Stomatitis

tvet

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Hello. My cat, Sabboth, was diagnosed with stomatitis several years ago. He has had antibiotics and steroids on a few occasions to help with flare ups. At the beginning of the year he had an especially bad flare up. His vet recommended a dental cleaning and he went in for his appointment. When he was put under anesthesia, the vet said he "went blue" so they brought him out of it. They tried again with the same results. They are afraid to put him under, as am I, with the fear that he could die. They cleaned the best they could while bringing him out. That was in February. Since, I have been putting an additive in his water to reduce plaque build-up and put him on a wet food diet. He was back to almost normal for awhile. Now, he eats very little and has dropped almost 1 pound. He is lethargic and sleeps most of the time. He doesn't want to leave my side, which breaks my heart because I feel he is asking for help and I don't know what to do for him. I know antibiotics and steroids long term are not good for him. I am thinking of trying a cat food delivery service, like Nom Nom, to get him eating again. But it's not taking care of his main problem. Any suggestions? Thanks.
 

neely

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I'm sorry your cat and you are going through this health problem. :hugs: When you took him to the vet for a dental cleaning did you see a certified veterinary dental specialist, i.e. not your regular vet? What is a Veterinary Dentist? | AVDC.org This might help your cat's situation or at least give you some other options. Regarding anesthesia, some cat breeds who are brachycephalic have more difficulty when being put under and there are alternative anesthetics that may help your cat too. I had this experience with several of our cats and for that reason I only see a vet dental specialist now.

I thought this Article might give you some additional information: Gingivitis And Stomatitis In Cats
Perhaps other members can weigh in with their advice or suggestions. Keeping my fingers crossed for you. :crossfingers:
 

mrsgreenjeens

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I just read this yesterday regarding a slightly different issues (maybe)...mouth ulcers. This is from the website felinecrf.org. Perhaps something here would be useful: (sorry, it didn't "cut and paste" very well)

Mouth Ulcers: Holistic Treatments


Slippery elm bark can be made into a syrup and used to help heal mouth ulcers. This has been found to be a very effective treatment by many people on Tanya's CKD Support Group.

Another natural remedy for mouth ulcers is to mix white cheddar cheese with water to make a paste and spread it on the gums. The enzymes in the white cheddar cheese are supposed to eat the bacteria and help alleviate the infection, though I have not tried this myself and would not recommend it for dental problems other than mouth ulcers (see Related Diseases for more information on dealing with dental problems generally).

I tried eel serum homeopathic remedy for Tanya, and I would say it did help, though perhaps not as much as the slippery elm bark might have done.

Mouth Ulcers: Other Treatments


For really obstinate ulcers, talk to your vet about using sucralfate, which forms a protective coating over the ulcers and allows them to heal. Sucralfate is discussed below.

For severe mouth ulcers, antibiotics may be necessary.
 

posiepurrs

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When my boy Boo was still with me (crossed the bridge due to kidney failure in Feb this year) he dealt with stomatitis for about half of his life. I researched and found this website: Feline chronic lymphocytic plasmacytic gingivostomatitis It helped Boo immensely. I stopped feeding him any poultry, took away dry food and stopped giving him steroids. I also used a raw honey and slippery elm solution for him twice a day. When he had a flare up I gave him pulse doses of antibiotics. Here is the way I made the slippery elm solution. Mix 6 mls water, 1/4 teaspoon raw honey, 1- 350mg capsule slippery elm. Mix together - let sit for a few minutes - draw up into 1 ml syringes and give twice daily for maintenance - give more frequently when treating severe mouth ulcers. I am NOT saying this is your solution, just that this is what worked for us. When we stated treating him like this, he never had an issue eating again and his death breath subsided. Before, if he breathed in your face it was nauseating. He maintained his weight until his kidneys started to go.
 
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tvet

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Update: Sabboth has recently had bad flare ups of his stomatitis. Like, screaming out in pain bad. So I took him to the emergency vet who prescribed gabapentin (sp?) and an antibiotic. She recommends teeth extraction. She said the fang teeth are especially bad. So I am making an appointment with the feline dentist today. My new question is, it is over an hour away from where I live. The emergency vet was about 50 minutes away and it stressed him out so bad, which research says can aggravate the stomatitis even worse. Is there anything I can give him to keep him calm during the long trip? Thanks.
 

neely

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There are certain anti-anxiety medications for cats. However, you should speak with your vet, (feline dental specialist), before administering anything prior to surgery since it may or may not be in your cat's best interest. Best wishes for your cat's upcoming dental surgery. :crossfingers:
 
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Talien

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Extraction is, unfortunately, the only "cure" for Stomatitis. Anything else is basically just managing the symptoms because it doesn't do anything for the root cause, which is an exaggerated immune reaction to the teeth themselves (or more specifically, to bacteria on the surface of the teeth). Regular cleanings can sometimes help because it cuts down on bacterial growth but it sounds like that isn't going to be possible for your Cat. One of my fosters had Stomatitis and an Assisi Loop brought the inflammation down by about 50%, but that was still just managing the symptoms and it continue to be a problem until her teeth were pulled.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Yes, to answer your question, as Neely said, call the cat dentist and ask if there is anything you can give him to calm him for the trip. Hopefully they can advise you.

Let us know how it goes :vibes: :vibes: :vibes:
 

daftcat75

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My previous vet has recommended gabapentin to reduce the stress of a vet visit. But you'll want to discuss this with your vet as they may not want gabapentin in his system before a procedure.

My Krista had resorptive lesions. Her mouth was eating her teeth. We did the best we could with piecemeal extractions as the teeth and roots were going bad. Ultimately, her vets said they didn't want to extract any more teeth and recommended I took her to a veterinary dentist instead. For us, the closest veterinary dentist that could see her within two weeks instead of two to six months like all the others was still 2 hours away. Krista fortunately travels well. But I wanted to make the dentist day easier on her. So I got us a hotel room in the dentist's city. We arrived on a Tuesday, her appointment was Wednesday morning, and we departed for home on Thursday. We repeated this in two weeks for her follow up visit. This meant on the mornings she saw the dentist, her car ride was only 10 minutes across town.

Krista had resorptive lesions and not stomatitis. But if a full mouth extraction is an option for Sabboth, I highly recommend it. Battling her dental issues for the better part of two years was terrible on the both of us. Those all ended the afternoon I brought her back from having her remaining teeth extracted by the dentist. She doesn't miss her teeth at all. Last year, I was taking her to the vet every couple of months because her eating was slowed or stopped. This year, not a single, "she's not eating" visit. She makes a little more mess than before occasionally flinging her food. But aside from that, she still puts away her fair share of food.
 

Ellereh

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Extraction is, unfortunately, the only "cure" for Stomatitis. Anything else is basically just managing the symptoms because it doesn't do anything for the root cause, which is an exaggerated immune reaction to the teeth themselves (or more specifically, to bacteria on the surface of the teeth). Regular cleanings can sometimes help because it cuts down on bacterial growth but it sounds like that isn't going to be possible for your Cat. One of my fosters had Stomatitis and an Assisi Loop brought the inflammation down by about 50%, but that was still just managing the symptoms and it continue to be a problem until her teeth were pulled.
Hi,
I just wanted to ask you how log it took for you to notice a difference in your cat’s inflammation after using the Assisi loop.
 

artiemom

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My guy has FORLS... resorptive lesions. In January he had 4 teeth removed by our local vet.
I can tell he feels much better. No more drooling...

I am sorry to hear about your baby. It must be so painful for him, and frightening for you to see him suffer; yet, so scary to anesthetize him.

I would suggest a Specialist-- Veterinary Dentist at the Vet school. It is worth the wait time. I know the one is Boston has at least a 6 month waiting list.

It would be worth seeing a specialist because of his history.

I think Gabapentine is also used to calm cats for Vet visits. So you may be ok, on the 60 minute ride. The Vet Dentist can advise you on tht.

Wishing you luck! and your kitty!!
 

posiepurrs

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If you choose to have the teeth removed for stomatitis, please use a vet specializing in dentistry. If one tiny part of the root remains, the problem will not be 'cured' I put that in italics because removal of the teeth doesn't always remove the problem. Good luck!
 

jasperdacat

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When my boy Boo was still with me (crossed the bridge due to kidney failure in Feb this year) he dealt with stomatitis for about half of his life. I researched and found this website: Feline chronic lymphocytic plasmacytic gingivostomatitis It helped Boo immensely. I stopped feeding him any poultry, took away dry food and stopped giving him steroids. I also used a raw honey and slippery elm solution for him twice a day. When he had a flare up I gave him pulse doses of antibiotics. Here is the way I made the slippery elm solution. Mix 6 mls water, 1/4 teaspoon raw honey, 1- 350mg capsule slippery elm. Mix together - let sit for a few minutes - draw up into 1 ml syringes and give twice daily for maintenance - give more frequently when treating severe mouth ulcers. I am NOT saying this is your solution, just that this is what worked for us. When we stated treating him like this, he never had an issue eating again and his death breath subsided. Before, if he breathed in your face it was nauseating. He maintained his weight until his kidneys started to go.
Hi,
I just posted about my cat who has persistent Stomatitis even after his full teeth extraction. I really want to get him off of steroids but the inflammation is too bad. I see you found a treatment that worked for your kitty and I'll run it by his vet. However, when you say you stopped feeding him poultry - what do you feed him then? My vet told me to avoid fish and beef, so chicken pate is all I'm supposed to give him.
 

posiepurrs

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However, when you say you stopped feeding him poultry - what do you feed him then? My vet told me to avoid fish and beef, so chicken pate is all I'm supposed to give him.
I used rabbit, lamb - any meat protein that isn't a possible allergen. I did avoid all poultry - no duck or turkey. It was an adventure reading the food labels. You would be surprised how many cat foods that are supposedly not chicken will contain chicken of some sort down farther on the ingredient list. If you have a pet food store that has a good selection of cat foods I would check it out. I do warn you though it isn't inexpensive. For some of Boos food a 5.5 oz. can was over $2.50. Poultry was his trigger, but I am sure that doesn't apply to all cats.
 

jasperdacat

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I used rabbit, lamb - any meat protein that isn't a possible allergen. I did avoid all poultry - no duck or turkey. It was an adventure reading the food labels. You would be surprised how many cat foods that are supposedly not chicken will contain chicken of some sort down farther on the ingredient list. If you have a pet food store that has a good selection of cat foods I would check it out. I do warn you though it isn't inexpensive. For some of Boos food a 5.5 oz. can was over $2.50. Poultry was his trigger, but I am sure that doesn't apply to all cats.
Thank you for the insight - I'll try anything at this point. :)
 

FeebysOwner

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My vet told me to avoid fish and beef, so chicken pate is all I'm supposed to give him.
Carefully check the ingredient labels, you'd be amazed how many contain fish or fish oil. I suppose you could ask your vet if fish/fish oil is 5th or 6th on the list of ingredients if that would be problematic. I feed Feeby mostly Fancy Feast pates and the only one that doesn't specifically list fish is the turkey & giblets - though, even it lists 'artificial and natural flavors', which I have no idea if that might mean fish in some capacity. Wellness Core has a duck & turkey pate that does not list any fish/fish oils.

Sorry, not much help here.
 

daftcat75

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My Krista did very well on rabbit in her last year. She didn’t have stomatitis. But she did have IBD/lymphoma. I recommend Rawz rabbit pate. It’s not cheap and it’s sometimes hard to find. But they don’t mess around with additional proteins (no chicken or pork) or unnecessary gums.

Where to Buy | RAWZ

You will also need to be mindful of the treats you give him. Unfortunately rabbit meat treats tend to be tough for a toothless cat. Krista didn’t have stomatitis. But she did end up toothless after struggling with tooth resorption for too long. Krista liked these as treats. Very easy for Her Toothlessness to gum her way through them.
FELINE NATURAL Booster Lamb Green Tripe Freeze-Dried Cat Food Topper, 2-oz bag - Chewy.com
 
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tvet

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Hi all. So an update on Sabboth. I made an appointment in August for a dental veterinarian. I had to have him examined by a cardiologist first...he passed with flying colors. His dental appointment was for October. He has had no flare ups since July. I decided to hold off on the dental veterinarian. She told me to reschedule if he has another flare up. I'm hoping that won't happen anytime soon. Thank you all for your suggestions and insights!!
 

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The Gabapentin he is already getting can help with stressful vet visit. Many use it for just that purpose. I use a compounded cream for my cat that gets put inside his ear flap but it is for pain.
And I would have teeth extracted. It often takes care of the problem.
For years I thought my cat had stomatitis. Turned out to be resorptive lesions.
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