Cat Mouth Problems

[Kevo2849]

Hello,

My Devon Rex has been acting strange. He seems to have some discomfort in his mouth. He’s been walking around with his mouth open more than usual. He also quick opens his mouth sometimes like something is hurting him.The side of his mouth has had some black “crusty” stuff accumulating. He has had acne before, but always on his chin. I am very attentive to his water and food bowls. Both are metal and cleaned/sanitized weekly. I’m going to try to attach a video of him yawing and the strange behavior he does after yawing.I’ve uploading to youtube. I hope the link works. Anyone have any idea what is going on? The vet recommends Xrays and teeth cleaning. The appointment is 2 months out. I’m also worried about putting him under and the risks with that. He is a 6 1/2 year Devox Rex.

Video of Behaivor

 

[abyeb]

Some dental issues would be my guess. It is estimated that 85% of cats aged 3+ have some form of dental disease (source: Dental Disease in Cats | International Cat Care), so it is probably time for your boy to have a good dental exam and cleaning anyway. And, the anesthesia will be safe. Vets perform procedures under anesthesia on a daily basis, and so they will know how to administer it, and they will be watching his vital signs (heart rate, respiration rate, blood pressure, etc) throughout the cleaning to make sure that he’s doing well. I believe it is also commonplace to perform bloodwork prior, to make sure that he will be okay to go under. Of course, you should discuss any of your concerns with your vet, so that they can put your mind at ease.

 

[stephanietx]

That is definitely not normal. I would see if you can get an earlier appointment for the dental or at least a visit with the vet to discuss what it could be.

 

[Kevo2849]

Thanks for the replies. I contacted the emergency vet this morning. He will be going in tomorrow morning to get looked at. The vet said tooth extractions, or full extraction might be needed. I’m hoping she can get him into cleaning/surgery sooner than expected. I’m sure this will be quite the vet bill if surgery is needed. But I’d rather eat Ramen noodles for the next year than watch my buddy deal with this pain any longer.

 

[Antonio65]

Are you able to inspect within his mouth? I mean everywhere within his mouth?
The inside of his cheeks, mouth roof, under the tongue, gums?

 

[Kevo2849]

Not sure if anyone is still following this... but we have been through quite a bit the past couple days. Bloodwork, followed by specialized liver test. All came back good. Good kidneys good liver. The little guy is now on Kitty Morphine. He seems to be in less pain and able to sleep at night. The vet was able to open his mouth and take a look. She was shocked that she did not see more signs of dental problems. She was expecting terrible looking gums and teeth based on his symptoms. She thinks it might be neurological. Which scares me. But, the next step is a cleaning/exam and Xrays to get a better idea of what is going on. The vet has been awesome and agreed to fit him in on her day off. The original estimate was over a month wait to get in for dental work. He goes in tomorrow morning. I’m just hoping we get some answers tomorrow. Anyone have any idea on recovery after tooth extraction? I’m wondering if/how much time I will have to take off of work to keep an eye on him. How long should he be closely monitored? I can come home for lunch, no problem. But if I need to keep a closer eye on him, I’ll have to take work off. Not a big deal, just not sure if it is needed. I’ll obviously talk to the vet about this tomorrow. I was just hoping to get some input from others that have been through this. Any info would be appreciated. Please keep my little guy in your thoughts. He’s my best bud and I just want him to be better.

 

[MissClouseau]

Could you check if there is a veterinary dentist specialist in your area? I thought there was none where I live but recently learned there is one vet who only works for dental issues. Not technically a specialist in legal terms but since that's all he does and follows, he knows more and has more practice than a regular vet.

While I'm not 100% sure, my understanding is cleaning doesn't cure a current problem that causes pain and that pain is coming from gum (gum disease, infection, tooth needs to get extracted, etc) and for those a specialist might help better if there is one available.

 

[Kevo2849]

Could you check if there is a veterinary dentist specialist in your area? I thought there was none where I live but recently learned there is one vet who only works for dental issues. Not technically a specialist in legal terms but since that's all he does and follows, he knows more and has more practice than a regular vet.

While I'm not 100% sure, my understanding is cleaning doesn't cure a current problem that causes pain and that pain is coming from gum (gum disease, infection, tooth needs to get extracted, etc) and for those a specialist might help better if there is one available.

Hi There,

The vet will be doing Xrays and Exam during the cleaning. Hopefully they will find the cause of the pain and probably extract the bad tooth/teeth. They just still call it a cleaning, because that it the only thing that will 100% be done. I am really hoping they find a nasty tooth or something that is easy to resolve. Heading in there soon. I’ll update this post with results, just in case anyone is interested.

 

[Kevo2849]

Last, hopefully, update.

With the help of Xrays, the vet found 3 very bad teeth. The teeth were removed and everything was cleaned up. My little guy came home today and seems to be doing just fine. He is eating wet food with no problem. The vet told me to limit his food intake, which the cat is pretty pissed about. But I’ll continue to feed him small amounts. Thanks to everyone who commented. If anyone is curious, the total on the 3 visits, tests, and surgery was $1,900. But my Amazon card has 2% cash back this month, so at least I have that going for me. I’ll check this thread for the next couple days. If anyone has any questions about my experience, please feel free to ask.

 

[stephanietx]

I'm glad his surgery went well and he's recovering well. You probably only need to feed him smaller serving sizes for a couple of days, mainly after they've been fasting for the procedure. If he's on pain meds, be sure to give him those for a couple of days as well. He should be back to normal within a week, but if you notice any change in his behavior such as excessive lethargy, hiding, decreased appetite, a change in play or litter box habits, then get him back to the vet for a check up to rule out an infection.