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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

The litter tray

Cat tooth

14 replies

frillyflower · 09/04/2016 14:42

I've just found a broken brown tooth lying on my cat's paw. The cat is about 12 (was a rescue so not sure). He seems fine otherwise.
Is it an old age thing? Should I take him to the vets?

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MakeItRain · 09/04/2016 15:50

I think I would want my cat checked out, in case of possible infection.

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frillyflower · 09/04/2016 16:46

Thanks. I will take him. His teeth look a bit rubbish tbh

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RubbishMantra · 09/04/2016 20:49

Definitely agree with going to the vets ASAP. I may be wrong, but I think bad teeth can cause heart problems in cats.

He'll also be in a lot of pain - cats are experts at hiding discomfort.

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cozietoesie · 09/04/2016 21:15

I guess that things that don't renew are subject to more and more damage and problems, frilly - like humans, really. (And cat teeth aren't designed by nature for the length of life they have these days.) Be advised, though, that if his teeth are 'rubbish', he may need a full dental which is a GA procedure.

He's only 12 though so that wouldn't be too much of an issue.

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frillyflower · 10/04/2016 10:30

I suppose 12 is old isn't it. Poor thing. He was an abused cat so never very friendly. But absolutely no trouble as long as no one tries to pick him up or cuddle him!

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cozietoesie · 10/04/2016 11:32

Well personally, I don't see 12 as 'old' - but then my own lad is over 21 so I wouldn't, would I?

However you come at it, I think he's getting on a bit though - and if he didn't have such a good life before he came to you?..........

See what the vet says. It sounds as if you need to have his teeth properly taken care of and it might well be better to have it done now and give him some extra good years rather than leave him to soldier on to a point where he really was too frail for a GA.

(My own old lad had a full dental at 16 and while previous vets had demurred due - mainly - to their teams and facilities, his current practice expressed a fair confidence that they could get him through it. As it was, his teeth were so horrible that I had little choice and he came through just fine with some good fluid support etc - and hasn't looked back, even with most of his remaining teeth now gone from his mouth. )

I'm afraid that it's not a massively cheap procedure though. Sorry to mention such practicalities but I wouldn't want you having conniptions on the practice floor.

Good luck, whatever you decide for him.

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PinkSparklyPussyCat · 10/04/2016 18:04

Harry is 11 and he had a full dental earlier this year after breaking his jaw. He now has no fangs and a couple of other teeth are missing but he copes fine. He was fine with the anaesthetic - although I was worried I kept thinking of Cozie and Seniorboy.

Rubbish is right, cats are very good at hiding pain. As well as the broken jaw Harry had inflamed gums and decaying teeth but we had no idea. He'd been checked by a vet 6 months before and they couldn't see anything wrong and he was eating dried food and acting normally until he came home with the broken jaw. This is the tooth I found on the bathroom mat (next to a 5p for comparison) - I couldn't believe how brown and decayed it was and felt terrible for not knowing.

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frillyflower · 11/04/2016 19:37

Thanks for the advice. I'm taking him to the vet and I will suck up the cost. I don't like to think he's in pain. Poor old chap.

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cozietoesie · 11/04/2016 19:50

Good luck to him and let us know how things go.

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frillyflower · 16/04/2016 12:57

Update on cat tooth. Turns out what I found wasn't a tooth. It was a bit of tartar. Cat (who now turns out to be 13 and 1/2) had check up and found to be in v good health. Just needs scale and polish.
Thanks for the advice. I'm glad he's had a check up.

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RubbishMantra · 16/04/2016 15:40

I need to get MCat in for a scale and polish. The last time he went to the vet, we were informed it was needed, and had a "special offer" on that month.

Life stuff got in the way, and I've not got round to it. He's only 6, and his teeth and gums look perfect to me - no inflammation of gums or anything. I use a chain vet, who are extremely keen on upselling. (but apart from that are very good). If poor, trusting DH went there on his own, he'd come home with bagfulls of stuff the vet said she'd "given" him and an astronomical bill. Stuff we already had, like Indorex, but double the price that we'd paid online.

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cozietoesie · 16/04/2016 17:17

I had to have The Lodger given a dental at only about 3/4 years old. He might have been a fine hunter of small things but he had also been on the streets for a long time and had some serious tartar buildup. (Judging by the occasional present he'd deposit on the back step in the early days, he was adept at raiding the bins of the local Chinese takeaway - spare ribs in sticky sweet sauce!)

He also had a malformation of a couple of bottom teeth which had to be removed to prevent future problems.

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cozietoesie · 16/04/2016 17:19

PS - good news about the checkup, frilly.

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frillyflower · 16/04/2016 17:35

Yes cozie it's good news.im pleased he's ok. When we adopted him many years ago he'd been put in cat rescue and the vet there found he had a sewing needle in his head. It had been there so long it had gone rusty! God knows how painful it must have been.
He's always been a quiet little cat. Scared but fierce. The only person he tolerates really is my husband except if he's feeling ill when he comes to me.
He's bitten almost everyone who's ever come to our house.
We love him though!