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Original poster

Has anyone's cat ever had tooth problems?

18 replies

RosaLuxOnTheBrightSideOfLife · 19/02/2008 14:19

My very old (19 in April) cat has always been fussy about her food, but in the past few weeks she has been eating less and less. She has a saucer of milk in the morning which she loves (and before anyone says anything she is NOT lactose intolerant) and then a small tin of posh food at lunch time and evening. However in the past couple of weeks she has been lapping up the milk as eagerly as ever but only eating about half her food. When I watched her closely today I realised that she isn't biting her food, she is licking all the gravy and jelly up and leaving the chunks. She won't let me look inside her mouth so the only teeth I can see are her incisors, which look fine. But I am thinking dental issues? She doesn't appear to be in pain and is her usual self in other ways. I have made a vet appointment for tomorrow morning, but I am wondering what to expect. She hates going to the vets and hasn't been for ages, I'm afraid they might even have to give her a GA just to look inside her mouth as she is very uncooperative.

OP posts:
DoodleToYou · 19/02/2008 14:24

Message withdrawn

beautifulgirls · 19/02/2008 16:08

If she is in otherwise good health then getting the vet to sort her teeth out is the best option, assuming they agree there are problems in there of course. Although she is very old it is not a reason to avoid an anaesthetic if she is otherwise in good health. They should be able to check her over for you and you should expect blood tests to be run before an anaesthetic to check for things like her kidney function etc - so the vet can know they are not doing any harm by giving her a GA. Dental problems are very common in cats, especially older ones and if she has never had any dental work in her life then it is almost certain there is going to be something in there by now that needs to be dealt with. Meanwhile keep giving her soft foods to help her manage to eat until you see the vet.

It is interesting that you say she does not seem in pain - this is a very common thing people think about dental problems. Cats will not usually show pain until things are really severe, but it does not mean they are not in some pain sadly. They have no way of telling you and if they are not eating as well (due to dental issues) then that in itself is an indication of pain.

Good luck - hope she gets on ok at the vets

Original poster
RosaLuxOnTheBrightSideOfLife · 19/02/2008 18:57

Thanks very much Doodle and BeautifulGirls. So if she has to have her teeth out, she will be able to eat OK afterwards or will it be soft food only from now on. She has always been an incredibly fussy and difficult eater anyway, so this is just adding another dimension. My poor baby, she doesn't have the greatest personality in the world but we have been together a very long time now. I hate to think she might be in pain and I didn't realise.

OP posts:
WigWamBam · 19/02/2008 19:07

My cat had health problems which meant she had all her teeth taken out when she was about 8.

She has no problems eating most foods - although large chunks of anything are difficult. She can eat wet or dry food quite happily; the gums become very hard very quickly and are almost as effective as teeth.

It certainly sounds as if your cat has problems with her mouth - which doesn't necessarily mean she has problems with her teeth, although at her age it's likely.

Hope you get on OK with the vet tomorrow.

beautifulgirls · 19/02/2008 21:15

They usually have soft food until the gums have healed ok afterwards and then they can have dried foods again after that. For most cats dried foods are a better plan as it helps to keep the teeth clean, but you have to weigh up with an old fussy cat like her if it is fair to change her food now of course, so in her case it will depend a lot on what she eats already.

Orinoco · 19/02/2008 21:20

Message withdrawn

Original poster
RosaLuxOnTheBrightSideOfLife · 19/02/2008 21:54

I wondered about that Orinoco, because a friend has had a cat with kidney problems, but my cat has a bowl of water right beside her food bowl and isn't drinking any more than usual. She has been shedding a lot of fur in the past few weeks though and I realised today that she is not really grooming herself at all. But she is her usual irritating loving self in most respects.

OP posts:
beautifulgirls · 19/02/2008 22:40

The vet should check out her whole health anyway when she goes - if it is not her teeth then they should pick up on that.

JossStick · 19/02/2008 22:45

Could it be Gingivitus?

My DMs very old cat (Jonjon) developed that in his later years.

RosaIsRed · 19/02/2008 23:23

Well I will know more at 10 tomorrow. If I can find the cat basket. I have just turned the house upside down looking for it - DH 'thinks' he might have put it in the attic, so he can go up first thing and have a look for it.

RosaIsRed · 20/02/2008 13:41

Jossstick you may be right. The vet had a look at her teeth and said there was a lot of tarter on the back teeth that may be causing inflamed gums. She will need to have it removed under GA and so tomorrow she has to have a blood test to find out if her kidneys will stand the GA or not. If not, she rather ominously said we would have to discuss 'quality of life issues'. Other than that she couldn't find anything wrong though and she has given me some convalescent cat food that you mix to a paste with water which she has absolutely lapped up, so at least I know I can get the calories into her without her having to chew.

JossStick · 20/02/2008 16:05

Don't fear the worst - my DMs old man lived for another 18 months (although he did have to have his food chopped up VV small).

RosaIsRed · 22/02/2008 00:52

Thanks JossStick. She is loving the vet's prescription diet - at £1.25 a can she might well be. My friend suggested that the children might have to live on value baked beans for a couple of years in order to finance it. Seems a small price to pay.
She had the blood test today (not a happy camper) and now I just have to wait for the result.
What is getting me down is though DH and the children are doing their best to be sympathetic, they don't actually like her all that much and I think are secretly hoping she might not make it (so they can get a dog).

fortyplus · 22/02/2008 01:17

Sympathy . My old cat died recently and we were all terribly sad to lose her. Hope yours pulls through. Mine had a blood test - it really does look brutal, doesn't it? But she didn't seem to mind - lokked a bit startled but just kept purring.

assdoc · 23/02/2008 13:16

Can't you just whizz ordinary cat food up in a blender rather than buy it for megga bucks from the vet?

RosaIsRed · 23/02/2008 13:27

I think she will gradually be able to eat other stuff, assdoc, if I mash it up for her. She had some tuna yesterday and managed it fine. But she is really skinny right now, and the vet stuff is a very high-calorie food which means that even if she can't eat much she is not losing anymore weight and hopefully will even put some on. She always has been a complete fusspot about her food anyway.

RosaIsRed · 28/02/2008 10:54

Good news today, blood tests are back and her kidney function is OK so she is going in for the op on Monday.

RosaIsRed · 03/03/2008 12:42

She is in there now. I have to ring at three to see how she got on and if she is OK we can pick her up this evening.
Please send well cat vibes her way, fellow pet owners. I am feeling quite wobbly about this.

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