Gingivitis - WHAT DO I DO!! So stressed!

Hi there my vet said my cat is developing a little gingivitis. I know
doesn't sound like a big deal but I just lost one cat due to FIV.

She mentioned I should probably have his two big teeth pulled. However
I am concerned as I've never heard of cats going to the dentist.

My previous cat always had gingivitis and no vets seemed concerned,
they said it was bad but all I could do was give him different food. He
ended up dying of FIV and Leukemia. NOt sure if I could have prevented
it. So I'm asking for advice as the vets I've seen in the past were not
informing me of every possibility.

Cost is not an issue, is it painful to have the teeth pulled? I'm
afraid he'll be tramatized or choke or something, He's got low WBC so
I'm afraid he can't fight off any infection or become weak. or it will
become infected or he won't be able to eat, or it will hurt more. I
want to make the right decision for my baby's health!

How often do people bring their cats in for teeth cleaning. Should I
just get his teeth cleaned or pull those two big ones that are all red
and receeding gums? That's one huge tooth to pull and will be a huge
adjustment for him, He won't be able to defend off bad neighbourhood
cats or chase mice or birds. What to do?????

Thank you, Jacquie

JQ wrote:
Hi there my vet said my cat is developing a little gingivitis. I know
doesn't sound like a big deal but I just lost one cat due to FIV.

She mentioned I should probably have his two big teeth pulled. However
I am concerned as I've never heard of cats going to the dentist.

My previous cat always had gingivitis and no vets seemed concerned,
they said it was bad but all I could do was give him different food. He
ended up dying of FIV and Leukemia. NOt sure if I could have prevented
it. So I'm asking for advice as the vets I've seen in the past were not
informing me of every possibility.

Cost is not an issue, is it painful to have the teeth pulled? I'm
afraid he'll be tramatized or choke or something, He's got low WBC so
I'm afraid he can't fight off any infection or become weak. or it will
become infected or he won't be able to eat, or it will hurt more. I
want to make the right decision for my baby's health!

How often do people bring their cats in for teeth cleaning. Should I
just get his teeth cleaned or pull those two big ones that are all red
and receeding gums? That's one huge tooth to pull and will be a huge
adjustment for him, He won't be able to defend off bad neighbourhood
cats or chase mice or birds. What to do?????

Thank you, Jacquie


My cat Jasper just had a dental and had 4 teeth pulled. Definitely do
it...if the vet thinks he is strong enough to do so, it should be done.
Allowing the gingivitis to fester can cause more diseases and you don't
want that to happen. Jasper is an old cat and we got him about a year
ago. His former owner let him eat a lot of people food and due to her
old age neglected his teeth in the past years before we got him. Even
though now he only has his front teeth (fangs!! lol) he is doing just
fine. Your cat will likely have to adapt to the change, but with your
love im sure he'll be fine. I was TERRIFIED to have the dental done
because I didnt want Jasper put under anesthesia. But I knew it was the
right thing to do and he is FINE!!!

Good luck,
Pam

Gingivitis can be associated with Bartonella infection. Is this an
outside cat? Was it ever exposed to fleas? Bartonella is carried by
the little buggers - I just did a quick Google and came up with:

"The clinical signs of Bartonella sp include: gingivitis, stomatitis,
oral ulcerations, submandibular lymphadenopathy, upper respiratory
infections, rhinitis, sinusitis, uveitis, chorioretinitis,
conjunctivitis, inflammatory bowel disease, fever of unknown origin,
hepatic peliosis, bacillary angiomatosis, valvular heart disease. The
most common manifestation is gingival and ocular disease. However, any
cat with chronic inflammatory disease should be tested for this
organism."
- http://www.veterinaryspecialistsnetw...m/vsn_case.htm

"The same relation was also observed for the incidence of gingivitis
among the 4 cat groups, suggesting that coinfection of B. henselae and
FIV may be associated with gingivitis and lymphadenopathy in cats."
-
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

"Feline calicivirus can cause oral lesions, and in some studies,
feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) and Bartonella henselae have been
implicated."

- http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/ar...pt_id=&aid=998

On Wed 22 Jun 2005 03:50:34p, JQ wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav
roups.com):

snip
How often do people bring their cats in for teeth cleaning.
Should I just get his teeth cleaned or pull those two big ones
that are all red and receeding gums? That's one huge tooth to
pull and will be a huge adjustment for him, He won't be able to
defend off bad neighbourhood cats or chase mice or birds. What
to do?????

My Shamrock had gingivitis at 2 yrs old. Vet cleaned his teeth
(none had to be extracted, though) but I have heard it's unusual to
see such tarter and red gums at 2 years old. Then again, this type
of thing is hereditary. It could also be coincidental that he has
allergy problems.

I'd get the bad teeth extracted and then ask about how to keep the
rest healthy. There are toothpastes and toothbrushes for cats. How
they adjust to letting you brush them is another matter. LOL
We're still working on that part.

--
Cheryl

"The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited
breath."
- W.C. Fields

JQ wrote:
Hi there my vet said my cat is developing a little gingivitis. I know
doesn't sound like a big deal but I just lost one cat due to FIV.

She mentioned I should probably have his two big teeth pulled. However
I am concerned as I've never heard of cats going to the dentist.

My previous cat always had gingivitis and no vets seemed concerned,
they said it was bad but all I could do was give him different food. He
ended up dying of FIV and Leukemia. NOt sure if I could have prevented
it. So I'm asking for advice as the vets I've seen in the past were not
informing me of every possibility.

Cost is not an issue, is it painful to have the teeth pulled? I'm
afraid he'll be tramatized or choke or something, He's got low WBC so
I'm afraid he can't fight off any infection or become weak. or it will
become infected or he won't be able to eat, or it will hurt more. I
want to make the right decision for my baby's health!

How often do people bring their cats in for teeth cleaning. Should I
just get his teeth cleaned or pull those two big ones that are all red
and receeding gums? That's one huge tooth to pull and will be a huge
adjustment for him, He won't be able to defend off bad neighbourhood
cats or chase mice or birds. What to do?????

Thank you, Jacquie

If you're leery about it in general, or if you have concerns about
other aspects of your cat's health - combined with the anesthesia
needed for the extractions, you can ask the vet to go do an in-depth
explanation of the whys & wherefores & "what-if" scenarios for you.
Either in person, or via the phone. As an off-chance, I suppose you
might also check into the possibility of a vet who specializes in
dentistry in your area, asking for a referral by your vet.

I'd have them done. My cats haven't had gingivitis, but one of my cats
needed to have several teeth extracted - 5 at one point when she was
about 5 years old, & a few more teeth several years later. Some of the
"had to go" teeth were abscessed (infected), and others were on the
verge of abscessing. Either way - *not* comfortable (to put it mildly)
to have in one's mouth. And not particularly good for one's overall
health.

Her recovery time for both sets of extractions was virtually nil; she
acted just fine by the time I picked her up from the vets' a few hours
after the extractions. Besides a bunch of other teeth, she was
eventually missing all of her canines, but it didn't cause a problem.
She was an indoor cat (except for access to a screened porch), & she
could still eat - incl. dry food - with no problem.

My cats get their teeth checked during their check-ups; if there's
minor tartar build-up & the vet can chip it off manually, she does that
right then & there. If, OTOH, there's a need for a cleaning, one is
scheduled. There's no set every 'x' years for cleanings, just when/if
they need it. My present cats have good teeth so far; the older one (13
yr.) may've had a dental cleaning years ago, but I can't remember...
The younger cat (6) hasn't needed one yet.

Cathy

Thanku all, Well since no one has anything bad to say about cats
getting teeth pulled or cleaned I shall ask for more details from my
vet and proceed.
Thank u very much for your input!
Jacquie

Brian Link wrote:
Gingivitis can be associated with Bartonella infection. Is this an
outside cat? Was it ever exposed to fleas? Bartonella is carried by
the little buggers - I just did a quick Google and came up with:

"The clinical signs of Bartonella sp include: gingivitis, stomatitis,
oral ulcerations, submandibular lymphadenopathy, upper respiratory
infections, rhinitis, sinusitis, uveitis, chorioretinitis,
conjunctivitis, inflammatory bowel disease, fever of unknown origin,
hepatic peliosis, bacillary angiomatosis, valvular heart disease. The
most common manifestation is gingival and ocular disease. However, any
cat with chronic inflammatory disease should be tested for this
organism."
- http://www.veterinaryspecialistsnetw...m/vsn_case.htm

"The same relation was also observed for the incidence of gingivitis
among the 4 cat groups, suggesting that coinfection of B. henselae and
FIV may be associated with gingivitis and lymphadenopathy in cats."
-
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

"Feline calicivirus can cause oral lesions, and in some studies,
feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) and Bartonella henselae have been
implicated."

- http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/ar...pt_id=&aid=998

Thanku Brian, very informative website links!! I just made an
appointment with another vet, we'll get a second opinion and ask to get
some xrays and then go from there.
Much appreciated!!!! Jacquie

JQ wrote:
Thanku all, Well since no one has anything bad to say about cats
getting teeth pulled or cleaned I shall ask for more details from my
vet and proceed.
Thank u very much for your input!
Jacquie

I would recommend seeing a feline dental specialist, if you have one in
your area. You can find one he http://www.avdc.org/

I also came across this you might find of interest:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Con...=1&SourceID=13

Lauren

Jacquie,

one of my cats has severe gingivitis and needs a dental about every two
years. My FIV positive cat had a dental yesterday - he needed to have
two teeth pulled because the roots were exposed. I was a little worried
about the anesthesia, which my vet did agree was a slight risk, but an
infected tooth presents a larger risk to an FIV positive cat. He was
discharged with a two-week course of antibiotics, to prevent
complications. He's doing great!

Good luck!

wrote:
Jacquie,

one of my cats has severe gingivitis and needs a dental about every two
years. My FIV positive cat had a dental yesterday - he needed to have
two teeth pulled because the roots were exposed. I was a little worried
about the anesthesia, which my vet did agree was a slight risk, but an
infected tooth presents a larger risk to an FIV positive cat. He was
discharged with a two-week course of antibiotics, to prevent
complications. He's doing great!

Good luck!

That's good to hear, good luck with your little kitty, my cat is FIV
negative so maybe I just worry too much. I think I am going to go
through with the dental surgery. Just going to visit the vet one more
time this week, he seems to be healthy and energetic now so I'm sure
he'll bounce back in no time!
Thanks a bunch!
Jacquie