Suddenly toothless cat..... O.O

MothFilledWallet

Well not totally, I just noticed when I checked his mouth that he seems to have lost 3-4 teeth on one side of his mouth :eek:

He's only 6, good health (or so I thought!) and the gums where to teeth were look fine. No nasty smells, any wounds there were seems to have healed over nicely, he didn't mind me prodding so not painful (he's avid a biter so I'd have known very quickly if I'd hurt him lol).

I'm just wondering what caused it, and how I didn't notice!
He didn't seem off colour or in discomfort recently, and I check all the cats teeth at least every 6 weeks to keep and eye on things.

Could he have lost/damaged then lost them in a fight with our other cats? :think:

He's an indoor cat, now on mostly wet food (poor fella!)
He was a rescue cat and was very frail/half starved as a kitten, could it be down to the fact he had a poor start in life? :think:

Any ideas would be great, he hates going to the vet and I'd rather not put him through that (the cat either lol)

:beer:

Otherwise he's his usual bright and happy self.

[EDIT]
If I see a build up on the cats teeth I use a 'cat toothpaste' from the vets, I haven't needed to do it often and they all likes the taste. No fight/rough stuff involved

Gold_Dust_2

Wow, that's strange. The only cause I've ever heard of random tooth loss like that is tooth resorption. Can't say that that's what happened there, but I would definitely get it checked out by the vet to rule that out, as tooth loss is strange. I'd understand a missing canine, as those things are big and exposed and are large enough to broken or pulled out accidentally but the rest are too tiny to be knocked out IMO. The fact that's he's still eating and behaving normally is a good sign, though, he's not in pain.

Even toothless cats can eat dry food btw it doesn't phase them.

Dunroamin

One of my cat's has just had all his teeth out because of a medical condition and an old cat lost all his. Both manage dry cat food perfectly well so don't feel you have to give him wet.

moggymutt

Wouldn't surprise me if his lousy start to life was a major factor. Just check that his gums aren't inflamed or he will have to endure a trip to the vets.

He will cope fine.

MothFilledWallet

He still eat dry food without problems, I just top him up with wet a bit more now as he's a lazy blighter when it come to chewing.

Thanks for the advice/ideas!

:beer:

rising_from_the_ashes

oh dear

Although older cats will gradually lose their teeth (as we often do!) and manage very well with a change in diet, any sudden lose or multiple missing teeth - especially in a young cat - needs to be checked by a vet

I don't want to worry you BUT it can be caused by serious medical conditions

Fingers crossed he's OK