Persistent stomatitis even after full teeth extraction

[jasperdacat]

Hi, excuse me if there are any typos, I'm quite emotional and frustrated at the moment.
My cat, Bear, is around 6 years old. He had been a feral in my neighborhood and when I noticed he was very sick in 2018, I trapped him and took him into the vet. Found out he had FHV, displaying itself in chronic congestion that flares up pretty bad sometimes. Luckily, he decided he was ready to be a housecat and has been indoors ever since.

This past summer, he started showing signs of oral pain. His vet confirmed he had a severe case of Stomatitis and a couple weeks later, he had a full teeth extraction. The recovery was horrendous but he got through it.
The issue is that the Stomatitis didn't end there. He's been at the very every couple weeks, sometimes more than that, getting rechecked to see if anything we try knocks down the inflammation. It got to a point about a month ago where he was having trouble eating because he'd gag and vomit from the inflammation in the back of his mouth. That's when his vet put him on prednisolone. I had been holding off on trying steroids because they scare me but obviously once he started being unable to eat, it was an emergency situation and I didn't have much of a choice.
The prednisolone has helped him. He eats (a lot) and seems quite comfortable. He's been on it for about a month now and the steroid knocked down the inflammation a bit in the first week, but I just found out today that his mouth hasn't improved since that first week. So, the steroid isn't knocking down the inflammation anymore, but maybe just maintaining the inflammation at a level that is comfortable enough for him that he can eat and not be in any noticeable pain.
Steroids are not a realistic longterm treatment for him. Not only because I don't want him to develop diabetes, but because the steroids amp up his congestion issues SIGNIFICANTLY so while he's on them, he also has to be on antibiotics. Not to mention he's also on Gabapentin.

His vet is working on finding out more info about the stem cell therapy experiments over at UC Davis, but that is a very last resort.

Has anyone else had experience with their cat's Stomatitis that just won't go away after a full teeth extraction? What treatment has worked for you? What do I do? I really don't want to keep him on steroids for much longer, it terrifies me that he could develop more medical issues from it.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I have no direct experience with this, but have read many posts on this site related to stomatitis. I have also read articles about the condition and what some of the 'suspect' attributors are - including FHV. In some of the data I read, it is possible that life long treatments are necessary, such as anti-inflammatories and off-n-on antibiotics - both to help with chronic inflammation. One of the things I remembered reading was that stomatitis can be categorized in one of two ways: 1.) inflammation of the gums surrounding teeth, or 2.) inflammation affecting the back of the mouth where the upper and lower jaws meet.

Is it possible that your cat has the second form - which might explain why a full tooth extraction isn't resolving Bear's issues?

Have you done a search on this site for previous threads about stomatitis? If not, it might be worth it just to look through some of them.

I hope you will soon hear from members who have dealt with stomatitis and can offer you much more help than I can.

 

[jasperdacat]

Hi. I have no direct experience with this, but have read many posts on this site related to stomatitis. I have also read articles about the condition and what some of the 'suspect' attributors are - including FHV. In some of the data I read, it is possible that life long treatments are necessary, such as anti-inflammatories and off-n-on antibiotics - both to help with chronic inflammation. One of the things I remembered reading was that stomatitis can be categorized in one of two ways: 1.) inflammation of the gums surrounding teeth, or 2.) inflammation affecting the back of the mouth where the upper and lower jaws meet.

Is it possible that your cat has the second form - which might explain why a full tooth extraction isn't resolving Bear's issues?

Have you done a search on this site for previous threads about stomatitis? If not, it might be worth it just to look through some of them.

I hope you will soon hear from members who have dealt with stomatitis and can offer you much more help than I can.

Hi,
yes, his remaining inflammation right now is mainly at the back of his mouth where his upper and lower jaws meet. But he does still also have some in his gums. Taking the teeth out solved a lot of that, but maybe about 25% of the inflammation remains.
I have done a search on this site, it seems many people haven't gotten their cat's teeth fully extracted so I can't exactly relate to many of the threads here but I have found a couple things I can run by his vet.

Thank you so much for the response!

 

[Ellereh]

Hi, excuse me if there are any typos, I'm quite emotional and frustrated at the moment.
My cat, Bear, is around 6 years old. He had been a feral in my neighborhood and when I noticed he was very sick in 2018, I trapped him and took him into the vet. Found out he had FHV, displaying itself in chronic congestion that flares up pretty bad sometimes. Luckily, he decided he was ready to be a housecat and has been indoors ever since.

This past summer, he started showing signs of oral pain. His vet confirmed he had a severe case of Stomatitis and a couple weeks later, he had a full teeth extraction. The recovery was horrendous but he got through it.
The issue is that the Stomatitis didn't end there. He's been at the very every couple weeks, sometimes more than that, getting rechecked to see if anything we try knocks down the inflammation. It got to a point about a month ago where he was having trouble eating because he'd gag and vomit from the inflammation in the back of his mouth. That's when his vet put him on prednisolone. I had been holding off on trying steroids because they scare me but obviously once he started being unable to eat, it was an emergency situation and I didn't have much of a choice.
The prednisolone has helped him. He eats (a lot) and seems quite comfortable. He's been on it for about a month now and the steroid knocked down the inflammation a bit in the first week, but I just found out today that his mouth hasn't improved since that first week. So, the steroid isn't knocking down the inflammation anymore, but maybe just maintaining the inflammation at a level that is comfortable enough for him that he can eat and not be in any noticeable pain.
Steroids are not a realistic longterm treatment for him. Not only because I don't want him to develop diabetes, but because the steroids amp up his congestion issues SIGNIFICANTLY so while he's on them, he also has to be on antibiotics. Not to mention he's also on Gabapentin.

His vet is working on finding out more info about the stem cell therapy experiments over at UC Davis, but that is a very last resort.

Has anyone else had experience with their cat's Stomatitis that just won't go away after a full teeth extraction? What treatment has worked for you? What do I do? I really don't want to keep him on steroids for much longer, it terrifies me that he could develop more medical issues from it.
[/QUOTE/]
Hi, I’m actually going through the same thing with my cat right now. He just had the last of his teeth removed a little over 2 weeks ago and while it helped with some of the pain which the vet told me was caused mostly by tooth resorption the back of his mouth is still pretty inflamed. I honestly try to cure him mostly holistically and I’ve found that it helps a lot. He recovery is really up and down right now some days he eats really well while on others he has a harder time. I’ve actually noticed that he gets worse after a stressful experience like going to the vet. Though I do think when he sometimes escapes outside when it’s really cold he comes back with a cold so that could be the cause as well. Right now I am giving him a bunch of products that I do believe help his inflammation. He’s getting a pet well-being product called throat gold that helps with the inflamed throat as well as a product called oral health for cats by bestpets4life and occasionally colidal silver and turmeric in his food. I also found a Australian based website that sells products that eventually heals stomatitis. You should really check it out it’s called holistic animal remedies aka HAMPL. I searched it here and found some others who have used their products.I was previously giving him much more pet wellbeing products that did really help him improve for a few months before he started experiencing mouth pain again due to a botched surgery and tooth resorption. The one thing that’s a drawback for these products is that some of them are not really for long term use I think. though right now he is on medication like gabapentin and bupernex so I only give him key products that will help with his inflammation that I can properly space out from the meds with at least a two hour break in between. I hope this helps if you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

[MissClouseau]

I haven't been in your situation although I have read gingivitis/stomatitis still being a problem after full teeth extraction in some cases. With that said, once a dentist left a piece of my tooth inside apparently when she extracted the tooth. I don't know how likely a similar thing might happen with a cat as their tooth extraction is very different than humans' anyway. Probably a lot less likely to happen to a cat. But if I were in your situation, I would still speak to a different vet both to get a second opinion and to ask if anything might have done wrong by the first vet.

For now it might help to use toothgels for cats / water additives. They still kill some bacteria. I use Beaphar Tooth Gel - Beaphar Tooth Gel - Hassle-free dental care product I give it right before going to sleep at night so hopefully it will stay in her mouth longer.

An anti-inflammatory supplement may also help. I give this Silycumin to my Hima and it helps with her gingivitis flare ups. I originally started by a vet's suggestion for her liver (it also has milk thistle which is said to help liver issues) but I saw by experience it helps Hima's gingivitis too. http://en.biopetactive.com/bpa-products/silycumin/ The product says to give one week break after using it for a month, which I do. And towards the end of that week Hima's dental issues get worse. Like there is more salivation and/or worse breath. That's why I believe this does help. If you can't find the same product maybe you can find something with similar ingredients. This also has some vitamins including B12, and B12 increase nutrition absorption if there was a problem with it.

Probiotics might also help by supporting the immune system. Fortiflora is my to-go for a temporary support or when they lose their appetite as it's also an appetite enhancer. For more longterm other users might suggest a richer probiotics product.

I hope he feels better soon!

 

[35 year catdad]

" Fortiflora is my to-go for a temporary support"
I tried Fortiflora for my 18 yrs bad breath and runny stools/vomiting and it did seem to help.
A dollar a packet was expensive.
Then I discovered Wysong Dental Treat powder which has this probiotic as well as many other things.
Martin's breath is now better than mine. Zero vomiting and runny stools also since I started him on it.
Its a powder easy to give with food or better after meals.
WAY cheaper than Fortiflora and works better for us.
Active probiotic in it is enteroccocus faceium and cheese powders.