gum problems

[samanthajayne]

hiya all i'm new on here and its the first time i have had to use a cat forum to ask advice about our cat. he is a lovely ginger and white cat called bonkers and we think he is roughly 15-16 years old. we adopted him 14 years ago he fell in love with me and decided he wanted to live with us. his owners at the time weren't pleased but cats as we know are individuals and they decide what they want. anyway this is the first time he has had some major health worries.

about a month ago we noticed his breath was a bit pongy and he was having trouble eating so we took him to the vets. turned out he had a bit of a gum infection and a few loose teeth so they had him for a day and a night and operated took the teeth out and cleaned the rest gave him antibiotics the vet at the time said its just his age and its very unlikely it could be anything bad such as a tumour. for a week and he seemed fine up until a few days ago. we took him back to the vets as his gum had started bleeding again and it was obvioulsy sore and a bit smelly. we saw a different vet this time and she said that he is dieing its most probably a tumour and he should be put to sleep before he loses his dignity. i was in total shock at that when before all they said it was was most probably gingivitis. he has some more antibiotics for 2 weeks but he is having trouble eating i think its really sore for him. we are thinking of taking him to a different vets to see what they say but what i'd really like to know for now is how likely is there to be a tumour behind his gum (its his top gum) or is it just simply gingivitis and thats what made his teeth loose and also as he is finding it hard to eat his meat even when we mash it up what can we feed him that might be easier for him to eat so he keeps his strength up. today i have fed him a few fish fingers with the coating removed and he ate that fine. any advice on this will be great and thankyou in advance. we just don't know what to do for the best or who to turn to. we don't want him to suffer but we don't want to lose him either as he is still fine in other ways its just his mouth. he is still venturing out and washing himself fine and playing and pouncing.

[tilly]

You can get liquid cat food that might help him out whilst you get his gums sorted.
Canine/Feline a/d™

For the Nutritional Management of Pets Recovering From Serious Illness, Accidents and Surgery Both dogs and cats can undergo significant changes when faced with a serious illness, injury or surgery. They may have trouble maintaining natural defenses and sparing lean body mass(in other words, they may be losing body weight from muscle or organ tissue), which can affect recovery. Prescription Diet* Canine/Feline a/d* has been specifically formulated by veterinarians to be fed to dogs or cats with certain debilitating conditions. These conditions can be affected by the lack of key nutrients and digestible energy.

Does he show any other signs as my cat Tilly has bad teeth because she is a virus carrier. She sneeze and is prone to getting infections. She has feline herpes virus and is fine, she just need a bit more TLC.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feline_herpes_virus

there is also calicivirus which can cause mouth problems

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feline_calicivirus

If it is one of the above they can live just fine as I think there is a cat on here that is a calicivirus carrier.

Food wise Gourmet gold pate is realy soft and if you mix it with a bit of warm water Bonkers could just lap it up.

Anyway don't give up on him yet. I would see another vet and maybe ask for a blood test to check he is OK.

Best of luck

Sally

PS I love the name Bonkers

[Steph]

Fingers and paws crossed for you. A cat doesn`t need teeth-only someone to open the can as our senior vet once said.

If Bonkers is still purring,taking in food and passing it then his time is not yet

[yola]

OK, unless it's quite a visible tumour which your original vet should have noticed, I can't believe it's come to light so quickly. I would get an alternative opinion as this all sounds a little odd. Ultimately, yes . . . it might be the case that there is an underlying tumour but I would make 100% sure (xrays, blood tests and more indepth visual checks) before you agree to end Bonkers' life. After all, it could just be a secondary infection!!

My cat's got a bad tooth and it's making him really miserable, if yours has a full-blown infection it must hurt like hell!

He's been with you a long time - you know him best, trust your instinct and get further opinions. Good luck!

[Grete]

I would definately get a second opinion! If there was a tumour there that was bad enough to cause the teeth to loosen etc then surely when they were removed / cleaned etc something amiss would have been noticed! At the very least some investigation before recommending he be PTS. Sheesh.

When my Bubbles had her dental surgery recently, the vet said it's not uncommon for an infection to happen after, even with anti-biotics because the mouth is a 'dirty area' and to go back if she still seemed uncomfortable.

So I think first course of action is to get her seen by another vet and get her poor mouth comfortable, it must be so hard for her to eat.

Welcome to Catsey too ;)

[Fran]

Welcome to Catsey! I'd get a second opinion ;)

[dinahsmum]

I hope you get this sorted. A second vet opinion sounds the way forward.
If it is as simple as gingivitis, which can be cleared by antibiotic, you may find that PlaqueOff helps prevent any future tartar deposits and therefore discourages future attacks of gingivitis. It can't do any harm, and may help http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11&products_id=298

But first, get the current problem resolved.

Welcome to Catsey, by the way.

[catsmum]

Hello (((((((((((hugs to you both)))))))))))) I would definitely get a 2nd opinion too if I was in your situation. Definitely listen to your instincts, you seem very close to your cat. You need peace of mind at a time like this and that is why getting a second opinion would be worth it. Good luck and let us know what happens :)