Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / November 2006
Teeth Problems
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jenwrenfer - 13 Nov 2006 18:03 GMT Hello all,
I'm new here and just wanted to post and see if anyone had an experience like I am currently having.
I have a 4 year old kitty with a history of mouth pain, extremely inflamed gums. She has an autoimmune response to any amount of tartar, etc., on her teeth and her mouth goes crazy. They treated her with steroids for a while, but after the way her mouth looked last week we are going in to have most of her teeth removed tomorrow. Has anyone had this done? What was the recovery period like?
My second question is that her blood sugar was really high when they took her blood at the vet. They said stress or the steroids can cause this, but sometimes this will resolve itself on it's own once she can resume eating a normal diet (she only eats baby food right now). Has anyone (hopefully) had this happen?
I can't treat all her problems at once, so I figure I will deal with the teeth, give her a couple of weeks and she how she is doing. It's hard to discern symptoms when so much is going on at one time, but she doesn't have the increased thirst or some of the other signs of diabetes.
Anyway, just fishing and hoping maybe someone has seen this before.
Take care all~! And wish me and Cleo luck for tomorrow~!
Matthew - 13 Nov 2006 18:23 GMT A real quick question have you got a second opinion before removing her teeth that is a big decision
and how did they test her blood sugar did she eat before she went in, did they do a curve
Not all animals show the signs of diabetes increased thirst is a common sign but not every animals shows it
The reason I am asking is if the furball has diabetes it can be causing some of those symptoms
IMO is if they had not done a curve I would have one done before and see if it is the diabetes then you can aggressively treat what needs to be done
PS not all vets are experienced in feline diabetes
PSS good luck and I hope all goes well
http://www.felinediabetes.com/
How do we prepare for surgery or teeth cleaning? Each vet will have their own preference for how they want you to prepare your pet for a surgery or a procedure like teeth cleaning. Since a diabetic pet must have it's food and insulin in regular amounts and at certain times, you must discuss these factors with your vet when you schedule the procedure. How the vet wants you to prepare your pet will depend on factors such as your pet's food and insulin schedule, overall health, the procedure being done, and the vet's personal preferences. You and the vet should schedule the procedure so that it causes the least amount of disruption to your pet's diabetes management routine. After the procedure, your pet may need extra monitoring to determine if the diabetes is controlled. This may be for just a day or two while your pet recovers from a simple procedure, or for a longer period if the procedure was extensive or if it changed your pet's overall health status. For example, teeth cleaning may leave the pet's mouth tender for a day or two and it may not want to eat. So monitoring for those days is important to be sure the pet does not become hypoglycemic. But the teeth cleaning may have also eliminated some gum infections, which may result in the pet requiring less insulin for the long term.
> Hello all, > [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > > Take care all~! And wish me and Cleo luck for tomorrow~! Lynne - 13 Nov 2006 18:36 GMT on Mon, 13 Nov 2006 18:23:28 GMT, "Matthew" <Iamacatslave@proudtoserve.com> wrote:
> The reason I am asking is if the furball has diabetes it can be > causing some of those symptoms That would be my concern, that the kitty has diabetes and the diabetes is causing the mouth/gum symptoms.
To the OP: if you haven't gotten a second opinion, I'd do that prior to an irreversible decision like extracting your kitty's teeth. I would find someone very experienced in feline diabetes. Often an emergency hospital will have a diabetes specialist on staff, or at the very least know who to recommend.
 Signature Lynne
dgk - 13 Nov 2006 20:10 GMT >Hello all, > [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > >Take care all~! And wish me and Cleo luck for tomorrow~! As others said, get a second opinion. But I do have some info for you.
I adopted an old, sick cat named Jackie. The pet store I got her at had no idea what was wrong with her but she weighed all of five pounds and her lips were blue. She had the most miserable look that I have ever seen on a cat. I figured that I could at least give her a decent place to die.
My vet didn't know what was wrong but tests ruled out most things. No diabetes, no thyroid problems; in fact, fairly good chems for an old girl. The glance he was able to get into her mouth showed him that there were ulcers all in her throat and her mouth was a flaming pit of hell.
So we put her on antibiotics for a month or so but nothing helped and he sent me off the the dental specialist at the specialty vet clinic. They diagnosed her as having exactly what you describe, an allergic reaction to her own teeth or bacteria or tarter. They said that the only thing that would help her was having all of her teeth extracted and we did it.
It wasn't cheap I should add. As I recall it was around $1000 and would have been more but that only covered the hospital fees. The dentist did his work for free since I had just adopted her. They pulled all the teeth as well as quite a few that had broken off below the gum line.
After a few days she came home. She started eating a ton more and even gained some weight. That look of misery left her face. She was pretty happy in fact. She developed chronic diarhea after another two months or so which was a bit of a pain for the household. Still, she lived another five or six months before a non-operable tumor in her ear developed and we had to put her to sleep.
She was a tough old girl. Normally when I get a new cat I put them into the Cat Introduction Room for a few days, and they promptly dive under the bed and hide for a day or two as I try to coax them out. When I went in for the first time after depositing Jackie, she was sitting on the edge of the bed nearest the door waiting for me.
After a day she made it very clear that she wanted out of the room. I was concerned because she was five pounds and my two boys are 11 and 16. She comes out, Espy comes up and hisses in her face. She hauled off and belted him right in the mouth. Espy ran away. Nipsy, the 16 pounder, was clearly impressed as well. Espy never did warm to her but Nipsy was her friend.
I say that your situation sounds pretty close except your girl is a lot younger. I wish someone had done this for Jackie years before I got her. I think that cat suffered unbelieveably because it wasn't done. If diabetes is ruled out, I think the vet knows what they're talking about.
cybercat - 13 Nov 2006 20:37 GMT > I adopted an old, sick cat named Jackie. The pet store I got her at > had no idea what was wrong with her but she weighed all of five pounds > and her lips were blue. She had the most miserable look that I have > ever seen on a cat. I figured that I could at least give her a decent > place to die. I remember Jackie. I saved her picture to my "cats" file. You did a wonderful thing for her. I am not sure anyone else would have done what you did.
dgk - 14 Nov 2006 13:59 GMT >> I adopted an old, sick cat named Jackie. The pet store I got her at >> had no idea what was wrong with her but she weighed all of five pounds [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >wonderful thing for her. I am not sure anyone else would have done >what you did. Thanks. She certainly was a tough old lady.
Lesley - 16 Nov 2006 00:45 GMT > >I remember Jackie. I saved her picture to my "cats" file. You did a > >wonderful thing for her. I am not sure anyone else would have done > >what you did. I'll always remeber her she crossed the Bridge on the same day as our Fugazi did some years before for the same reason
Lesley
Slave of the Fabulous Furballs
Lynne - 13 Nov 2006 22:29 GMT > I say that your situation sounds pretty close except your girl is a > lot younger. I wish someone had done this for Jackie years before I > got her. I think that cat suffered unbelieveably because it wasn't > done. If diabetes is ruled out, I think the vet knows what they're > talking about. That is such a beautiful thing you did for Jackie! What a lucky kitty she was to have found you.
 Signature Lynne
jenwrenfer - 13 Nov 2006 22:55 GMT Well I really do have to get the teeth out. This is the second vet that has said that. And this time they actually gave her some gas so they could really get a good look at them, and called us back, and well, I just don't know how she's doing as well as she is to be honest. It is horrible looking.
Anyway she just had her last meal and antibiotic, so we're all ready to go in the morning. I'll keep you posted.
Thanks for the replies!
mlbriggs - 14 Nov 2006 01:10 GMT > Well I really do have to get the teeth out. This is the second vet that has > said that. And this time they actually gave her some gas so they could really [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Thanks for the replies! Purrs for a successful outcome. MLB
Lynne - 14 Nov 2006 01:25 GMT > Well I really do have to get the teeth out. This is the second vet > that has said that. And this time they actually gave her some gas so > they could really get a good look at them, and called us back, and > well, I just don't know how she's doing as well as she is to be > honest. It is horrible looking. with 2 vets saying the same thing, I would think you are safe in your decision. I'll bet that once your kitty recovers from the surgery, she will be VERY happy. She probably won't even notice she doesn't have teeth because she'll be so happy to be out of pain! I hope so, anyway. Best of luck to both of you tomorrow. Try not to worry too much.
 Signature Lynne
"Every once in a while, the tables are turned and we get to share our lives with an animal who takes care of their human." - Tara, rpdb
Rhonda - 14 Nov 2006 02:37 GMT Hi there, sorry your cat is having problems.
I think diabetes can cause more teeth issues than normal -- our cat had to have 6 teeth planed or removed about 8 months after his diabetes diagnosis.
Steroids can trigger diabetes, so who knows what came first for your cat.
I hope the sugar goes back down, how high was it? Our vet goes by a benchmark of about 200 for kitties stressed by the trip to the vet (normal is 100.) Bob's was 400 when diagnosed.
I'm glad you're getting those teeth fixed. That will make a huge difference in how he feels. I hope it goes well for him tomorrow.
Let us know what happens with the sugar levels,
Rhonda
> Hello all, > [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > Take care all~! And wish me and Cleo luck for tomorrow~! dgk - 14 Nov 2006 13:59 GMT >Hi there, sorry your cat is having problems. > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > >Rhonda I did a bit more research about steroids and diabetes. There are three types of steroids, and the ones that we're talking about (prednisone and such) are all gluco-steroids. Gluco, because their primary action involves the glucose pathways in the body. So it should hardly be a surprise that there would be a relationship between the steroids and diabetes.
Apparently the action that we care about, the anti-inflamatory response, is a byproduct of their primary activity. It isn't even understood why there is an anti-inflamatory action, but there is so we use it. Weird science.
jenwrenfer - 15 Nov 2006 20:10 GMT Hi all~!
Well, it's going okay so far. Cleo had all of her teeth removed, and we had a rough night last night. She's in a Elizabethan collar for two weeks, and since she was disoriented last night from the anesthesa we had to confine her in the laundry room. She was none too pleased, so my husband and I, needless to say, didn't get much sleep.
Today is better though. I'm able to let her have the run of the apartment with my other kitty when one of us is home to supervise. My other kitty is a little scared of the e-collar, so when we leave they each get two rooms to themselves. This works out since I can leave out the dry food for the other cat when we are gone.
Cleo can eat and drink with the e-collar on. They recommended we not take it off because it will only get harder to put it back on each time. I took it off while she ate once today to get some of the dried bloody salivia (eww!) out of it for her, but I can just wipe it down when she finishes eating from now on.
She is eating like a horse, which I can't believe just a day after surgery and 60+ stitches. But you really wouldn't even know it. It kills me to leave the collar on her all the time but I know if she were to get at those stitches she would really be in trouble.
So needless to say I'm a little tired after my 12 hour day yesterday and sleepless night, but hopefully we are on the road to recovery. We of course have non-refundable tickets out of town for 5 days next week but I think what we'll do is just keep them seperated while we are gone, my mother will be down to feed them and the like. Although they will miss each other for the few days I think it will be easier for her to recover without the other one bugging her all the time.
Thanks for the information and encouragement~!
Matthew - 15 Nov 2006 20:43 GMT Happy Dance
Have good time while you are away
> Hi all~! > [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > > Thanks for the information and encouragement~! Lynne - 15 Nov 2006 21:12 GMT on Wed, 15 Nov 2006 20:10:07 GMT, "jenwrenfer via CatKB.com" <u29044@uwe> wrote:
> Hi all~! > [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > > Thanks for the information and encouragement~! I'm so relieved to hear that Cleo's surgery went well and she is recovering. Don't worry too much about the e-collar. She'll get used to it and then it will be time to take it off!
 Signature Lynne
"Every once in a while, the tables are turned and we get to share our lives with an animal who takes care of their human." - Tara, rpdb
Rhonda - 18 Nov 2006 05:18 GMT > So needless to say I'm a little tired after my 12 hour day yesterday and > sleepless night, but hopefully we are on the road to recovery. Sounds like it's been stressful for you lately, but I'm glad Cleo is doing well after her surgery. Hopefully, you can relax on vacation!
Rhonda
Rhonda - 18 Nov 2006 05:17 GMT > I did a bit more research about steroids and diabetes. There are three > types of steroids, and the ones that we're talking about (prednisone > and such) are all gluco-steroids. Gluco, because their primary action > involves the glucose pathways in the body. So it should hardly be a > surprise that there would be a relationship between the steroids and > diabetes. That's interesting. I didn't realize there were 3 types of steroids. It's good to know the relationship with diabetes. Wish I would have known before Bob got his fateful shot.
Rhonda
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