I brought one of my cats in today for a dental cleaning. When I got home from work (before picking up kitty) I checked my other two cat's teeth "just in case". This is what I found on one of them... not using the forum as a diagnosis, I've already made him an appt with the vet next week to get it checked out. But I showed the pics to the vet tech there (not this detailed, they were still on the camera) and she said it looked like tissue?? Anyone have any idea what this might be? is it just really bad plaque? It grows up and over his gums. This is the left side of his mouth, the right side has it also but not to this degree. Just want to get a general idea before I go in there
http://img292.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... th2vm8.jpg
http://img517.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... th1ea6.jpg
Tooth stuff
Re: Tooth stuff
First, let me commend you on excellent picture taking, this should go into the vet journals 
It definately looks like a lesion, and severe gingival inflammation, possibly an FORL. Chances are, that tooth/pulp will need to be removed, and if your vet hasn't seen this before, he may want to biopsy it. (not trying to scare you, but just something to prepare for). In one pic, it looks like calcium-like deposits but this would be unusual as it appears "inside the tissue". Is your kitty displaying signs of anorexia or painful eating, shaking head or grinding teeth when eating?
It definately looks like a lesion, and severe gingival inflammation, possibly an FORL. Chances are, that tooth/pulp will need to be removed, and if your vet hasn't seen this before, he may want to biopsy it. (not trying to scare you, but just something to prepare for). In one pic, it looks like calcium-like deposits but this would be unusual as it appears "inside the tissue". Is your kitty displaying signs of anorexia or painful eating, shaking head or grinding teeth when eating?
..........Traci
Re: Tooth stuff
It's the camera, not me 
was a little hard getting them with one hand though!
Out of the three cats I have, he's actually the only one who's OVERweight... so definitely not anorexic! He does tend to vomit after he eats though. I've brought this up with the vet before and they said it wasn't anything to worry about. I leave dry food out for them all day so it's not a consistant thing, but he is definitely the puker of the bunch. Other than that I haven't noticed anything outwardly wrong with him. He did have surgery a few years ago after swallowing three feet of elastic beading string (he's not that bright) but I doubt that has anything to do with it? He was in for a checkup about a year ago and they didn't say anything about his teeth then so this has developed over the last year or so.
The vet tech who saw the pictures did mention the "C" word but she said she really couldn't be sure at all. Hard to see on a 2" screen I guess
Thanks for the quick reply! Just wanted to get a general idea of what I was up against. I'm prepared for anything, just didn't want to have to wait a whole week
was a little hard getting them with one hand though!Out of the three cats I have, he's actually the only one who's OVERweight... so definitely not anorexic! He does tend to vomit after he eats though. I've brought this up with the vet before and they said it wasn't anything to worry about. I leave dry food out for them all day so it's not a consistant thing, but he is definitely the puker of the bunch. Other than that I haven't noticed anything outwardly wrong with him. He did have surgery a few years ago after swallowing three feet of elastic beading string (he's not that bright) but I doubt that has anything to do with it? He was in for a checkup about a year ago and they didn't say anything about his teeth then so this has developed over the last year or so.
The vet tech who saw the pictures did mention the "C" word but she said she really couldn't be sure at all. Hard to see on a 2" screen I guess
Thanks for the quick reply! Just wanted to get a general idea of what I was up against. I'm prepared for anything, just didn't want to have to wait a whole week
Re: Tooth stuff
No, surgery wouldn't have anything to do with this. If the teeth were in excellent shape last year, that would be good, but neoplasia does develop suddenly (like squamous cell)....but, this usually occurs in cats older than 7, is your kitty younger? Generally, there would be signs of a problem with this, such as mentioned above: not eating, painful chewing, head-shaking or teeth grinding due to pain, drooling, etc.
If the vomiting is due to gorging, it probably isn't much to worry about (since this is most likely regurgitation as opposed to vomiting), but if the vomiting is consistent, you may want to consider adding a hairball remedy once or twice a week to aid in passing hairballs, ask your vet. Also address the weight with your vet, you don't want to let any weight gain be consistent. If he's older, however, the vomiting/regurgitation may need to be addressed, such as a change in diet (like easily digestible diet, or a hairball diet, or etc). Don't change diet on your own, wait til your vet advises you.
Can you update us if you can on that tooth? Would be curious to know for sure, hopefully it can either be corrected with a prophy or extracted without worry.
If the vomiting is due to gorging, it probably isn't much to worry about (since this is most likely regurgitation as opposed to vomiting), but if the vomiting is consistent, you may want to consider adding a hairball remedy once or twice a week to aid in passing hairballs, ask your vet. Also address the weight with your vet, you don't want to let any weight gain be consistent. If he's older, however, the vomiting/regurgitation may need to be addressed, such as a change in diet (like easily digestible diet, or a hairball diet, or etc). Don't change diet on your own, wait til your vet advises you.
Can you update us if you can on that tooth? Would be curious to know for sure, hopefully it can either be corrected with a prophy or extracted without worry.
..........Traci
Re: Tooth stuff
I'll definitely post an update! His appt is on Thursday so when I know I'll post here again
He's around 8 years old, give or take a year, so he's definitely not a young cat. And the vomiting is generally right after he eats (still looks like food). The main problem with changing the diet is that my other cat (Chase, not the one with the tooth) recently had a UTI so now they're on urinary tract food. I've tried hairball food and hairball remedies (which is primarily why the other two throw up; I just installed pergo flooring because they ruined my carpet) but nothing really seemed to work. and I don't think his teeth were in excellent shape but they didn't try to get me to come back for the cleaning. I think they noticed some buildup but it wasn't like it was with the one who got the cleaning today (Tyler). They really pushed that with him so I figure they would have done the same with Bailey if it was a major problem.
In any case, i'll let you know!
He's around 8 years old, give or take a year, so he's definitely not a young cat. And the vomiting is generally right after he eats (still looks like food). The main problem with changing the diet is that my other cat (Chase, not the one with the tooth) recently had a UTI so now they're on urinary tract food. I've tried hairball food and hairball remedies (which is primarily why the other two throw up; I just installed pergo flooring because they ruined my carpet) but nothing really seemed to work. and I don't think his teeth were in excellent shape but they didn't try to get me to come back for the cleaning. I think they noticed some buildup but it wasn't like it was with the one who got the cleaning today (Tyler). They really pushed that with him so I figure they would have done the same with Bailey if it was a major problem.
In any case, i'll let you know!
Re: Tooth stuff
Are all your cats males? It could be a territorial food problem, meaning, if the food dishes are in one area, and one cat seems to intimidate another, the other cat may hurry to eat, etc. If you think this might be the case, simply provide a food dish in another area, it doesn't have to be in another room, unless you want it to, it can simply be just a few feet away from the other dishes. Sometimes, it can be really helpful to provide seperate feeding stations for situations like this. If the vomiting ceases with a new feeding station, hopefully problem resolved.
No, don't change the diet unless advised by your vet, due to a health issue. I just mentioned it in the event the vomiting was occuring due to the diet, or an ingredient in the diet, causing a sensitivity. If your vet feels kitty is in good health, there is little reason to change the diet, unless you want to gradually change to a less-active or senior formula due to inactivity, etc (your kitty at 8 years is still a healthy age). Regardless, any change in diet should be on advice from your vet, if necessary.
It could also be due to gulping and not truly chewing the food. If this is the case, it could be due to bad teeth, or painful gums (or intimidation scenario above). Your vet would find inflammation or gingivitis and advise you accordingly. If any extractions are done, you can feed canned food mixed with water during recovery...or, ask the vet for Hill's prescription A/D temporarily (mix with water so he can lap at it rather than chew) until he has recovered.
Let's hope this is nothing serious, and can be rectified without worry.
No, don't change the diet unless advised by your vet, due to a health issue. I just mentioned it in the event the vomiting was occuring due to the diet, or an ingredient in the diet, causing a sensitivity. If your vet feels kitty is in good health, there is little reason to change the diet, unless you want to gradually change to a less-active or senior formula due to inactivity, etc (your kitty at 8 years is still a healthy age). Regardless, any change in diet should be on advice from your vet, if necessary.
It could also be due to gulping and not truly chewing the food. If this is the case, it could be due to bad teeth, or painful gums (or intimidation scenario above). Your vet would find inflammation or gingivitis and advise you accordingly. If any extractions are done, you can feed canned food mixed with water during recovery...or, ask the vet for Hill's prescription A/D temporarily (mix with water so he can lap at it rather than chew) until he has recovered.
Let's hope this is nothing serious, and can be rectified without worry.
..........Traci
-
slvrwhispr
- Posts: 1366
- Joined: Tue May 27, 2003 11:48 pm
- Location: Canton, MI
- Contact:
Not that this has anything to do with helping your cat, and I know it's our responsibility to keep strings and things away from our cats, but holy smokes, three FEET of elastic? You'd think that cats would stop after a couple of inches when it didn't end! It's not like it tastes good!
My MIL's cat had to have surgery after he ate half a SPOOL of black thread. She had the door to the sewing room closed, but the carpet's dark, and she must have tracked the end near enough to the door that the cat got to it. And once he started eating the thread, he just kept on eating it until half the spool was gone. One of those big ones, too. Seriously, wouldn't the cat, at some point, go, "Hey, this isn't food, maybe I should stop?" Now that I know the cat's okay, it's really pretty funny, but man...
Oh, forgot to add, we call the cat Mortgage Payment now, because the surgery to remove the thread cost about as much as my in-law's mortgage payment.
My MIL's cat had to have surgery after he ate half a SPOOL of black thread. She had the door to the sewing room closed, but the carpet's dark, and she must have tracked the end near enough to the door that the cat got to it. And once he started eating the thread, he just kept on eating it until half the spool was gone. One of those big ones, too. Seriously, wouldn't the cat, at some point, go, "Hey, this isn't food, maybe I should stop?" Now that I know the cat's okay, it's really pretty funny, but man...
Oh, forgot to add, we call the cat Mortgage Payment now, because the surgery to remove the thread cost about as much as my in-law's mortgage payment.
Re: Tooth stuff
lol I thought the same thing. But what happens is that once they start swallowing it, they can't really stop for a physical reason. Until the string ends, they just keep going. The problem was that the end looped around the bottom of his tongue so it was just stuck there and started impacting his intestines. I never knew string was dangerous for them until that happened. live and learn! I never have anything they can swallow lying around now.
-
mamabear
- Formerly mamaof4soon
- Posts: 589
- Joined: Wed Apr 18, 2007 10:39 pm
- Location: The Garden State
Re: Tooth stuff
I must say that as a forum TEch that those pictures are awesome! I wish people took that a good a picture back in the day!
Let us know and Great thinking on your part to check the others.!
Let us know and Great thinking on your part to check the others.!
Almost 7 years in remission from Graves disease and no meds!
Re: Tooth stuff
That's why vets always look under the tongue, a tell-tale sign.
You're right on one account, that they chew until the end of the string, another reason is because once they've ingested it, they can't spit it back out and don't have a mechanism to cough/vomit it back up. No amount of gagging, coughing or vomiting will ever expell an ingested string. Also, if you ever see a small amount of string protruding from the rectum, NEVER pull it, as the other end is most likely wrapped/lodged in an intestine, vet emergency STAT.
You're right on one account, that they chew until the end of the string, another reason is because once they've ingested it, they can't spit it back out and don't have a mechanism to cough/vomit it back up. No amount of gagging, coughing or vomiting will ever expell an ingested string. Also, if you ever see a small amount of string protruding from the rectum, NEVER pull it, as the other end is most likely wrapped/lodged in an intestine, vet emergency STAT.
..........Traci