Gingivitis - Cats

Spirit_2

I took one of our cats to the vets this evening, as I thought he had a broken tooth. It was'nt our usual vet.

The vet diagnosed Gingivitis and said cat would need a GA for a dental check up, 4-5 teeth out and the other teeth scraped and polished.

I asked if we could start with something less agressive , as the cat is not old (age unknown). and cat has had 2 jabs, one an antibiotic, the other an anti-inflammatory. Cat is to have a return visit next week and future treatment then determined.

It was all terribly rushed and the vet did not fill me with confidence - does Gingivitis usually need teeth to be removed?

Thakyou
Spirit

lowis

if it is bad enough then yes. one of my cats had terrible gingivitis when she was young, she had to have nearly all her teeth removed (apart from her canines), poor little thing...she wasn't the healthiest kitten.

Bella198421

My cat has to have the same as well, I was taking her for her boosters and the vet said she has the start of gingivitis and will need her teeth cleaning and one removed. They said there is no other option but for her to have this done but she's only three and I'm also worried about the cost. At first they mentioned some kind of gel but then switched to her having surgery. I'm in two minds about it at the moment cos of the cost but if my cat really needs it doing now and it will be better to get it done sooner rather then let it get worse then I'm gonna book her in within the month cos I get a discount (conveniently).

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Yup. If the cat needs teeth out or de-tartaring, their life can be transformed through treatment.

If you had experienced the change from badly cared for teeth to healthy, clean ones, you wouldn't hesitate to stump up the cash.

bethie

same thing happened with my cat.

we adopted him when he was about 4 (or so we thought!) and he had mouth problems on and off for a couple of years (mouth ulcers, overactive scent gland, self harmer, allergies, ulceritive glossitis, unknown infection) etc but it wasnt until he was scratching his ears raw that gingivitis/tooth decay was mentioned (as in he was scratching his ears to get to his molars). i had been trying to brush his teeth but he really didnt like that.

we signed him up to have his teeth scaled to try and remove some of the plaque, and take out the molars if necessary. we picked him up that night and the vet said that most of his teeth were actually gone and he had only his canines and the little front teeth left. the vet said that in fact, she wasnt quite sure how old he was as the teeth were in such poor condition.

afterwards he was definitely perkier, and currently (now possibly 7) he seems to think he is about 1 - which is driving everyone nuts.

he seems perfectly capable with only his front teeth. he still eats his dry food fine and i suppose it is probably easier for him to eat now that the pain in his mouth is gone - he just swallows it whole. unbenownst to me i didnt realize he never chewed his food, and that cats were supposed to chew their food like dogs!, as i had never had a cat before and i always thought they just wolfed it down!

and, in our case, we were even able to get it reimbursed through the pet insurance as we had so frequently attended for problems relating to his mouth.

KVet

Gingivitis in cats can start at any age, the younger they are the worse it can be. Saw a 1 year old cat that had it once and it was horrific, bleeding gums and needed most of its teeth out. Can be caused by a virus they get when very young called calicivirus which causes the gingivitis/stomatitis. Other things can make it worse (having FELV/FIV) so is sometimes good to test for that as well. Nothing cures gingivitis as it is usually of a viral cause but it can have waxing and waning periods as well, random flare ups are common. The only real things that help is regular dentals. More serious cases can get treatment such as Interferon which is expensive and works amazingly well, but this is all much futher down the line.

People are never very keen for dentals but they totally know the difference with their animal after the dental as oral pain is horrible.