com/products/optimal-cat-health-analysis
How much Sovereign Silver should I give a 15# cat, she’s 16.5 years and has suffered from rodent ulcers for a long time. She has chicken allergy, it’s very hard to find food with no form of chicken. She also has anemia and CKD.
My best suggestion is to try and determine the root cause of the hyper-immune response that’s causing the rodent ulcers. Could it be viral, environmental toxin like flea topicals or meds, glyphosate exposure, or even too many vaccines? I’m not sure if Colloidal Silver is the best product for her given that I haven’t seen her. Be sure to feed a highly quality meat-based diet, avoid all dry food, use products like medicinal mushrooms to boost the immune system, and probiotics to help the microbiome. Discontinue all kinds of toxic exposure that continues to weaken the immune system, too. Perhaps we can do an Optimal Cat Health Analysis to dive deep and determine what is resonating with her body and the tools she needs to help her heal. https://shop.purrrfectlyholistic.com/products/optimal-cat-health-analysis
I have a 1.5 year old Russian Blue mix and she just gets the ulcers randomly. I did change her food to a limited ingredient food with only one protein source. That seems to help and she didn’t get one for almost 8 months! Now she has had several around her mouth for weeks. I use Verident to clean her mouth but hers are all around her lips-NOT inside her mouth usually. I dust more but otherwise I don’t know what to do. We don’t have fleas where I live and she was vaccinated at the Humane Society but I don’t keep up on vaccines bc she is strictly indoors. I use ceramic or stainless steel and try to wash every single day. While she has the ulcers I feed her a limited ingredient wet food but nothing seems to help. The one time I took her to the vet she got a steroid shot and antibiotics. IT DID NOT WORK. She got 2 of the worst ulcers she’s had about 4 days AFTER that! She was climbing the walls and was SO hyper for the entire month and the antibiotic gave her diarrhea. I considered that a fail. I asked my holistic vet and it seemed like they didn’t have any new upcoming ideas about treatment or prevention.
Rachel, why don’t you send me a photo of your kitty and let me check her energetically to see if the issues resonates as viral or a potential vaccine issue. I’d like to be able to point you in the right direction, and muscle testing to see what resonates is the best way I know how. I can simply use her photo. Send it to pam@purrrfectlyholistic.com
Hello, I noticed a slight indolent ulcer on my 1 yr old kittens upper left lip a little over a month ago. She doesn’t seem irritated with it, but I am really concerned. I’ve only fed her luvsome brand wet/dry food.ive also been trying different flea control products. She was on the topical drops until I noticed some excessive shedding in the application area. Since then she’s been wearing a flea collar, but I’m still seeing fleas sporadically and flea dirt. She has been an indoor cat since I got her at 6 weeks, her first bath I did have to remove two ticks from her paws. I will admit since I’ve started working a new job I haven’t been able to clean her litter every week (like an additional 3 day grace period), and she sleeps a lot when I’m not home during the day (I don’t know if that helps). She has also committed up her wet/dry food but I believe it’s because she eats too fast, there’s never been any blood present I just hope it’s not because of the ulcer. I have not taken her to the vet yet, she has an upcoming appointment but I don’t want her injected with steroids.she’s my first cat, and I love her a lot. Your help would be greatly appreciated!
Rodent ulcers are indicative of a compromised immune system, and this could be due to environmental toxin exposure through flea meds or even vaccines given as a kitten. The best thing I can recommend in general (because I haven’t evaluated your kitty) is to discontinue any standard, veterinary flea products and switch to something natural, non-toxic like Flea-X by Two Crazy Cat Ladies or Diatomaceous Earth (used like a flea powder). You can also start by giving her a flea bath with a cat-safe type of shampoo or Dawn dish soap. Secondly, use immune boosting supplements like medicinal mushrooms and probiotics, and feed a wet, species appropriate diet only–skip the dry completely. I have a number of article on my website that talk about nutrition and diets that will give you a wealth of information. Finally, doing an Optimal Cat Health Analysis allows me to energetically assess your kitty remotely using a photo to help figure out the root cause of the condition as well as help find tools that her body needs in order to heal itself. You can learn more about this under our Services. I’d be honored to work with you!
My cat has had an indolent ulcer on her upper lip since March 2020 when she had x-rays and ultrasound to determine if she had IBD-C or lymphoma. Vet did fecal transplant to address the constipation and a bout of pancreatitis, then I put her on a raw frozen duck diet which helped her digestion. However, the ulcer on her lip has continued to grow & bleed. Steroids not helping. Hoping you can suggest homeopathic route with some positive results.
I applaud all the steps you have done so far! It sounds like the underlying cause of the hyper immune response hasn’t been dealt with yet. Is there a vaccine history? What about other environmental chemicals like herbicides or flea meds that weaken the immune system? My advice is to take a closer look at her records and trace back the cause of the immune confusion which is often tied to rodent ulcers. My approach would be to detox the body and then use specific nutraceuticals to strengthen and rebalance the immune system. Doing an Optimal Cat Health Analysis would be recommended to help identify the root cause. Check out our services page–it would be an honor to help you.
Addressing the root cause of the hyper-immune response is the key. Only then will the immune system normalize and the rodent ulcer will go away on its own. I wouldn’t try to remove it. You can always use colloidal silver directly on the area if you see any infection develop.
Hi,
My cat Sasha and her sister were born wit Feline Herpes virus. Her sister has since passed away – 1 1/2 years ago. Sasha has been fine – but her eye starting running again and she definately has an ulcer on her upper lip – it’s red and white on the bottom, hard, but sticky if I touch it. I was told to used all kinds of anti-fungal creams and sprays – but they terrify her -and I can’t near her. Her eye has cleared up with Terimyacin. She licks off anything I put on her mouth – defeating the purpose and I don’t like her ingesting it. I cannot get her to a vet – she’s never been and has a feral streak in her – and I just can’t do that to her. So – I’m at my wits end – I can’t get rid of this sore – and I’m so worried.
Janis,
This is most frustrating for sure! I recommend putting her on some immune supporting supplements that will help strengthen the system so that it can better keep these kinds of issues at bay. My favorites include medicinal mushroom supplements and omega 3 oils because they are super high in antioxidants. You can also explore using Vira-X by The Two Crazy Cat Ladies, as well as an l-Lysine supplement as it specifically helpful in suppressing the Herpes virus. I’m not sure what her diet consists of, but keeping her off dry food is a must–these ingredients are inflammatory and contribute to the inflammation in her body. Finally, add a high quality multi-strain probiotic will help build her microbiome which houses over 70% of the immune system. If you would be interested in me working on her energetically and putting together specific products and protocols that energetically test well for her consider doing an Optimal Cat Health Analysis.
Thank you for your response. I found a brand of Omega 3 that comes with a dropper to put in her food – my question – is it safe to used both the fish oil and l-lysine?
Thank you!
Absolutely!
Hi again,
Still no better. I put L-Lysine in her food – and it’s a struggle to get anything on her mouth. I bought Soverien Silver Bio Active Silver Hydrosol. You reccommend it about. My question – do I put it on topically or in her food, how often? I also bought something called Epic health repair. I don’t know what else to do. Any other suggestions? Thank you for your help!
In order to find out energetically what is resonating as a root cause we could do an Optimal Cat Health Analysis. Using muscle testing with her photo will allow me to determine which products would be beneficial for her along with dosage, etc. Normally I use colloidal silver orally or added to food. They key is using the right amount and for the time frame needed. This is why muscle testing is the key.
Hi there,
My 2 year old female grey tabby cat was recently diagnosed with a rodent ulcer. We have been on a medical journey since July 2018. Last year, around my cat’s 1 year birthday, she started getting extremely itchy around the face, neck, and chin area. We noticed a scab/wound on her face and took her immediately into the vet. They gave her a shot of steroids. Within two days, my cat continued to scratch and eventually vomited a puddle of blood. We did an X-ray and couldn’t determine anything from that. … over the next few weeks, she balded in areas on top of her head, back of her neck, around her face in the wounded areas.i truly believe she had a reaction to the steroid injection. Our vet tried other steroids with lower dosages but she kept getting worse. We eventually made our way to an animal dermatologist. They did an allergy test and determined she was allergic to 3 types of grasses, 4 types of weeds, oak trees, eucalyptus and pepper trees, house flies, fleas, black ants, and human dander. She has been an indoor cat since we got her at about 8-9 weeks old. The doctor ruled out food allergens by putting her on a hydrolized protein diet for 12 weeks and then eventually putting her on a limited ingredient dry food routine. (Raw instincts brand – limited ingredient diet- rabbit- both dry and wet food versions)
Although we have tried all this, nothing is truly helping her. She went from having environmental allergies to now developing rodent ulcers a year later. As of 3 days ago, I have started spraying colloidal silver on her irritated lip line and directly on her wet food. I am not noticing an obvious change in the healing process.
I have gone to numerous pet appointments and have tried all kinds of holistic and medical based treatments and nothing seems to do the job.
I want her to have some relief and I feel so bad for her.
Looking for help!
Katie,
My heart breaks to hear how much your precious kitty is suffering! Rodent ulcers are a sign that the immune system is weak and needs extra support. There are many factors that can cause this, including vaccine injury and environmental sensitivities. Do you recall if she received any vaccinations within 30 days of the symptoms first starting? The fact that the vet only tried to suppress it with steroids makes me upset. I know I can help you find the root cause of her condition and get her some relief and help her heal. Let me know if you’d be interested in setting up a free 20 minute consultation or an Optimal Cat Health Analysis. I look forward to hearing from you.
I have a siamese who had a rodent ulcer for nearly a year. He has just developed anyone 2 says ago. I’ve changed his diet feed bowl & put him on colloidal silver but nothing seems to work?
Lyneen,
I’m sorry to hear your kitty has suffered with a rodent ulcer for so long! There’s a likelihood that he may have food sensitivities! He also may need a different dosage protocol for the CS or a different immune boosting supplement like medicinal mushrooms or colostrum. The only way to know for sure is to muscle test. Would you consider doing an Optimal Cat Health Analysis? This way I could take a deeper look, figure out the cause, address and remove it with healing energy work, and help you figure out the best way to boost his immune system. You will find this listed in our services. I do remote sessions all the time. I’d love to help you both!
My cat has suffered with this for many years since Ovarid tablet was stopped being made, this helped her totally & I cannot find any alternative apart from Nonovulin which gives her a bad tummy.
My best advice is to figure out what has caused her compromised immune system, address that, and use supplements and nutraceuticals to rebuild her immune system. Oftentimes drugs only mask the issue by putting a temporary bandaid on the symptom. My use of muscle testing has been extremely helpful in finding out what resonates as a root cause of a health issue and then determine which tools the body needs in order to rebalance itself. Medicinal mushrooms, omega 3 oils, Quercetin and homeopathy are highly recommended for supporting & improving immune system function.