What is going on with her gums!?

[Katydid21]

Hi! I'm new here. I have an 8 month old kitten who loves to door dash! Just recently she escaped and was gone for 3 nights. We were devastated. She came home with a few bite marks on her face. I was able to (the the advice of the vet) clean the wounds, drain and treat them. They all appear to be fully healed. She's totally herself, but this morning I looked in her mouth. What the heck is this?
Its only like this on the one side.

 

[Mr. Meow]

Hi! I'm new here. I have an 8 month old kitten who loves to door dash! Just recently she escaped and was gone for 3 nights. We were devastated. She came home with a few bite marks on her face. I was able to (the the advice of the vet) clean the wounds, drain and treat them. They all appear to be fully healed. She's totally herself, but this morning I looked in her mouth. What the heck is this?
Its only like this on the one side.

For an 8 month old kitten, I want to say that's too young for periodontal disease, but that's exactly what it looks like to me. I know there's juvenile gingivitis and juvenile periodontal disease, so you might want to send those pictures to a vet and possibly discuss having her teeth cleaned

 

[Katydid21]

For an 8 month old kitten, I want to say that's too young for periodontal disease, but that's exactly what it looks like to me. I know there's juvenile gingivitis and juvenile periodontal disease, so you might want to send those pictures to a vet and possibly discuss having her teeth cleaned

I just sent the pictures to them after discussing it with them. Ugh, that is early, but that's what I was worried about too. She was a rescue and she's amazing.

 

[Mr. Meow]

I just sent the pictures to them after discussing it with them. Ugh, that is early, but that's what I was worried about too. She was a rescue and she's amazing.

While it may be frustrating, cats cope perfectly well without teeth. 3 of my 5 are missing some/most of their teeth for one reason or another. They just enjoy more wet food and when they try to "play bite", it's adorable to watch lol.
At least you'll be dealing with it in what appears to be the early stages of it, so less pain, less discomfort, no bleeding, which are all good things.
Keep us posted on how everything goes! And we'd love to see the rest of her

 

[Katydid21]

While it may be frustrating, cats cope perfectly well without teeth. 3 of my 5 are missing some/most of their teeth for one reason or another. They just enjoy more wet food and when they try to "play bite", it's adorable to watch lol.
At least you'll be dealing with it in what appears to be the early stages of it, so less pain, less discomfort, no bleeding, which are all good things.
Keep us posted on how everything goes! And we'd love to see the rest of her

That's good to know! Anything I can do to keep it from progressing at home?

And here you go!

 

[Mr. Meow]

That's good to know! Anything I can do to keep it from progressing at home?

Yep! Brushing your cats teeth on the regular. Which is easier said than done with most cats. There are some good articles on this site on ways to go about it and the tools you'll need. There's also toys that act like "floss" when your cat chews on them and some foods/treats can be helpful as well.
I'm not much of an expert on the brushing or the food/treats, but the toys you'll want to look for have "strings" or "tassels" on them, along with this mesh-like cover:

Hope this helps! And I'm sure other members who are better versed than me on brushing will add other helpful stuff too!

 

[LTS3]

After the vet has addresses the current dental issues, home dental care will help keep the teeth healthy, namely brushing with pet toothpaste. Toothbrushing should be done daily but even just once a week is better than nothing. Some people give raw bones and gizzards for dental health purposes. Not all cats will touch those, though. Additives that go in a bowl of water are useless IMO and may result in a cat refusing to drink any water from a bowl because it is "tainted" with something yucky.