No Change

Ginger was showing no change in her lesions so I took her to see Dr. Jay King at Watson Road Animal Clinic. Dr. Jay gave her another shot of Depomedrol and a shot of Cerenia, an antibiotic. He noted that she has more lesions on her tongue besides the big one that never seems to go away.

I will hold off on giving her the oral prednisone until Friday. Today her lip lesion looks paler and not as inflamed. Her face doesn't look as puffy either. She slept most of the day yesterday after he shots, as to be expected.

Updates

Ginger has been switched to a dry kibble that is mostly rabbit meat. It's called Instinct. It's supposed to be good for cats with food allergies. I also bought her some canned Instinct brand with Venison and Rabbit.

We also found out that Ginger was getting up in the rafters in the basement and trying to eat the insulation. We have blocked her access off.

She is still getting 10mg of Prednisone PO SID.

Although her face is still a bit puffy, it's not as bad as it was. The lesion on her tongue appears to have gotten smaller. The lesion on her right upper lip is about the same. No changes. The lesion on her left upper lip has disappeared.

Prednisone

This is day two on 10mg of oral prednisone for Ginger. Today she had dry kibble, Science Diet D/D and she ate half a can of m/d (it was a free can of food for diabetic cats - even though ginger is not diabetic).

I noticed that Ginger's lesion is looking a little better today. It is not red and inflamed, but more yellow/white.

What's up with Ginger?

Ginger is a 4yo cat that I rescued from the streets of Soulard. She had wandered into a local pet food shop and was waiting for someone to claim her. She picked me the day I opened up the pet taxi and she walked in and sat down as if to say "Hey... are you taking me home now?".

I noticed Ginger had a small lesion on her upper lip when I took her home. I figured it would be something mundane like kitty herpes or something, but I was so wrong. After a trip to the vet's office, it was discovered that Ginger has Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex. This disease causes indolent ulcers on the upper lip and tongue. It's also called "Rodent Ulcer", although it has nothing to do with rodents.

After many shots of Depo-Medrol and numerous surgeries to remove ulcers from her tongue, Ginger is still suffering from ulcers that are out of control. I am starting a journal in an attempt to figure out what is triggering her allergic response. The possibilities are flea bite allergy, food allergy, or inhalant allergy.

Ginger is currently on Revolution, which controls fleas and parasites. She is FELV and FIV negative. She is currently on Hills D/D dry kibble for skin. Today she had her first dose of oral prednisone 10mg tablet, administered at 11:30pm when I got home from work.