Cat ulcer on tongue

Hi vets! I have a 7 month old kitten in South Africa, he is otherwise healthy and has tested negative for FIV and FeLV. He has had this 1 ulcer on his tongue for about 5 months, it started off smaller but it has grown. In July I took him to the vet and she prescribed an anti-inflammatory and an antibiotic, it shrunk a little bit but since then it has grown a bit again. It doesn’t seem to be a usual ulcerative lesion cause it grows rather outwards, so I was thinking more of a proliferation lesion but I really don’t know what is causing it. I’m not sure why there is only the one ulcer and only in that spot. I’m beginning to think maybe there is a dental issue going on inside, I do brush his teeth with pretdent twice a week. Any thoughts would be helpful, thank you!

Hello - and thankyou for these thought-provoking photos.  I have indeed seen this sort thing from a tooth impinging on the tongue, either as a result of mouth shape /  conformation (this is extremely common in rabbits, whose teeth sometimes don't stop growing and can easily end up growing in the wrong direction and sticking into the tongue) and also where the sensory nerve to the tongue is not so good, so animals are unaware that they are damaging themselves.  However, another issue could be if the tongue has overgrown for some reason - eg inflammation (due to a foreign body or allergic reaction perhaps), or even a tumour.  Tongues are difficult to biopsy because their sensitivity and tendency to bleed, but it may be that your vet considers this in order to categorise the lump.

A tendency to mouth ulcers can also be secondary to certain pre-existing medical conditions in cats.  Uraemia (secondary to kidney disease) for example.  This is not absolutely the typical appearance.