Spot's Second opinion dental

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Jen M. - 09 Jun 2005 21:59 GMT

Hello All!

I recenlty adopted Spot and he has very bad teeth. I have been trying to
work a solution with the humane society for a month now. They had Spot for
over a year and adopted him out with such bad teeth---grrrrrr.

Took him to the humane society today for a second opinion. They said that
Spot's teeth were very bad--rolling eyes--and said that the gingivitus
(spelling) seemed to be exaggerated maybe indicating stomitis (spelling)--
anyone familiar with this?

Said that several of his teeth would have to be extracted when they did the
dental. Also, seems he has a pretty bad infection. Spot is five years old.

Is this common?

The vet said there was no conclusive tests to diagnose stomitis--how can I
be sure?

She said that his age was not a determining factor in the condition of his
teeth. She said that if it were stomitis--that he may have to have steroid
treatments. From what I have heard and with my limited understanding--this
is hard on cats, right?

There were a couple of other issues with his teeth--seems almost what you
can have dentalwise--he has got--must be genetics?

I feed them a really good, natural dry cat food and will be incorporating
soon wet food into their diet.

Spot is a large-long med. haired domestic tabby cat.

On a side note. I have had Spot for about a month--he has had two colds in
that time. Occassionally he sneezes. a couple of times I thought I heard
a bit of weezing from him. I quit burning scented candles and make sure
that the house is opened up and I smoke away from the cats now. Not sure
if he is still recovering from the colds--or may be a touch of asthma or
allergies. I vacuum daily. I wanted to bring this up because of him being
put under for the dental.

I would appreciate any information.

Thanks,
Jen and Spot

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kitkatluna - 09 Jun 2005 22:06 GMT

> Hello All!
>
[quoted text clipped - 40 lines]
> Thanks,
> Jen and Spot

I just had a successful dental with my old boy, Jasper, who will be 14
in September. He also had some of the symptoms you described: occasional
sneezing & wheezing, etc. I know his former owner used to smoke. And she
also fed him people food. And his teeth were rotting horribly. He had
4.5 teeth extracted yesterday and is up and attem today, taking
occasional naps, cuz, well...he's a cat! ;) I have no idea what stomitis
is, so someone else will have to chime in. But I just wanted to let you
know that I was terrified as hell to have Jasper put under for the
dental and everything went fine. Make sure you get a blood panel on Spot
before the surgery (if you havent already) and make sure his values are
normal etc. Basically, Jasper had a mini-checkup before his dental.

Bottom line? Those teeth need to be cared for as soon as you can. (I
learned that here!) :)

Good luck!
Pam

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Jen M. - 09 Jun 2005 22:33 GMT

I am glad to hear that you and Jasper are doing well after the dental.
Congrats!

What is his post-dental care like? Anything special?

Yeah, I am concerned about putting him under--from my experience--that is
often harder on them than the actual procedure. Spot is so skittish of me
anyway--acclimating and all--that the care I have had to give him since
adopting him disrupts him often--grrr and now this.

I spoke with an assistant at the h.s. today and she said that it took Spot
two months, or longer, to warm up to her and longer than that to seek
people out. Mercy!

I felt so sorry for him today as I was driving. He usually isn't vocal--
but did a pitiful meowing the whole time and he kept one eye on me through
the carrier the whole time. Really tugs at your heart and it looks like we
will be making two, or three, more trips like this. He settled down once
we got him--but is walking an even wider path around me than he normally
does.

Ok, really--I had six cats before--but they were healthy and we had
virtually no issues--what is a blood panel and why get one? I guess I am
just having a bad meowmy moment here. I would love to love on them and to
see them all healthy and comfortable and especially not skittish of me.

I will be doing some research on normal dental care for the cats--suggest
anything? Gosh, add one more thing for me to do to them to make them even
more skittish of me! grrrrrr Not feeling warm--purrrfuzzies here--god
love them!

Thanks,
Jen

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kitkatluna - 09 Jun 2005 22:42 GMT

> I am glad to hear that you and Jasper are doing well after the dental.
> Congrats!
>
> What is his post-dental care like? Anything special?

10 days of antibiotics and pain killers which Jasper doesn't seem to
need. Fortuantely for me, Jasper will eat pills without any problem if I
hide it in a piece of cooked chicken. :-)

> Ok, really--I had six cats before--but they were healthy and we had
> virtually no issues--what is a blood panel and why get one? I guess I am
> just having a bad meowmy moment here. I would love to love on them and to
> see them all healthy and comfortable and especially not skittish of me.

A blood panel is simply a blood test. They draw a little blood and make
sure that all the levels look right. I am not a vet/doctor, but I'm sure
someone else can explain exactly what they test. ;) I just knew to ask
for one and the vet replied "Yes, that would be a good idea."
Basically, if you are putting your furrball under, you want to make sure
he/she is in the best shape possible. Less likely for complications I'm
guessin.

I would even venture a guess and say part of the reason Spot is so
skittish is cuz his mouth hurts. Perhaps once his teeth are cleen and
the icky ones are gone, he'll become a big old love bug! :)

Pam

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Jen M. - 09 Jun 2005 23:44 GMT

Thanks Hon--I will certainly ask about this.

Have Fun,
Jen

>> I am glad to hear that you and Jasper are doing well after the dental.
>> Congrats!
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
>
>Pam

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zuzu22@webtv.net - 10 Jun 2005 03:50 GMT

One thing you definitely need to do is get your cat tested for
Bartonella. Bartonella is transmitted to the cat when it is bitten by a
flea, and it can cause many inflammatory conditions with gingivitis and
tooth problems being at the top of the list. I have had several of my
cats that had tooth/gum issues test positive for Bartonella. If your
vet doesn't test for Bartonella, find one that does. At the University
of Minnesota here it has been standard practice for several years to
test cats with gingivitis and stomatitis for Bartonella, but it seems a
lot of vets are just learning about this or don't know anything about it
at all. The good news is that in most cases a 3 week course of
azithromycin will cure it, which in many cases will then resolve the
related issues. You can read more here:
http://www.knowlesanimalclinics.com/miami/bartonella_and_cats.html

Megan

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Jen M. - 10 Jun 2005 16:30 GMT

I will check this out--thank you!

Sincerely,
Jen and Spot

>One thing you definitely need to do is get your cat tested for
>Bartonella. Bartonella is transmitted to the cat when it is bitten by a
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
>

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