Anyone else had a cat with gum problems?

[Flippityjig]

My cat, almost a year old, has very sore gums. His teeth are fine, his sore gums were spotted when he went in to be neutered at 6 months. Since then we've been treating them.

He had blood tests for FIV and related diseases which came back negative. He had antibiotics which didn't help. Now he's on Metacam daily for the pain and an anti viral, called Interferon I thinK, for several months. I can't see any improvement though. He is due back at the vets when we've nearly finished the course of anti virals. The next step may be removing all his teeth! Obviously I'm hoping it won't come to this..

Has anyone else's cat had this and did anything help?

[Japple]

Goto>> PetPlace.com. This is a tough one,involving your pet's quality of Life.Click On "Cats"... and go from there for the correct answer.

[Flippityjig]

At the moment I am sticking with the vet's advice, just wondered if anyone else had similar experience and what had helped their cat. I guess really I'm hoping my cat will get better before we have to resort to removing teeth, poor fella.

[maddiemostmerry]

Hi, I have had very similar problems.

I have three rescue cats and they have all had rotten teeth and gums from the outset. Mine tested positive for calicivirus. All teeth removed. Cat now has a steroid injection when needed. It's not a cure but cat is much more comfy.

Insurance did pay out, they initially turned it down, as dental not covered but vet spoke to them. It isn't normal for young cats to have these problems, did your vet test for calicivirus? It may not be the same problem though as my cats teeth were also pretty disgusting, they had really foul rotten fish breath.

[Flippityjig]

Thanks for your reply Maddiemostmerry. My cat's teeth aren't rotten, the sore gums were there from the moment his adult teeth came through. He was tested for calici virus and it came back negative.

Luckily my insurance have paid as his teeth clearly are fine. Thank goodness as the anti viral medication cost £500 on its own, plus all the consultations, painkillers, blood tests etc.!

Did removing the cats' teeth make any difference to their pain or is it just the steroid injection that helps? I think steroid injections is the next thing the vet wants to try. I had all my hopes pinned on the anti viral medication but now we are a few months into treatment and no improvement that I can see.

[maddiemostmerry]

Hi, my cat has only needed two steroid injections in the past 8 months. She is certainly more comfortable when touched near the mouth.

Having no teeth hasn't bothered her. I actually have two toothless cats and they both eat fine, a little soft but mostly dry food.

Hope you find a suitable treatment for you cat.

[HardHittingLeafletCampaign]

Yes, had one cat with FIV that had all teeth removed eventually. The post surgery recovery was tough but after that he had a new lease of life, and still ate cat biscuits :)

I knew another cat, non FIV, that we think was somehow having an immune response to his own teeth. If I remember correctly he was long term treated with prednisolone, although not ideal he also had a good quality of life.

Brief response as mobile but let me know if questions.

[HardHittingLeafletCampaign]

I think you have to be careful with steroid injections as there's only so many times they can have them.

[Flippityjig]

Thanks for the replies. I think it is more the operation itself and the recovery than my cat having no teeth that worries me.

The vet thinks that if he doesn't respond to the anti virals that it may be an immune response to his own teeth. Apparently this is not as rare as you would think. Prednisolone is a steroid, right?

I know they are not ideal but with something like this that isn't going to go away you have to weigh up quality of life with side effects, I guess.

Thank you very much, it's good to hear about other cases and how they were treated. He very much likes his dry food so it's good to hear that they can still eat dry food after their teeth have been removed.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

I have referred several cats to a specialist veterinary dentist for total extractions and because of the nature of this disease I think this is really important. For 50% of cats the total extractions were currative, 25% of cats it improved things and 25% of cats it didn't really make much difference.
From speaking to the veterinary dentist we use there is no way to tell which cats are going to do best before the surgery.
One tip that sometimes helps Classic cat food the cats seem to be less bad on this than other foods also some cats seem to better on Fortiflora probiotics daily.

[Flippityjig]

Thank you so much for that information Lonecatwithkitten. That gives me some idea of how he'll do if we have to remove his teeth.

[gindrinker]

My moggy had her teeth taken out. She only has her front and K9s her gums were so sore she couldn't eat. She was a resuce so we knew her problems before we took her on.
Her vet is into dental work so I totally trusted him to do a good job.
It took her a month to heel, but she's so much happier, eats everything going and will play with us.
Insurance wouldn't pay out for the work but I'd rather she was happier than me having another couple of pairs of shoes.

[Flippityjig]

Thanks gindrinker ... but how much do you spend on a pair of shoes?

My cat is eating much more since he's been on painkillers and also he used to be sick once a day but that has stopped since he's having painkillers too. He's such a playful cat (well, just a big kitten really), I don't want to ever see him in pain. I can't bear the thought of him having all his teeth removed, the pain after the operation and the time it takes to heal.

[beautifulgirls]

Take a look at this link www.dogbeachvet.com/PDFS/FelineJuvenilePeriodotitisnewsletter.pdf and maybe even show your vet. Hexarinse daily into the mouth, or dentisept gel applied onto the gums daily could go a long way to helping here combined with a long course of antibiotics (6 weeks or so). It is well worth having a go with this sort of care before the extractions and seeing the response first. Source of info: I am a vet and have dealt with cases like this on advice from a dental specialist.

[Flippityjig]

Thank you beautifulgirls, I'll have a read through. He has already had two courses of antibiotics though.

[Flippityjig]

Beautifulgirls, that is very interesting and could fit with my cat's problems. Do you know anything else about it? It suggests the gums aren't as painful as they look? I will look for more info online but please feel free to contact me by private message, I am extremely interested in finding out as much as possible.

[Flippityjig]

Beautifulgirls, that is very interesting and could fit with my cat's problems. Do you know anything else about it? It suggests the gums aren't as painful as they look? I will look for more info online but please feel free to contact me by private message, I am extremely interested in finding out as much as possible.

[Flippityjig]

Sorry for double posting.