my cats mouth

Question
my cat is about 6 years old and he is both an indoor and outdoor cat. i was petting him today and i bumped his bottom jaw with my hand, he whined very loud and ran away. i checked his mouth out later and his bottom jaw was very swollen, wet (wether from spit or something else i don't know), and he wouldn't close his mouth all of the way. it hurts him when i touch it and i don't have enough money at this point to go to the vet. i need to know if there is a simple fix to this problem or if i should be worried for my kitty and get him to a vet ASAP.  

Answer
Hi Shane.  Unfortunately, there is no simple solution for a problem like this, and a vet really needs to address it.  There are several oral problems that could be causing his pain and swelling.  He may have broken teeth, abscessed teeth or gums, or more generalized conditions such as lymphocytic plasmacytic stomatitis (LPS) or feline resorptive lesions (FRL's).  

With LPS, there is a mouth-wide inflammation, believed to be caused by a sort of allergic reaction to plaque.  The cat often has bleeding gums as well as sores throughout the mouth.  The best treatment is to have all the teeth removed, since plaque is harbored on the teeth.  

FRL's begin as lesions below the gumline, where the body begins to break down the enamel of the tooth.  You will often notice that teeth are starting to protrude from the gumline (the cat's "fangs" seem to get bigger if these teeth are affected).  Soon, the enamel on the exposed part of the tooth is broken down, too, and later, so is the dentin, exposing painful nerves.  This is when the cat begins drooling from pain, and often refuses to eat.

It's important to address all these issues, since the gum inflammation present can lead to infection.  Bacteria from the mouth enter gaps between the gums and teeth and may get into the bloodstream.  Here, they can travel to the heart, liver and kidneys and cause failure.  If money is tight, your vet can prescribe an antibiotic to help prevent that from happening for now, but antibiotics won't solve the problem for long.  Any affected teeth will need to be removed surgically.

One other possibility could be an eosinophilic granuloma or indolent ulcer, or some other type of growth in the mouth.  Eosinophilic granulomas and ulcers often form on the lips but can also be found anywhere in the mouth.  They are painful lesions believed to be immune mediated (caused by an overreaction of the immune system), perhaps to proteins in the skin.  Steroids can help resolve the problem.  Occasionally, surgical removal of the lesions is necessary.  Other growths in the mouth can include squamous cell carcinomas, melanomas and other types of cancer.  Prompt surgical removal is necessary if there is any hope of beating these diseases.

There is a small chance he just bumped his mouth, perhaps even knocked out a front tooth, but cats are pretty tough and recover quickly from these types of injuries, so I suspect something more serious is going on.

I hope all turns out well!

Jessica