Dental issues, elderly cat

sherrylynne

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My 24 year old cat is showing potential dental pain. He is refusing anything but a warm fdr puree. He is grinding his teeth repeatedly. Brief history. He was diagnosed with a genetic issue when he was 10. His teeth tend to crack below the gum line, causing him a lot of pain. Vet said he had seen this several times, and put it down to genetic issues. He had the majority of his teeth removed before 12 years of age. He had been on whole raw prior. He was then switched to frozen raw grinds as he could no longer eat bones. Then we had to switch him from raw frozen grinds to canned when he started to vomit up the raw within 5 or so minutes about 2 years ago. He has lost several others over the years likely due to age(we would find them on the floor). A week and a half ago, he was refusing his canned food entirely and would try going for the other cat's raw(which makes him vomit). I got some FDR to try him with, and slowly he seems to be coming back to himself. We feed him very small amounts several times a day, and give non thc cbd oil twice a day to help with arthritic pain. But he is still grinding what teeth he has left, and it is still apparently causing him grief.
Any suggestions to help with this would be greatly appreciated. Obviously at his age a general anesthetic is out of the question.
 

nurseangel

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I would consult the vet. Maybe there is some other form of pain management that can help him. I am so sorry he is going through this; we've been down this road before. Please keep us posted on what happens. Bless his sweet heart.
 

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He may be experiencing reabsorption of teeth which is actually excruciating. The gums envelope the tooth and crush it and absorb. I had no idea that my 19 year old female cat was experiencing this because cats tend to have such high tolerance and not show (instinctively).In my experiences, I also notice more so with my female seem to push through pain without obvious signs than males. Anyway, She had some dental work in the past because of issues so I thought she probably needed dental cleaning. When they put her under and got in there it showed she had already reabsorbed several and was in process of reabsorbing others. They removed 13 and we are preparing to possibly remove the rest. I’m still trying to forgive myself for not having them put her under or at least high pain meds sooner. I honestly just did not know and vet didn’t realize until she could actually really get in there for the surgery. We planned to remove a few and in the end she needed 13.
 

Mycatboo

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Oh After the recovery from surgery she was and is like a whole bee cat. There is such a difference! She loves eating and put on weight! She also is playing and just overall such a different kitty bc she’s out of that pain. She also has other health issues and is on thyroid meds and gabapentin. However, the gabapentin did not help with her dental pain. I even know personally how painful an exposed nerve is for a tooth or needing a root canal and can’t imagine what she went through. I definitely would consult a vet and overall if putting him under isn’t an option for you then just trying to make a decision for his overall quality of life. I wasmt sure what to do regarding putting her under at 19 (she was also only 5 lbs and other health issues) but she wasn’t eating and I was noticing her not being herself to some extent so it was worth the risk to me because I wanted her to have quality of life. It sounds like you love yr kitty and will make best decision for him❤
 

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I agree with above, ask your vet about some stronger pain meds. We used buprenorphine with my old cat, and he seemed to do well on it.

How good is he about others handling his mouth? If the teeth are loose and will come out easily, it may be possible to use a local sedation on his gums so the vet can remove his remaining teeth. I do agree though that GA is very risky at his age.

Great he is still eating, and best of luck! Keep us updated.
 
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sherrylynne

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Thanks everyone. I will give them a call. He won't let me even near his mouth without issue. Hoping they can prescribe bup or something else over the phone, because a 40m drive will be far too stressfull for him. He is terrified of the car, and no idea why :(
 
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sherrylynne

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Okay, someone(Watson) is evidently feeling better lol. Keep in mind, I am presently taking his food to wherever he happens to be atm.
Grind up a medallion of freeze dried raw chicken for him, soak in warm water, puree the lot in a magic bullet. Offer it to him. He sits up, delicately sniffs at it, looks at me and walks away. Okay cool. Doesn't want it yet. Wait about 30 minutes, find where he is at, take his dish to him and offer again. Same reaction. Fine.
Grind up a half medallion of freeze dried raw lamb. Soak it, puree the thing. Find where he is, take it to him. Sits up, delicately sniffs at it, looks me in the eye, and turns his back and walks away.
Out of desperation I add a bit of warm water to some of his old stinky stuff(canned), find him, take it to him and offer it? He basically inhales it
🤦

Fantasitc! He ate well on his own, and no signs of any dental pain!
Tonight, repeat with both freeze dried raw options TWICE each(would rather he eat raw). Nope. Not a chance. Finally offer his stinky stuff again? He eats it willingly
🤦

Hey, at least he is eating willingly again, and with no issues. *sigh*
I think someone is getting slightly spoiled. But at his age? I don't have a problem with this :)
 

aleeming

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Okay, someone(Watson) is evidently feeling better lol. Keep in mind, I am presently taking his food to wherever he happens to be atm.
Grind up a medallion of freeze dried raw chicken for him, soak in warm water, puree the lot in a magic bullet. Offer it to him. He sits up, delicately sniffs at it, looks at me and walks away. Okay cool. Doesn't want it yet. Wait about 30 minutes, find where he is at, take his dish to him and offer again. Same reaction. Fine.
Grind up a half medallion of freeze dried raw lamb. Soak it, puree the thing. Find where he is, take it to him. Sits up, delicately sniffs at it, looks me in the eye, and turns his back and walks away.
Out of desperation I add a bit of warm water to some of his old stinky stuff(canned), find him, take it to him and offer it? He basically inhales it
🤦

Fantasitc! He ate well on his own, and no signs of any dental pain!
Tonight, repeat with both freeze dried raw options TWICE each(would rather he eat raw). Nope. Not a chance. Finally offer his stinky stuff again? He eats it willingly
🤦

Hey, at least he is eating willingly again, and with no issues. *sigh*
I think someone is getting slightly spoiled. But at his age? I don't have a problem with this :)
My veterinary internist said he gets asked all the time what the best food is for a cat who won't eat. His answer: "The best food for a cat who won't eat is ANYTHING THE CAT WILL EAT." When a cat doesn't eat for even a few days or doesn't eat enough they can end up going into fatty liver and starve. So worrying about the kidney diet or whatever special or good quality food they are "supposed" to be on is secondary at that point. With old cats AND dogs I find that when they get towards the end of their life there often comes a point where they will only eat certain foods and fighting over the "best" food is just stressful for both of us. Most of my cats end up on Fancy Feast at some point. That seems to be the tastiest cat food according to most cats.
 
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sherrylynne

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My veterinary internist said he gets asked all the time what the best food is for a cat who won't eat. His answer: "The best food for a cat who won't eat is ANYTHING THE CAT WILL EAT." When a cat doesn't eat for even a few days or doesn't eat enough they can end up going into fatty liver and starve. So worrying about the kidney diet or whatever special or good quality food they are "supposed" to be on is secondary at that point. With old cats AND dogs I find that when they get towards the end of their life there often comes a point where they will only eat certain foods and fighting over the "best" food is just stressful for both of us. Most of my cats end up on Fancy Feast at some point. That seems to be the tastiest cat food according to most cats.
I will try that if this happens again :) And yeah, just getting him eating made me happy
 

neely

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Glad to hear he is eating willingly even if it means a little extra TLC on your part which I know you don't mind. One thing to consider if he starts to show any sign of pain in his mouth again is to take him to a Veterinary Dental Specialist. They are professionally trained and board certified in this area. Find A Veterinary Specialist | AVDC.org

Best of luck - 24 years old is a super senior! 🤗
 
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sherrylynne

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Glad to hear he is eating willingly even if it means a little extra TLC on your part which I know you don't mind. One thing to consider if he starts to show any sign of pain in his mouth again is to take him to a Veterinary Dental Specialist. They are professionally trained and board certified in this area. Find A Veterinary Specialist | AVDC.org

Best of luck - 24 years old is a super senior! 🤗
I appreciate this! Does this also cover Canada, or just the US? I have honestly never heard of this specialty before with cats.
 
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sherrylynne

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Looks like there is one about 20m from me! I can't see an issue with a mild sedative being prescribed prior to visiting hopefully(hoping this doesn't happen again, but just in case)
Thanks!
 
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sherrylynne

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Just thought I would update everyone :) Watson after losing that bad tooth is now back to normal(for the most part). He is back eating his regular food, except he now expects it to be delivered to wherever he happens to want it at the time lol! He is eating full meals again, and having very few issues. Once in a while it seems he gets a bit of his canned food stuck somewhere in his mouth and does the whole tongue thing getting it loose, but once that happens he is back to his dish again asap. Thanks everyone!
 

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I had 3 cats with this problem and a dex shot and convenia injection helped a lot for flare ups.This sounds like stomatitis and even if all is left are the tiny teeth in the front they still may experience problems. it is manageable with the right medication combo.
 
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sherrylynne

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I had 3 cats with this problem and a dex shot and convenia injection helped a lot for flare ups.This sounds like stomatitis and even if all is left are the tiny teeth in the front they still may experience problems. it is manageable with the right medication combo.
Thanks, but at his age I won't do that to him :) Especially given how stressful the trip to the vet is for him, he may not even survive that without sedation. But good to know in case something similar happens with the younger two.
 

hexiesfriend

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Thanks, but at his age I won't do that to him :) Especially given how stressful the trip to the vet is for him, he may not even survive that without sedation. But good to know in case something similar happens with the younger two.
It’s 2 injections and it doesn’t require sedation, I’ve taken my 22 year old to get this done, since he is not eating and is in pain it may be a consideration. I would look for a vet that can come to your home. When stomatitis goes out of remission medical help is needed.
 
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