Do Rodent Ulcers Have Anything To Do With Rodents?

If your cat is diagnosed with Rodent Ulcers, you are hearing a colloquial term that comes from the era of common misunderstanding, but the terms of which survive today. Rodent ulcers have nothing to do with rodents. It was thought that the large excoriating lesions on the upper lips of a cat were from it having caught some disease from a mouse. They were wrong, but the diagnostic label survives even today. The real diagnosis is Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex, or EGC for short. It is a quasi-autoimmune disease that comes from the bodies' reaction to transitional cells at the muco-cutaneous junction of the lips. At this transition point, the cells are not skin or mucus membrane, and so the immune system of a cat thinks they are foreign cells and need to be destroyed. Unfortunately there is no good cure for this condition, but it is treatable with ongoing use of corticosteroids like prednisilone pills and Depo-Medrol (methylprednisilone) injections.
Your cat should be given the least amount of these medications that control the symptoms, as corticosteroids suppress the immune system and compromise your cat's health in many ways. The alternative is to not treat the ulcers, which is worse for your cat, as their lips can roll outwards from the lesions and permanent damage to the lips can result. No other disease resembles rodent ulcers and they can be diagnosed empirically by a physical exam alone. Cats don't get to catch mice any more, but a disease blaming the mouse for it's symptoms remains.
Dr. Doug Ikeler http://www.drdougikeler.com/