My one year old cat has stomatitis. Im lost on what to do.

[irrelevantcatmom]

I brought him in 3 days ago, the day before Thanksgiving because i noticed his gums were really red and bleeding. He hadnt been acting weird before but that may be because ive missed things working so much.
Hes on gabapentin and antibiotics right now but i feel like his poor mouth hasnt improved at all. We have a follow up appointment in a couple days. I have to leave for 5 days coming up in 8 days.
I dont a want to board him. Should i ask for a steroid shot? My pet sitter only stops in once a day and i don't really want to ask her to give him medicine 2x a day either.

 

[Antonio65]

Did your vet told you what the cause behind this stomatitis may be?
Could it be his teeth? Or an underlying condition, like a calicivirus?

I have a yard cat who went through this, the poor girl had to be seen by the vets for nearly 10 months, with regular shots of antibiotics and steroids, until the solution was to pull all her teeth.

 

[lisahe]

One of our cats has what I guess I can call "mild" stomatitis and slippery elm bark (syrup as well as powder in supplements) seems to be helping fend off worsening after she had a tooth pulled in what must have been 2021. I say "seems" because it's unclear why her mouth and throat look better than expected. I've seen very anecdotal stories of cats having good improvements from slippery elm, which has anti-inflammatory properties, which is why Edwina gets it anyway for her gut issues.

Welcome to The Cat Site, I irrelevantcatmom , though I'm sorry it was teeth (always difficult) that brought you here. I hope you get get things squared away before your travel.

 

[FriendofFerals]

Mild stomatitis might be helped (maybe) by brushing the teeth and gums, certain medications, diet, etc. But the reasons for stomatitis and why it occurs in very young cats as well as older ones is not really 100% understood. My 5 yr old rescue cat with severe malocclusion had stomatitis and it was recommended to pull the teeth that were impeding his normal jaw function as well as the ones in the back with the worst stomatitis.

It seems, pulling the teeth is the only real resolution to the issue.

Fast forward several years, and I have a "12-15 yr old" feral in the house who has "severe periodontal disease" but we had to treat whipworms, fleas, a severe inner ear infection causing vertigo and various other issues before he was even healthy enough to address his teeth. When that time came (early 2023) his breath was so bad you could smell it 10 feet away, his gums were bleeding and when I got hi to the dentist she was literally chipping pieces of his teeth off with her fingernail! She said his mouth was on fire 24/7 and because of his SDMA values, which were right on the edge of being able to sedate him for the procedure, if I waited, his life would be much worse

SO he had all of his teeth out except 3 canines. Those remaining three hurt, I know, He tries to rub his gums/teeth on me frequently and I try to let him brush his own teeth by holding the brush but it only helps so much. I would advise that if the cat is healthy enough to have the extractions, just do it.

Cats don't chew their food like cows or humans. They rip, force to the back of the throat and swallow whole, most of the time. Both cats have no problem with wet or dry food (even old man "gummy bear" with no chewing teeth at all).

 

[silent meowlook]

Don’t try to brush the teeth. It will be extremely painful

 

[Jodieluv]

I brought him in 3 days ago, the day before Thanksgiving because i noticed his gums were really red and bleeding. He hadnt been acting weird before but that may be because ive missed things working so much.
Hes on gabapentin and antibiotics right now but i feel like his poor mouth hasnt improved at all. We have a follow up appointment in a couple days. I have to leave for 5 days coming up in 8 days.
I dont a want to board him. Should i ask for a steroid shot? My pet sitter only stops in once a day and i don't really want to ask her to give him medicine 2x a day either.

I have an older cat diagnosed with Stomatitis a couple years ago, he also is FIV , and FELV positive, antibiotics, and pain med really did nothing, steroids help , but are unpredictable, sometimes they help for a few days, sometimes a month, or so, he has had one dental surgery , and that gave him a few months relief, but because the vet left some teeth behind, he started having issues, after a few months, I would try to get a steroid shot before you leave,or if he is able to at least eat soft food, get a bunch of his favorite, and have pet sitter give him that when he/she comes to take care of him

 

[Alldara]

I brought him in 3 days ago, the day before Thanksgiving because i noticed his gums were really red and bleeding. He hadnt been acting weird before but that may be because ive missed things working so much.
Hes on gabapentin and antibiotics right now but i feel like his poor mouth hasnt improved at all. We have a follow up appointment in a couple days. I have to leave for 5 days coming up in 8 days.
I dont a want to board him. Should i ask for a steroid shot? My pet sitter only stops in once a day and i don't really want to ask her to give him medicine 2x a day either.

Did you vet discuss at least a dental cleaning with you? I believe that's for after antibiotics.

There's no "good" solution. You can cancel your trip and stay, have a cat sitter who gives meds or board him. That's the reality of when we have pets sometimes, unfortunately.

Nothing's going to clear up the gingivitis for good until after the cleaning.

Did your vet also discuss teeth brushing? Right now it would be too painful but there are dental wipes you can get at the vets office that you can start wiping his teeth with. They are made for cats and are enzymatic so it will help clean the teeth. I've had great luck with them.

My boy had stomach itis at that age, (well and a bit younger) and we've managed by teaching him to allow us to brush his teeth. He still needs regular cleanings but we haven't had to remove any teeth yet.

After antibiotics, fish oil mixed in his wet food and glucosamine mixed in his wet food can also lower inflammation and backed up by teeth brushing, keep gingivitis at bay.

But as some people posted above the only cure for cats with serious cases is to have most if not all their teeth removed and be on a wet diet.

 

[Alldara]

Ps. Pace your vet approves teeth brushing, I'm happy to walk you through getting him used to Ir.