Does anyone have any experience with rodent ulcers?

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Kiki & Lola

Kiki & Lola

Member Since 2023
My Kiki was diagnosed with eosinophilic granuloma complex when she was one year old. She sometimes gets lesions on her skin and at that time she had an ulcer on her lip. I couldn’t figure out at the time what was causing her flare up but I gave her the steroids and it cleared up and the ulcer never came back until now…. Almost 8 years later. Nothing I can think of has changed environmentally so I’m concerned it’s the fancy feast. She was dx with diabetes this past October so I switched her to a rotation of beef chicken turkey and seafood fancy feast pate so I’m not positive if there is one specific protein that is causing this to happen again or maybe it’s fancy feast in general? Shes been eating it for over 2 months now. I really want to avoid steroids because she’s doing so well with her diabetes. I’m calling the vet today to see my options. Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you!!
 
Fancy Feast is owned by Nestle so getting a straight answer from them will be very hard. You might try cutting out the seafood, it's an unregulated industry. After 30 years of feeding cats all kinds of organic/holistic/human grade meat I got my first diabetic cat and had to start again with Fancy Feast but it's all we have carbo wise.
I wish you luck.
 
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Given that it's a genetic condition that triggers an immune response, it may take some detective work to sort this out. What can be an issue with many cat foods is that the protein listed on the label is not the only source of protein in the food. For example, FF chicken pate has meat and meat by-products in the ingredients.

I'd see about trying out a novel protein. This could include venison, pork, lamb, or rabbit and see see if the granuloma goes away. I've used ZiwiPeak -- one of my cats has IBD and needs to eat novel proteins. The downside is that it's expensive. The other alternative is a raw diet that uses novel proteins. I can get packaged ground pork or venison or bison at my grocery. There are pre-mixes that contain all of the necessary supplements that you can add to the ground meat that are needed to make the diet nutritionally complete. Many of us use FoodFurLife.
 
My Snickers is allergic to all things poultry. Anything with feathers gives her never-ending diarrhea. Not quite the same thing you're experiencing, but I did find a diet change was key to helping her. For a long time she ate mostly rabbit, and then got bored with it. So now I give her a combination of rabbit, pork, and fish. She can eat those with no problem. I would do as Sienne suggsted and try a novel protein. Instinct Rabbit worked very well for me. Just make sure whatever you buy does not have hidden protein ingredients. Sooooo many foods will say "beef" or "tuna" but then have chicken or egg in them, or "natural flavors" which may or may not cause Snickers irritation. Read the labels for everything, and keep notes. Good luck!
 
One f my cats has EGC and dermatitis since a year old as well. She’s now 7. Hers came and went multiple times. My vet said give her a protein she’s never had before. it works for a year or two and then returns. Sometimes I’ll see it on her lip but it goes away. I’m experimenting with Zyrtec and a high probiotic, Visbiome. Currently she’s only getting Visbiome. When I asked my vet if the probiotic might help he said they are learning more and more how beneficial they are. Her sister has most likely IBD and was on Visbiome which gave me the idea as maybe both are coming from the gut. If you try a novel protein, read the label carefully as many contain fish or chicken even though it will not seem to based upon the name. I’m feeding frozen raw because I know the ones I get are single protein. You will need to give it a couple of months to see if it works. Good luck.
 
tiffmaxee said:
One f my cats has EGC and dermatitis since a year old as well. She’s now 7. Hers came and went multiple times. My vet said give her a protein she’s never had before. it works for a year or two and then returns. Sometimes I’ll see it on her lip but it goes away. I’m experimenting with Zyrtec and a high probiotic, Visbiome. Currently she’s only getting Visbiome. When I asked my vet if the probiotic might help he said they are learning more and more how beneficial they are. Her sister has most likely IBD and was on Visbiome which gave me the idea as maybe both are coming from the gut. If you try a novel protein, read the label carefully as many contain fish or chicken even though it will not seem to based upon the name. I’m feeding frozen raw because I know the ones I get are single protein. You will need to give it a couple of months to see if it works. Good luck.
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Thank you so much! Going to give the different protein a try! Are there any topical creams or holistic treatments that you have been recommended for helping the ulcers heal when your cat gets them? I’m going to look into that probiotic also! Thanks for the help
 
I agree with what everyone said. We've struggled with rodent ulcers due to food allergies -- we've had success with rayne nutrition to start an elimination diet. Then you can slowly introduce one protein at a time and see what her triggers are. For us it's poultry (definitely chicken and duck) and fish that came on as allergies slowly through her middle age.
 
Kiki & Lola said:
Thank you so much! Going to give the different protein a try! Are there any topical creams or holistic treatments that you have been recommended for helping the ulcers heal when your cat gets them? I’m going to look into that probiotic also! Thanks for the help
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My vet did not have any suggestions other than an elimination diet which has shown far worked pretty well. If m gong to run out of novel proteins at some point which is why I decided to try the probiotic and Zyrtec if needed. The Zyrtec was more for the dermatitis and I knew it was safe because it’s been used by many including me as an appetite stimulant with success. Ran both by my vet who said to try both. Mocha’s ulcers went away on their own.
 
This is a good discussion. I’ve only dealt with a few rodent ulcers in my cats and they just had Depo Medrol injections which cleared them up and so far they’ve never returned. A Depo shot is not desirable for a diabetic cat though. If we have further problems, I guess I will try food elimination. I hope you find what works for your baby.
 
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