Question:
I took my cat to the vet for a complete checkup and he said the cat has
gingivitis. He showed the gums to me. He said luckily it wasn't too
bad, with only the very edge of the gums affected. He gave me an
antibiotic to give him but said it was very hard to cure gingivitis
permanently and if the cat ever has trouble eating he would either need
to go on a regime of antibiotics and steroid injections or have his
teeth pulled.
This cat has strictly been an inside cat and has no contact with other
cats for at least four years which ruled out feline leukemia. Besides
he is up-to-date on all vaccines.
I had the vet listen VERY carefully for a heart murmur because my last
cat died from that. He said his heart sounded fine.
Anyway I was wondering if there was something I could do to minimize
the chance that this will get serious. The vet didn't seem to think
so.
What about food? Does it matter if I give him dry food? I prefer it
because it seems to leave much less tartar on the teeth.
Answer:
If it is not bad, I would try keeping his teeth wiped down with guaze
(just wrap it around your finger. Getting the back teeth between teeth and
gum most important spots.). My boy who recently passed away, had teeth
trouble from the time he was two. But it was BAD. His gums got raging red
and he made smacking motions with his mouth so you know he was
uncomfortable. I did have most all his back teeth pulled and for the next 6
years right up to his death, he at least did not have teeth problems. Seems
they can be allergic to their own plaque which causes this cycle. Can you
get a picture of his gums and post it somewhere?
My Tuppence has gingivitis, and it's chronic. She gets a teeth
cleaning every year (after the usual blood workup to be certain she'll
survive the anesthetic).
Unfortunately, she also has FIV (gingivitis is common in FIV cats).
She also has always been an inside cat. Vet never did figure out where
she got it from. Possibly from the pet store I purchased her from (in
89), but it never showed up until ... crap I can't remember, it was mid
to late 90s though.
She gets an antibiotic pulse (one week every month). She rarely eats
crunchy food, and has had several of her teeth pulled (due to abscess),
she seems fine. Still bounds over to her dish when it's "stinky" time.
To the OP, see if your cat will eat crunchy food (the vet said that was
pretty helpful). Tuppence never gets steroid shots, just the
antibiotics (she likes it cause it's mixed with baby food).
His previous owner gave him nothing but dry food. He eats it without a
problem. I have been giving him a little "treat" these past couple of
days - a little bit of canned food mixed with his antibiotic. He's in
heaven.
The vet did not think his teeth needed cleaning. He didn't seem to
think plaque was a contributing factor.
