sore mouth

Question
My one-year old kitten has not been eating for the last 3/4 days which is unusual since it's her favorite pasttime.  She has also been gagging up a clear mucus for 2 days that I know of.  We checked her mouth and saw a red spot on the side of her tongue and a bump with pus in it on her lip.  She is an indoor cat and hasn't been chewing on any house plants.  She has also been very aloof and won't allow us to pet her - also not her very affectionate norm.  We got a 5 week old abandoned kitten 3 weeks ago that is in very good health.  Today, after seeing the sores, we gave her some goat's milk and she drank it right up. Any ideas?

Answer
Susan,

Remember, I am not a vet.  Given the history, I would bet that the new kitten brought something in with it that your one year old had no immunity for. You need to see your vet immediately to find out what is causing the mouth ulcers in your one year old and getting the correct medication.

The odds are your new kitten has not had its shots, so that would also be a matter of course when you take the one year old to the vet.  A note on shots, the little kitten should get a good injectable modified live 3-1 vaccine (panleukopenia, calici, rhinotracheitis).  Wait 3 weeks and then get the booster.  Wait at least 3 more weeks until you get any other vaccinations.  Some vets like to give lots of vaccines all at once, this can be a recipe for disaster, the 3 week wait between vaccines is the correct protocol. Finally, with the possibility of needle site sarcoma, you should have any vaccines given in the thigh muscle of one or the other hind leg intramuscularly.

As a matter of course, I would give both the new kitten and your one year old L-lysine, 500 mg, twice a day ground up in a good strained meat baby food. It helps prevent herpes infections and other upper respiratory problems.

Please let me know what you find out.

Best regards... Norm.