Cats Tounge Slightly Sticking Out

[stevelsd]

Hopefully some answers or thoughts.
Indoor cat - 8 years old (Has home companion sister with no problems at all)
Eats dry food
Never been sick
Initial Problem\Illness - started with serious drool and tongue sticking out.
Current Status - Now almost 12 days later after an anti-inflammatory shot and a pain shot the drooling has stopped and tongue is visibly showing but only out 1/4 as mush as first started.
Last 12 days - Been to Vet twice (already getting expensive)
Vet Possible Conclusion --> Teeth are not bad and only small bit of plaque on back teeth. Vet does not see any open sores or any other visible mouth issues or problems. Pre-op blood work shows no signs of any other problems
Vet Recommendation --> Standing current decision has been made for a complete oral surgery\teeth clean. ($500.00+)

Has anyone seen this tongue out\drooling before and does it sound like an oral problem that cannot be easily seen while cat struggles a bit to have her mouth open?

Thanks ahead of time

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I saw an older thread on this site, where there were members who said that have had cats who would have the tip of their tongue sticking out and for the most part it wasn't related to health issues. However, a few them also said they would consider it to be more of a health/dental/mouth issue if more than just the tip is showing.

There has also been a thread on here more recently about drooling, and while there were members who said their cats did so without health issues being involved, the majority believed it was a sign of some sort of health related issue - more than likely tied to the mouth or throat.

There are some members who have posted on this site about dental issues - a couple that I can think of are daftcat75 and @Jem and I think both had drooling as part of their cat's teeth issues. Both of them I think had to much more done that just dental cleaning. Perhaps one of them will soon see this post and offer their input. Just be patient, as they are both on here fairly regularly.

If not, I am sure other members will come along soon and try to answer your questions.

Have you considered a second opinion, even though it would involve more money?

 

[daftcat75]

There's a fairly common condition among older cats called resorptive lesions. No-one's really sure of what causes it. In older cats (8 is not too young), the body begins to consume the teeth from the inside. The early stages of this would be invisible to the naked eye. Make no mistake. This is painful for the cat. Because cats are also prey animals in the wild, crying out in pain is ringing the dinner bell for a predator. The only clues you may get that your cat is in pain is if their eating habits (possibly including texture preferences) change or they leave their mouth slightly open. If closing their mouth all the way puts pressure on teeth that are being affected, they will leave it open. How's her breath? Cat breath won't be pleasant, but if it's especially offensive, there's dental disease going on whether you can see it or not.

Unless your vet took X-rays and did a proper examination and cleaning with your cat under sedation, you cannot trust "the teeth are not bad."

 

[daftcat75]

Cats are far more bothered by tooth pain than their guardians will ever know. But their guardians are far more bothered by tooth extractions than the cats will ever know. Cats have no concept of dentistry. All they know is that a pain they thought they had to live with disappeared. You may not even realize how much the pain bothered the cat until they resume behaviors you didn't even realize they stopped. In my opinion, dental procedures are the best investment in cat care because things can get so much more expensive when they stop eating.

 

[stevelsd]

Unless your vet took X-rays and did a proper examination and cleaning with your cat under sedation, you cannot trust "the teeth are not bad."

All reassuring answers that we are doing the right thing going forward with the whole oral surgery\Under sedation teeth cleaning scheduled the 6th of March. Yeah long way off but it was the earliest our vet had.

Thank you everyone. I will update with anything new or after the surgery and results.
Stevelsd

 

[stevelsd]

All reassuring answers that we are doing the right thing going forward with the whole oral surgery\Under sedation teeth cleaning scheduled the 6th of March. Yeah long way off but it was the earliest our vet had.

Thank you everyone. I will update with anything new or after the surgery and results.
Stevelsd

Update
Our kitties health was not getting better and after an emergency session this last Tuesday night to the Vet's office, they got her in this Friday morning instead of the 6th next week.

We just got a call from the Vet's office. She is waking up but --- she had to have 8 teeth removed. They mentioned some of the teeth problems extended deep into the gums.

This all came on so suddenly for she was not showing any signs of pain, eating or drinking and then one night boom. We had no idea whatsoever such an issue would\could ever take place. they are exclusively house cats and after their last Vet visit, which was all good years ago, we honestly never thought to bring them back in unless they were to get sick, so please don't berate us for our ignorance. We feel so so very bad as it is. We are so torn up over this.

We can pick her up in about 2 hours. The Vet has advised she has been given long acting pain med and long acting anti-biotic along with some being sent home with her. We are so devastated the outcome and how our poor kitty is feeling and gonna feel. We also have her sister who is showing no signs of problems but we have learned our lesson. She is going to go in very soon to have the oral checkup and teeth cleaning and hopefully does not have any issues.

If there are any suggestions for her care, what to expect, etc. we are very open to veteran cat owners.

Both 8 year old cats have eaten Premium dry food (Fromm) and soft treats their entire life. I am going to assume that from here going forward it is soft food at least for this one cat?

I have seen the prices of premium wet cat food and very confused on the prices. Is it possible that people spend over $100.00 a month to feed one cat with wet cat food? Also these cats are very spoiled and finicky so any suggestions on wet cat food?

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and kindness
Stevelsd

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Thanks for the update! A mixture of gladness and sadness. Once your baby has completely healed from the dental surgery, she can eat dry food. There are a lot of cats that eat dry food without ANY teeth.

In the meantime, I am sure other members will come along and give you advice on good, healthy canned foods that you can use.

Keep us posted on how your baby is doing!!

 

[daftcat75]

Resorptive lesions are very common in older cats. It’s not your fault. It happens even to cats who get regular cleanings.

Cats have no concept of dentistry. They suffer in silence because to cry in pain is to ring the dinner bell for a predator. They don’t know that we can make their pain go away. They just bear it as long as they can until one day they decide the pain is greater than their hunger.

It’s not your fault. You’re doing a really good thing for her having the teeth removed. Unfortunately, this may not be the last time she needs dental work. There may be more teeth that go bad.

I would budget for twice a year dentals if you can manage it or at least once a year whether they show signs of pain or not. If they develop texture preferences they didn’t have before, this may be your first clue that they may have dental pain and that you may have to move their expected dental to a sooner date.

If you were sent home with pain meds, assume she’ll have pain and follow the recommendations. It’s better to stay ahead of the pain than to wait to see if she needs it. At that point, it’s too late. It can take two or three doses to catch up once you fall behind.

After her mouth heals, she may be able to eat dry just as before. Or she may have developed a texture preference depending on which teeth were removed and how much she chewed her kibble to begin with.

As cats age, their digestion slows. Just like people. You don’t have to transition her to all wet if she can still eat dry after recovery. But you’ll reduce her risk of digestive disorders if you can feed her more wet food than dry.

After having a feeding tube in my Krista because her dental issues became a complication with liver inflammation, I personally believe feline dental exams (under sedation, with xrays) and extractions when necessary are the best investments in the health and well-being of cats. Especially older cats.

 

[Grey_Tuxedo]

My guy loves the smoothest wet food I can find and Tiki Cat Velvet Mousse is his favorite. I'd say it's pricey - If I fed him two pouches a day (I wish they sold it by the gallon like milk) I'd be spending about $90 a month. So, I also feed him Nutro grain free perfect portions pate (which I mix with water because he gets more moisture and he actually likes it better that way). I hesitate to recommend a mass market product made by Mars, but the ingredients do look good to me and I certainly welcome any informed criticism.

Best wishes moving forward. As traumatic as I'm sure all this has been, it's good news that your girl got the care to ultimately be free from pain. Also, thank you, since there is a good chance that your story will help someone else out.

 

[daftcat75]

Krista enjoyed the Velvet Mousse for about three days. Mousse went in and mousse came out. I refer to that period as the Great Moussening. She doesn’t get that anymore. I’ll give her the tuna mousse topper sometimes during not-eating emergencies. But I prefer not to. I believe the xanthum gum does not agree with her. Xanthum gum is also in Nutro. And even the turkey recipe has chicken in it which is one ignorant her IBD no-go proteins.

Any pâté that has that jelly on top, that jelly will help it blend to a smooth, mousse/pudding consistency. Just dump the whole can, jelly and all the moisture into the blender. You can use bone broth or kitten milk replacer to thin it out. Or add gelatin to make it firmer depending on the texture she may prefer.

 

[Grey_Tuxedo]

Xanthum gum is also in Nutro.

On Chewy's website, different flavors of the Nutro grain-free pates have different thickeners/emulsifiers listed in their ingredients. The turkey/liver, chicken/shrimp and chicken/liver only list guar gum. I haven't checked them all, but other flavors do include xanthan gum and/or carragreenan.

 

[Genesis123]

Stevelsd,

May I ask what happened that caused the emergency visit?

 

[danteshuman]

I'm trying out a PetAg cat supplement on one of my senior cats. (Think ensure mix for cats.) Plus as a way to give my kitten some lactose free dairy. It will be arriving from chewy soon. I'm not sure how it will turn out but it might be worth trying something like that to supplement your cat's diet as your poor baby recovers. I'm glad to hear your cat got the surgery they needed. Also not healthy but my kitten/mom's cats are addicted to lil soups (especially the chicken butternut squash.) We have been mixing it into the patte foods they don't like and then they love it. Anyway it may be a way to get more calories in your recovering cat (either straight lil soup or lil soup mixed into something else.)

 

[stevelsd]

Stevelsd,

May I ask what happened that caused the emergency visit?

Emergency Visit
Will try to make this long long story short (but looking back now, I personally feel (but I am not a Vet) what has happened makes the emergency visit a significant discernment)

All this attention started with one of the cats (Dakota) getting bald spots and little red spots in the area just over the eye brow. She started scratching the areas a bit (both cats completely declawed). This was enough for me to take her to the Vet and after an examination it was diagnosed as a food allergy. The Vet gave her an anti-inflammation shot and suggested a different food. The vet mentioned it might be time for an oral review. The shot seemed to help stop or at least stall the balding red spot issue. Even though both cats (sisters) have been eating the same food for at least 2 years straight I stopped the food and went for a new food search.

One week later, we found our Dakota drooling from the mouth bad and her tongue sticking out! We were extremely stressed. We waited one night to see if that would go away thinking maybe reaction to new food or the Vet shot. It didn't so back to the Vet under an emergency visit definition during the day, (Got a different Vet out of the 4 that work there) and after a "fair" oral examination it was determined it would be best if Dakota get a complete oral examination and cleaning. (This Vet was only able to open Dakota's mouth to show some light tarter buildup on the back teeth which was shown to me at the examination but ………. Important --> no real significant teeth issues were shown by the approach this Vet performed the quick oral examination - in fairness it was difficult in getting Dakota's mouth to be opened) Vet gave Dakota a long acting pain shot and this assisted in stopping the drool but her tongue still was sticking out slightly. At this time the oral examination and teeth cleaning was scheduled but no time was available till March 6th. Almost 2+ weeks out even though Dakota was in pain and even though I voiced concern, they were booked and so this date was the best they could do. I was not too convinced Dakota had a tooth issue because of what was shown and I was almost at the point of getting a second opinion at another Vet Office but held off for the 5 days but then ….

Reason for Emergency Visit
5 days later Dakota started scratching like a crazed animal on one of the balding eyebrow sides and it was going to be a bad situation by the next morning if we allowed this to continue. Her eye was starting to close as she was continuously scratching and red spots showing up all over that area. Off to the Vet at 9:00 PM that evening for the emergency visit.
Though the previous Vet diagnosed the issue to most likely be oral, this 3rd Vet at the Clinic was the rocket scientist! She immediately opened Dakota's mouth by the side and not from the front and this 100% showed serious teeth problems on both sides of her mouth. It was clearly shown she had a serious oral issue. The Vet rescheduled the oral surgery for Friday (this was Tuesday night) Dakota was given subdermal hydration (had to bring her in another day before surgery for another subdermal hydration) and was given pain medication to last till the surgery. The Vet explained in detail why it was not advisable to give her anything else (like a steroid) till the day of surgery which was great!

Results of the surgery
Dakota had 8 teeth removed. Though all is extremely significant to the surgery, it was mentioned that one of the teeth's roots was black all the way from surface to root tip under gum. I now believe there was no food allergy causing the balding and red spots and scratching but rather extreme trauma to Dakota's teeth and mouth including the "eye" teeth. The red spots have disappeared, at least now one day after surgery and Dakota is recovering very good. She is eating soft treats and an two very light meals of dry cat food wetted and softened with chicken broth like a "wolf".

I am thinking to go purchase the original food they were eating so well, especially because the other cat is just not liking the new food at all. It is now difficult to get her to eat even with the chicken broth. I have tried 5 different wet foods for both (also tried straight tuna) and neither will budge on eating any of it including some suggested wet foods from here. I think they would starve first.

I am now wondering if I should rethink the dry food\wet food and go with raw, though I believe that will really be expensive and scared of any health hazards. anyone feed their cats raw food?

Thanks everyone
Stevelsd

 

[daftcat75]

It's not all or none. Switch them back to their old food. If Dakota starts scratching like mad, you also have an allergy issue. If not, they're both happy again. You can also start with an occasional raw meal and see how all like it without committing to another food change. The only thing is you don't want to mix raw and kibble in the same meal as the kibble will make the stomach the wrong pH to digest the raw. It will make the stomach the wrong pH to digest the kibble too but that's another argument for another day. The less kibble you can feed, the better all of you will be in the long run.

 

[daftcat75]

The thing with raw just like with canned is there's a lot of brands out there and not all of them are great. If your cats don't like one, you can try another. But ultimately, I think you'll get your best results from homemade. It doesn't have to be a huge operation either. As long as you can find a clean, reliable source for their meat, you can go as small as 1 lbs batches with a supplement premix like Alnutrin. EZ Complete will even let you balance a single meal. But EZ Complete has digestive enzymes which don't agree with all cats. If yours crouch with a stink face like my Krista does, then the digestive enzyme supplements are likely not agreeing with them.

The folks in the Raw Food subforum of the Cat Nutrition forum can answer all kinds of questions about raw feeding like commercial options, meat sourcing, supplement mixes, etc.

 

[stevelsd]

The thing with raw just like with canned is there's a lot of brands out there and not all of them are great. If your cats don't like one, you can try another. But ultimately, I think you'll get your best results from homemade. It doesn't have to be a huge operation either. As long as you can find a clean, reliable source for their meat, you can go as small as 1 lbs batches with a supplement premix like Alnutrin. EZ Complete will even let you balance a single meal. But EZ Complete has digestive enzymes which don't agree with all cats. If yours crouch with a stink face like my Krista does, then the digestive enzyme supplements are likely not agreeing with them.

The folks in the Raw Food subforum of the Cat Nutrition forum can answer all kinds of questions about raw feeding like commercial options, meat sourcing, supplement mixes, etc.

Super!!! Thanks for that info and also thanks for the specific forum.
Stevelsd

 

[cataholic07]

My old cat had FORL and had all but her front teeth removed, like you it came out of no where, she had a swollen mouth so we got her to the vet asap. We switched her to a wet food diet and she did good at all. Just some cats are not cats who want to be fed the same thing all the time, so try different brands and flavors but if you can do raw that's even better! Dry food used to be said that is helps clean teeth but that's actually the complete opposite, it apparently is the cause of bad dental disease due to how much carbs is in it. Sadly many people still believe dry food helps cause of the crunchiness (including vets) but thats like thinking cookies will clean your teeth lol. (I wish it was the case though!) That's why regular brushing, dental water addictives, and raw bones can really help. Some cats on a raw diet don't have any dental issues at all, while some do. As unfortunately it can also be caused just due to genetics. I would see if your cat likes a raw diet, you can try freeze dried first and get your other cat in for a dental check up if you havent

 

[Genesis123]

Will try to make this long long story short...

Thank you for the extensive explanation. You are one who, obviously, cares very much for your cats.

I don't think I can add much to this discussion, so I won't try.

How is Dakota doing now? Has the drooling ceased? Eating well?

I will say that my cats love raw food -- and they don't get it often enough, because of the expense. Too, I don't drive, so my options are limited to what I can buy on the Net. I buy raw, frozen fish, occasionally, diced it up -- they really love it. I haven't bought raw chicken in a while, but they loved that, too. They get a lot of canned fish (tuna, salmon, mackerel...). I started buying Stella & Chewy's freeze-dried (raw) products. That about ruined my cats for other dry foods. I haven't tried other freeze-dried brands, but plan to. Overall, my cats love a raw diet and I think they feel better on it. I provide it whenever I can. One of my cats turns 17 years old, in a couple months. I, particularly, try to provide him with anything he wants (provided it's healthy).

I sincerely hope Dakota is doing very well.