Ouch!! Here's a mouthful....

Wow, I haven't posted since September! I have been busy playing with my new little dachshund, Oliver and getting him acclimated into the household with the kitties. Isn't he pretty darn cute?

I'm going to try for my New Year's Resolution to post on here more frequently! Let's hope that one sticks a little better than my resolutions of New Year's past....


Onto the topic of this post....Here's a story about a medical condition related to one of my own cats. It's called stomatitis, an oral inflammatory condition that can cause a great deal of pain and discomfort to cats, as it did to my Zoe. Here is a picture of what the inside of her mouth looked like.

Here is a close up of a normal cat mouth for comparison:

As you can see she had a great deal of inflammation, bleeding and redness around her toothline and in the back of her mouth. As with many cats that have stomatitis she had a history of bad breath, pawing at her face, drooling, pain when she ate, anorexia and weight loss (she lost about 3 pounds!) She liked soft food better than hard food, seemed to get the kibble "caught" in her mouth or gums or around her tongue, was less active at times and definitely didn't like having her face touched one bit!! Like Zoe, patients with stomatitis may exhibit an unkempt hair coat from a reluctance to groom.

The actual cause of stomatitis is unknown. It is potentially due to a combination of factors. Some cats are especially sensitive to the bacterial plaque that deposits on their teeth which can then cause the immune system to overreact. Cats may almost seem to have an allergic reaction to the this plaque and this results in something called lymphocytic-plasmacytic gingivitis stomatitis which affects the entire mouth. Cats with suppressed immune systems, such as those with feline leukemia virus (felv) or feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) can predispose them to problems with stomatitis. Other viral or bacterial infections such as feline calicivirus or Bartonella henselae have also been implicated in stomatitis. In Zoe's case, she was Felv and FIV negative and had also tested negative for Bartonella. It is quite possible that she could have calicivirus as this is present in many of the cases but not determined to be the sole cause of the stomatitis. Zoe's likely problem was a hypersensitivity to the plaque on her teeth.

If the stomatitis is due to a plaque intolerance, then it becomes essential we remove all plaque and keep it off. This is accomplished through regular dental cleanings/scalings (sometimes on an every 6 month basis), extraction of those teeth that are showing severe periodontal disease or lesions, daily at home dental care including tooth brushing and application of chlorhexidine. Many times cyclical treatments of antibiotics and steroids may be used as well. Despite all of this therapy...which my cat Zoe went through (with some chagrin, I might add....), the disease often progresses and the only way to cure the disease and eliminate the very painful lesions is to extract all of the teeth in back of the large canine teeth. At times, a full mouth extraction is done if it is concluded that it would be beneficial to include these canine teeth as well. While this may sound a bit drastic, in most cases this will provide long term success and your cat, like mine, will be remarkably improved.

Zoe went through a full mouth extraction caudal (behind) her canine teeth. Here are all her teeth and what her dental x-rays looked like with all her teeth gone. You can see the empty sockets where the teeth used to be!

After Zoe's extractions, she was back to eating with comfort, grooming, spending time with the family and gaining weight. She was eating wet food the next day, crunchy treats on day 2, and back to preferring her hard food by the third day. As a pet owner myself who had delayed this procedure, I was very glad to see how well she did afterwards. The redness and inflammation is gone (along with her teeth!) and she is a much, much happier kitty!

I personally thank all the staff at Dr. Boyd's office in Houston for the wonderful job they did on my cat and if you are looking for a veterinary dentist in your area, please consult the American Veterinary Dental College website. If you think your cat may be exhibiting signs of stomatitis, please visit your veterinarian. A good physical exam and dental check is important every 6 months!